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Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

For the price, it's not worth it.

Written by GM from Boca Raton

Mar 26, 2009

I rate this product a 4 star, because the rating should reflect the overall quality of the product. This display is beautiful, crisp, and is enormous. I hook up my MacBook on it, and the extra screen real estate really helps for my Photoshop CS4 work. It's really great for watching HD videos on, too!

But there are downsides.

The cord is very short. Mac Pros and Mac Minis may have no option but to have the desktop right next to their display. Not only that, but the display does NOT come with adapters for the new Mini Displayport. Sure, it makes sense to try to get people to adopt the new standard, but you leave a lot of customers in the dust if you do not supply the adapters.
Also, it could use more USB ports and some Firewire ports. Maybe even integrate an internal HDD where Time Machine backups could be stored (as opposed to Time Capsule).
Finally, the price. If you are saving up money for this display, keep in mind that the cons can start outweighing the pros when you need a serious display. This is NOT a serious display. This is for people that just need a nice display for their MacBooks. NOT for people that need a real transformation from notebook to desktop.

Try a little harder, Apple. You're almost there.

122 of 135 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Perfect except for cord length

Written by BD from Montreal

Mar 26, 2009

The display's cord is too short to connect it to a Mac Pro, especially if the tower is on the floor.

92 of 103 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Best monitor I've ever seen and used

Written by YW from WORCESTER

Mar 24, 2009

This monitor is truly amazing in any sense. It is probably the best looking monitor on the market. The color saturation is stunning! With the glossy screen coating, the colors are so vivid that they really pop up. (I feel like I can just touch the icons on my desktop). If you want the top of the line monitor, this is definitely the right one.

32 of 49 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Cord too short for Mac Pro

Written by JE from Cincinnati

Mar 23, 2009

This screen is beautiful. The resolution is great and its very attractive, but the cord is too short. Apple can't expect you to have your Mac Pro up on your desk next to the monitor. I think this monitor is fantastic, but the short cord is completely idiotic. I'm an Apple fan through and through, but this really makes me mad. Apple, please resolve tehis by giving Mac Pro owners an extension for the MiniDVI and USB, don't need one for the power cord.

129 of 141 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Love It!

Written by JY from HILLSBORO

Mar 21, 2009

Pros:
- Absolutely gorgeous display
- Great color
- No waiting for the display to get to full brightness

Cons:
- The wire w/ the mag safe, usb and mini DisplayPort is really short. I haven't actually measured but it's probably about 3 1/2' long.
- Lack of ergonomic features. A little height adjustment would be nice.

76 of 83 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Looks great

Written by JO from Calgary

Mar 18, 2009

Pros:
* Great image quality - as good as or better than any Apple display I've seen.
* Handy Mac Book power and USB connections
* Color and contrast seem consistent across entire screen regardless of viewing angle
* Seamless operation (of course)
* That perfect hinge that's easy to tilt yet holds steady

Cons:
* $1000 for 24" seems expensive
* Back would look better black like iMac
* Could use more USB ports

44 of 57 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Nice looks, but Very Short Cord! MacPro owners beware....

Written by CL from los angeles

Mar 17, 2009

This revision of Apple's 24" display is slick, but not entirely functional. The cord that attaches to the Mini DisplayPort is very, very short. As they advertise it is the first display designed for laptops and they are correct. The very short length of the display cable is great if your mac mini or laptop is sitting right next to the monitor. HOWEVER, if you buy this for a new MacPro you machine will most likely be on the floor or away from your table top surface. Currently, there are NO adapters or extenders to remedy this. Hopefully apple will release another version that will cut us some slack....literally.

230 of 256 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Awesome Display

Written by PK from Herndon

Mar 16, 2009

I recently bought this display after my new MBP failed to use existing 19" monitor that I used before (The display couldn't map the screen resolution and it was horrible looking). This is absolute gorgeous display one can get for the new Mac books. Very stunning picture and quality of graphics and text. I use the display for my home office and can't live without it. This display delivers to what was promised in the description.

It is expensive and I was hesitant before buying it but now I think the purchase is truly worthy. This is perfect companion for the new MBs. Although I think the feature to lower the hight of display is missing, it definitely requires getting used to - at least a week before you can truly enjoy the charisma.

Highly recommend for anyone who use new MBs for more than 4 hrs !

30 of 41 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Connectivity

Written by AS from Grapevine

Mar 13, 2009

I rated this product a 2 star because I want people to read carefully before buying this product.
I bought this expensive monitor so that I could use my current MBP with it. That being said, this monitor is nothing short of spectacular!
BUT-
IF I take my MBP on business and my wife wants to use the monitor to hook into her company supplied PC(laptop) or a desktop Mac(older version ) there is no solution.
A thousand dollar paper weight is what it turns into until I return and hook my NEW computer into it.

