AOC 198FW

AOC makes an assault on the monitor market with a curious design and list of 'special' features...

Form over function? The aeons old debate can never be resolved. People always have and always will fight to the death over the fact that their Alienware was worth the 10 grand just ‘cause of how damn cool it looks. Sometimes though, it’s hard to know where to draw the line. In this case, it’s obvious.

AOC’s newest offering is a novel feat for the company, as it showcases a more design-conscious screen than their previous black on black models. The monitor’s price, features and specifications dump it squarely in the mid-range, general-use category. It won’t be appreciated by gaming enthusiasts or movie buffs, but instead will appeal to more casual users.

Sporting a 19in screen at a 1440 x 900 resolution, the screen itself is of commendable quality. Blacks were deep and colours were bright and vivid. The screen includes a built in microphone and, in combination with the monitor’s speakers, it seeks to presents a viable option for internet voice calls.

Unfortunately the vibrating sheets which pass off as speakers are painful to hear even the error ding through, and watching a movie was unbearable. Exterior speakers are essential if you intend on doing anything more than web browsing.
For what this monitor has in looks (which is a matter of opinion) its actual design and ease of use is, frankly, abysmal. The inputs themselves are decent (component, DVI, composite and S-Video as well as two USB ports), but the entire array of inputs are unreachable without removal of a clumsy back panel, an entirely unnecessary evil. To rub a metric ton of salt into the wounds the inputs are recessed into the rear leaving barely enough space for the DVI cable. This not only means that the screws are nigh impossible to tighten but it also left a nasty notch in our cable. Impractical, unintelligent design.

Granted there are two more easily accessible USB ports on the side, but even these are squirreled away. Finally, there is no height adjustment, but rather a sliding leg that provides limited tilt. That said, horizontal viewing angles are great; you could fit a small crowd around the screen with no complaints.

A structurally solid build and an ‘ambient light sensor’ (we couldn’t see the difference) can’t save what is essentially a flawed screen. Buy Dell’s equivalent and save yourself 60 odd bucks.