Acer T232HL - Touch Comes to the Desktop

Acer T232HL Conclusions

I’ve tried hard to separate my feelings for Windows 8 from the Acer T232HL display, but they are still linked together somewhat. Anyone buying a touchscreen display is likely buying it for Windows 8 now, and if the interface only supports it so well, and not that well with multiple-displays, that could be a killer for some people. Even beyond that, there are issues with the T232HL that go beyond Windows 8.

The glossy screen is a choice that I am not a huge fan of, but I understand that some people will be. The fact is that with only a tilt adjustment available to the user, there is a higher likelihood of reflections than with other displays. Some people will be happy with this screen finish choice, but I’m not one of them. I’d be happier with it if the Acer could produce 300-350 nits of light output to help overcome the extra glare, but it peaks at 219 nits, making overpowering lights something that is unlikely to happen.

The larger concern is the big uniformity issues that I ran into with my sample. We have areas of the screen that are more than 50 nits different from each other, and when we are trying to hit 200 nits, that means one section of the screen might be 25% darker than another area. This sort of variability is clearly visible to users and is not an acceptable level to me. I find 10-15% to be the most that I can accept in a consumer display, but 25% is just too much.

Finally we have the issue of value here. For $500 I would expect a display with greater than 1080p resolution and with a highly adjustable stand, and DisplayPort inputs should come standard as well. I am certain that being a touch display is adding a good amount to the cost, but $500 is really high for a 23” monitor. The Dell U2312HM, which is also IPS and performs better on all tests, is available for $225 online. It lacks touchscreen capability but is better as a display. You can also pick up a 27” WQHD display for under $500 now which will also lack touch capability, but will offer far more room for working in comparison to the Acer.

With how Windows 8 is designed, I feel the Acer needs to either be your only monitor, or be a secondary display to better use the updated Start screen and its Metro apps. As a dedicated display, the uniformity issues make me not want to use it, as well as the glossy appearance. As a secondary display, I have a hard time recommending a $500 1080p display for that purpose.

Maybe I’m just an old guy that doesn’t want to touch his monitor that often on a desktop, but unless the price:performance ratio improves on the Acer, I can’t really recommend it unless you really need a touch sensitive display. If that's the case, while I suspect there are better touchscreens out there, the only options that currently cost less appear to be using TN panel. A better approach right now would likely be waiting for additional offerings and competition to drive prices down, and perhaps once WIndows 8 SP1 comes out some of the concerns I have with multiple monitor setups will get addressed.