Planar Systems Inc. today introduced two new flat panel displays compatible with both Macs (not Mac OS X) and PCs. Available in 15- and 17.4-inch formats, the displays feature built-in USB hubs, integrated speakers and the ability to rotate from landscape to portrait viewing.
The new PV150 is the 15-inch model. The display offers a 1,024 x 768 pixel (XGA) native display. The PV174 steps up to 1280 x 1024 (SXGA) resolution and also includes analog (VGA) and digital (DVI) inputs.
The displays use Portrait Technologies’ Pivot software — available for both Windows and Mac OS — to control the ability to switch from landscape to portrait mode. Users make the change using their mouse, then twist the monitor up or down to suit their needs. In portrait mode, it’s possible to see an entire Web page, PDF file, e-mail or word processing document without needing to scroll, said Planar Systems.
The displays are available in a variety of exterior colors, including translucent red, blue and clear, as well as “classic white” or “professional black.”
Look for Planar’s flat panel displays on the shelves of resellers including CDW, Insight.com, Micro Warehouse, Outpost.com. PC Connection, TigerDirect and Zones.com. Planar does not publish suggested retail prices for its monitors, but street prices for the new displays run about US$770 for the PV174 display and about $470 for the PV150 model.