19" LCD Monitors: The Spring 2006 Collection

Samsung 960BF

If you remember the Samsung 930BF, you must remember its rather dour appearance and entry-level plastics. Well, Samsung has gone back to the drawing board, and the Koreans' penchant for design is asserting itself more and more. The 960BF is a fine example of this sea change. Here's a sneak preview of the Samsung 960BF.

Design

The 960BF's gloss-white finish is superb. Its lines are fluid and dynamic. This monitor is entirely lacking in buttons for design reasons. It's the new trend with this maker's monitors. You'll have to take care with the plastics, however, because they scratch easily.

Ergonomics

Unlike what the photos seem to show, the 860BF has no height adjustment. There's only a tilt adjustment, with a comfortable range, on this model. All adjustments have to be made using Samsung's MagicTune software due to the lack of buttons. Unfortunately, if you're running Linux, you'll have to sit this one out, since the software is available only in Mac and PC Windows versions. The software is easy to use and met our expectations pretty well.

Connectivity

The connectivity is limited - only a dual VGA/DVI connector. But since anything else is often superfluous, we won't complain.