LONDON: In the World of innovation Curves screens for phones, televisions and monitors have become the centre of attraction for people.
While phones such as Samsung’s S6 Edge are convex for a more touch-friendly experience, monitors and televisions are concave to offer a more immersive visual experience.
Is this a gimmick like 3D televisions or does it actually improve the product and warrant an upgrade from your current flat screen?
Like for many tech purchasing decisions the answer is, it depends what you need it for.
MONITORS
For monitors the benefit of a curved screen comes from the long, curved screen almost being the size of two monitors.
This lets you split your screen into two or even three “work areas”.
For anyone who flicks between multiple browser or programs during their work day, this is invaluable.
It can certainly make you more efficient but if you’re not careful, a little more distracted too.
The immersive experience is slightly overwhelming with a lot of light coming at you but it doesn’t take long to get used to it.
Monitors aren’t just for work. At home a curved screen would be great for gaming or paired with some popcorn would offer a pretty good cinematic experience.
However, watching a show or film on an ultra-wide monitor means you’ll have black bars (letter and pillar boxed) on the screen.
Immersion is a big part of gaming and a large curved screen would help but make sure you get one with a low input lag rate (a measurement in the delay from when you enter a command and when it registers on your screen).
TELEVISIONS
Curved screens look great on the showroom floor and it’s easy to see why manufacturers are marketing them as more “immersive”.
However, while it may be great to be immersed in a good movie, it offers less appeal when your are watching the news.
One of the top criticisms is that the curve warps the image slightly but like anything you would get used to the view.
Also, the curve costs. They tend to cost about $500 more than a flat screen. At the moment they are more of a design feature and while they add slightly to the experience, they do not improve the picture quality.
SAMSUNG 34″ CURVED MONITOR
The screen is more long than big so it won’t overwhelm your home office. The feet are a bit big for a small desk but there’s a lot of screen to hold up so that’s to be expected.
The curves also physically brings the edges of the screen closer to you so it’s easier to see content at the far ends.
It has plenty of ports (two HDMI and five USB 3.0) and is easily adjustable up and down.
The screen quality is great but not is the same league as the latest 5K models recently released.
However it still has 3440 x 1440 resolution, which is 2.5 times the resolution of high definition.
The technical specifications stack up too. Gamers will be pleased with the 4ms response time, which is below the acceptable rate of 8ms, and a refresh rate of 60hz.
One downside is the price. Spending $1800 on a monitor is a lot though expect prices to drop as the technology gets cheaper to produce.
