Hands on: Samsung’s Laptop-Friendly LD Series Monitors

Back at the office I like to have my notebook plugged into an external monitor so I can multitask, but I’m not a fan of the fact that the external LCD is so much taller than my notebook. Samsung answers the call for a more ergonomic solution with its new LD Series monitors, which are specfically designed to be laptop companions. These low-profile, glossy black LCDs are easily adjustable with built-in kickstands, making things easier on your eyes. The 22-inch LD220 features a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, 250 nits of brightness, a 1000:1 contrast ratio, and 5ms response time. It has both VGA and USB connectors, and with Samsung’s Ubisync technology you can actually hook up 6 monitors simultaneously. The 19-inch LD190X has all of the same specs but a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. Plus, it uses  Samsung’s Ubisync wireless technology to enable laptop owners to connect wirelessly. The setup we saw incoporated a Samsung wireless USB dongle connected to a Samsung notebook. And that dongle was communicating wirelessly with the LD190X, which has its own built-in antenna. Samsung claims that the LD190x uses 33 percent energy than a typical 19-inch monitor. To test out the performance, we fired up YouTube to see how well the LD190X could handle video. The monitor did a lot better than we thought, and the motion was fairly smooth. The question we have is whether consumers really want this kind of convenience, especially since the monitor will likely reside right next to your notebook. No word yet on pricing. Check out the gallery for some more hands-on photos.