EXCLUSIVE FIRST REVIEW: Iiyama T2250MTS Windows 7 touchscreen

 

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Posted on 16 Nov 2009 at 13:14

The T2250MTS is a 22in Full HD widescreen monitor and it's the first touchscreen display we've seen for Windows 7. It costs £242 from www.ebuyer.com. Although we've seen all-in-one PCs with touchscreens, Iiyama's new model allows you to upgrade your current PC with touch capabilities.

Rather than being a resistive screen, which detects pressure, the T2250MTS has infrared transmitters and receivers around its perimeter. This means the screen is recessed by around 5mm from the front bezel, although this is barely noticeable. A stylus slots into the bottom edge of the monitor, but this is designed only for fiddly operation. For most of the time, though, you'll want to use your fingertips, just as you would on an iPhone or iPod Touch.

As you'd expect, the T2250MTS supports multitouch gestures. You can use two fingers at once to zoom in and out of web pages and photos, rotate images and even 'paint' lines in programs like Microsoft's Paint. However, it's important to note that not all programs support touch control, so you'll find that you can't use gestures in Photoshop Elements 8, for example. In programs like this, all you can do it use one finger to control the mouse cursor, both to point and click. Hovering your fingertip just above the screen is enough to pick up the cursor and drag it, but you can tap the screen to select, and double-tap to double-click.

During our testing we found the touchscreen was accurate, although we needed to resort to the stylus to tap small icons such as the buttons to minimise and maximise windows. However, finger-friendly programs like Microsoft Virtual Earth were far easier to control, responding instantly to our gestures. Due to the infrared sensors, you need to keep all fingers - except the two you're using - well away from the screen, otherwise the sensors become confused. For this reason, it's easier to use the index finger on each hand, rather than a finger and thumb on one hand.

Iiyama has ensured that the T2250MTS's stand is as sturdy as possible to minimise wobbling when the screen is being prodded. Unfortunately, this means there's no height adjustment, but it does tilt and swivel. It's also slightly unusual to find just VGA and DVI-D inputs - there's no HDMI interface. There's also a minijack audio input, but the speakers are underpowered and are best left unused. You'll need to connect the included USB cable to your PC in order for the touchscreen to work - drivers are installed automatically and no configuration is required.

In terms of quality, we have no complaints about the T2250MTS. Colours are rich and accurate, viewing angles are good and there's no lag or ghosting in games or videos. However, the glossy surface finish is highly reflective and can be a problem if you can't position the screen away from lights or windows.

Arguably, a bigger problem is whether there's a need for touch capabilities on a desktop PC monitor. If you place the screen at arms' length, it's uncomfortable to use for anything more than a few minutes and there aren't many applications with multi-touch support. Windows 7's touch support is great for tablet PCs, or perhaps an all-in-one PC for the kitchen, but we're not convinced of its usefulness for a standard PC. At this price, you're paying a large premium for touch capabilities and, unless you desperately want or need it, you're better off saving your money and buying a standard 22in monitor for around £100 less.

Author: Jim Martin