Acer S240HLbid 24'' Full HD widescreen LCD monitor with LED Backlight

When I first looked into this monitor there were no reviews of it anywhere. I already had an Acer PC so I knew about the brand and quality. The monitor seemed to have everything I wanted - 24 inch widescreen, LED, full HD at a price than was too good to ignore. My only concern was the 5ms response time as I like to play games on my PC. My research suggested that this shouldn't really make a difference.

I decided to take the plunge. The monitor arrived well within the free delivery timescale. The box included the stand, a 3-pin power lead, a 2-pin power lead, a VGA cable, booklets and a CD with software. My plan was to use a HDMI cable which I already had. The unit is light and has a glossy black bezel which matches my PC. The stand was easy to attach with the aid of a cross head screwdriver. There are 5 unmarked plastic buttons on the underside just to the right of the stand.

After connecting everything up, I could not switch the monitor on! The manual didn't point out where the on/off button was. After some frantic pressing of buttons and searching I found the power button to be the stylish bit of plastic that protrudes out below the "acer" logo at the bottom. There is small a power symbol on it which is hard to see. This button glows blue when the screen is on and orange in standby mode.

Once on, the screen is bright. I found that the contrast was a bit high and looked best with it turned down quite low. I also found that when using HDMI there was an inch thick black border between the display and bezel. I switched to using a DVI cable and this was rectified. The 5 buttons activate the OSD where you can adjust brightness, contrast, colour and select input type and screen modes such as standard, graphics, movie or an eco power saving mode. I usually stick with user defined settings. I found the included software to be useless. I used it once to calibrate the screen but on second use, it asked to update and remained stuck on that same screen. I just uninstalled it as it's not really required.

Now after using this monitor for a week I can say that it is a great screen. Colours and vivid, text is crisp and clear. Games look great in widescreen HD and I have not noticed any lag due to the response time. You just need to ensure that your graphics card is up to it. I have made the Windows screen bigger and when surfing I use Chrome's zoom feature to make the text more readable as in native HD resolution the text is smaller than what I am used to.

Overall I can thoroughly recommend this monitor. I am very happy with it. I don't see any reason for needing to pay any more for a 24 inch HD screen.

Having used a square 19" monitor for a number of years I was very unsure of what to expect when I ordered this monitor, yeah I did read the forum reviews etcetera but I was still wary. This monitor is excellant value for money, even thinner than my old flat screen and less weight. The forums generally moaned about the buttons being hidden underneath the frame and the on/off switch being hard to find. Well on the instructions it shows quite clearly where everything is so I did not find it a problem. I have never used the buttons as the Acer eDisplay Manager software does EVERYTHING simply. It is true plug and play so just attach and use it, then set up the software.
I use a programme called Autocad which is power hungry and complex, with this monitor it made life so much easier by having a much larger screen area and being rectangular meant that toolbars stacked on the side more naturally leaving a good expanse to work on my drawings, there was absolutely no time lag with this monitor. I have also watched a few films in 16:9 format and the thin edges of the monitor almost disappear giving no distractions whatsoever. I also have a TV card and can have the television on the left of the screen, while I can be using MS word or Emails or any other software that does not need full screen for functionality.
This monitor will suit 90% of the population, great value, ease of use, power saving and looks sooo sexy!
Amazon please please make reviews of items like this a month after purchase, when a more realistic review can be published, I had to leave your Email request for a time till I was ready to write this review.

This was a very good buy for the generously small price Acer are asking for it and I knew from past experience that LED monitors were very good but this one still managed to impress me. It also comes with both a 2-pin and 3-pin connection to the wall so you don't need to worry about any power adapters.

To start I think it looks very nice - it fits the black theme that many of my electronics seem to have, looking sleek and thin on my desk right now. The matte finish is a good choice for the stand over the shiny gloss finish that will scratch as soon as you rest your fingers on it and will be noticeable forever after. The bezel that goes around the screen is a sleek gloss finish which looks very nice. On the bottom it has a blue power light beneath a piece of transparent plastic, the power symbol etched on and this looks very smart. This screen is very thin at the top indeed (only 13mm). Not worryingly thin like the new LG screens at a fragile and scary 3mm thick. There's nothing that I can fault here about the appearance.

I think this is a very good size to be working on at this resolution for all tasks such as office work as you can fit a lot on your screen at once, browsing the web with the option to zoom in web pages or gaming which I do do as well. The ports on the back are HDMI, VGA and DVI so there is a lot of options for connectivity. I have my PC set up via digital DVI and HDMI for the Xbox. Switching sources is very easy, just press the furthest right button twice and it will pick the next active source; This is very easy compared to my old screen where I would have to go through a few menus to get to where I wanted. There isn't too big of a range of viewing options like tilt but I'd say it's perfectly adequate for use if the monitor is properly positioned. Just having a look right now as I write this up the viewing angles are very good on here, you will not find your screen dull if your looking from the side very much at all. There is very good contrast displayed and the colours are vibrant and a pleasure to look at. I really couldn't want anything more for this and it's now such a low price I think I may buy another to fit alongside this one now. 10 out of 10 rating and 5 stars rating. A Great Buy

EDIT 1: This monitor has been viewed so well by my friends that two of them have decided to purchase one themselves! If anything shows how much of a good product this is, that has to be it!