LG L1981Q
March 14th, 2006 | by Ian Bell
Full Review
If there was ever a fashion show for the PC industry, there is no doubt that the L1981Q would be at the front of the line. With its slim display (1.5-inches thick) the L1981Q is the thinnest monitor in its class. There are no side speakers and the AC adapter is built into the external cord, all in an effort to minimize its size. With a thin (1/2 an inch) black and silver bezel outlining the 19-inch screen, you get beautiful screen real-estate without having a lot of excess plastic floating around. The neck and base of the unit are covered by a reflective chrome-looking glossy plastic which helps give the L1981Q a very high-end look. The L1981Q comes with an analog VGA and DVI input and LG includes a DVI cable and wall mounting kit as part of the overall package. This could explain the higher-than-average price tag. LG backs the L1981Q with the industry standard 3 year warranty which covers parts, and labor and 24/7 tech support. 
The base measures in at about 10-inches in diameter and is hollow in the middle giving the appearance that is smaller than it really is. We found the screen had very little wobble to it, if any due to its thick neck and large base. The L1981Q features a dual hinge design which lets you lower the base and then tilt the screen all the way back until it basically touches the base. This allows the unit to fold up so it can be mounted on the wall. Because the base houses all of your inputs, it does not detach from the screen at all and remains as one unit while it is mounted. The screen can pivot a full 360 degrees which allows you to change the screen orientation while it is being hung on the wall. The included ForteManager software will recognize when the screen is being pivoted and will change the desktop orientation to the corresponding position. The L1981Q cannot swivel at all, and the vertical height can only be adjusted about 2.5-inches unfortunately. There are three heat sensitive buttons located under the right hand side of the bezel, one for the menu, one for source and the last one for auto/set mode. The L1981Q has a native resolution of 1280x1024, a 500:1 contrast ratio, and a 8ms response rate. 
Image Courtesy of LG Electronics
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by Jinx on March 27, 2006:
“Living with a supermodel is more trouble than you think. The base-mounted connectors poke out the back, so you need 3" more depth on your desk than other displays. Wall-mounting? Forget it -- only half of the arm locks to the base, so your monitor ends up...” More...