I should have read the forums first; there are thousands of people asking for some solution/adapter to this same problem. I hope this helps you make your decision wisely.

297 of 343 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Overrpiced BUT very nice and convenient

Written by JB from New Haven

Mar 13, 2009

Pros:
Wonderful monitor (color and detail). Much better than my Samsung, friends Dell and ViewSonic monitors.
Convenient hook-ups
Dual monitor hook-ups (monitor and macbook)
Camera and speakers good quality.
3 USB hookups allow me to have everything wireless.
Cons:
Price (I payed $800 retails $900)
MiniDisplay Port (someone will eventually make an adaptor)

Overall:
Great 24 in monitor almost with the price (Apple should charge less than $700)

53 of 65 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Almost perfect

Written by ML from Shediac River

Mar 12, 2009

The brightness and colour rendition of this monitor easily make up for it's glossy finnish. It can indeed be used as a mirror when it is off, but when it is on, there is no problem whatsoever with reflection. Remember this is a 24 inch display, you won't be out in the park with this.
The hook up is very simple - One cable with three ends that plug into your MacBook. For some reason, the first time I did this, the sound control panel did not switch automatically to play sound from the monitor, but now it does. I calibrated this monitor using the Spyder 3 elite system, although it hardly needed it. The before and after images are very similar. As I mentioned earlier, the colours are amazing - very deep blacks and brilliant red and greens. I've had the display for a few months now, and it's calibration has not drifted in the least.
The isight and built in microphone work flawlessly, as they should on a monitor on this quality. The sound is much better than that of my MBP, but if you're serious about your music, you will likely still want an external sound system.
Most people don't realize that you should never physically touch your monitor's display with your fingers - on many plastic-fronted LCD's, this can cause permanent damage to the display. The glass front of the Apple LED display will protect it to some extent, although finger prints will be readily visible and may be very distracting. As usual, just don't touch the screen.
The stand height is not adjustable, but is at a good height for me. The viewing angle is superb and the image looks great from nearly anywhere.
My only nit pick is the choice of USB 2.0 for hookup. As Apple was quite ready to "limit" this display to a specific clientele, I would have loved for the display to hook up with a FIrewire 800 port, and include a few FW800 ports on the monitor. Of course this would imply the Macbook and Macbook air would need FW800.
Lastly, to the group of people saying "The Apple LED Cinema Display, offers no indication that it's specialized for laptops." Please read the description. Before a $1000 purchase, you should at least get to the second paragraph, where it clearly states "The LED Cinema Display is the first display designed specifically for the MacBook."

96 of 111 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Incredible Display

Written by AG from Port Saint Lucie

Mar 11, 2009

Just bought a new MBP 4 weeks ago and have been looking for a good display for office use. I did a lot of research and ultimately purchased an HP w2408h based on several reviews from users with MacBook Pros. However, I was thoroughly unimpressed. The overall quality of the monitor was OK, but the color and picture quality was abysmal. Once you're accustomed to the superb image quality of the MBP display, it is difficult to look at other monitors, especially side-by-side.

I was hesitant to purchase the LED Cinema Display because of the high price, however, once I got it home and plugged it in, I was sold. It works beautifully. No tweaking or calibration required. Provides identical image quality of the MBP, but with a much larger resolution.

I highly recommend this display if you're looking to enhance the usability of your MBP. It is expensive, but worth it.

12 of 18 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

The Glossy Screen Is Horrible!

Written by AM from Seattle

Mar 9, 2009

The glossy screen is really bad regarding glare and eye strain. If I use it over a couple of hours at a stretch my eyes hurt. My vision is going to start to deteriorate if I continue using this monitor. I owned and loved the older 23" Cinema Displays with the matte screen - it was far better. DON'T BUY THIS MONITOR.

116 of 156 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Glossy screen terrible for bright offices

Written by RS from Chicago

Mar 7, 2009

The connections and features are nice, but this monitor now suffers the same big problem our office has with the newer iMacs: the glossy (it should be called glassy, not glossy) finish makes reading the display difficult under bright light conditions and when what you're viewing is darker than the surrounding ambient light.

The glossy finish is all for show, and it really doesn't make our work "brighter" or more vivid. For those of us who are retouchers and designers, Apple should have made it an option whether users want a shiny surface or dull.

98 of 112 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Beautiful Display BUT

Written by EW from Kansas City

Mar 7, 2009

This is a beautiful display. I would say that most people cannot argue the fact its amazing to look at. That being said I think apple has fallen short limiting connectivity options on initial release. I made the mistake of not reading that this display was not mac pro compatible (early 2008). Luckily i had a new MBP on the way anyway so i chose to keep the display. I am VERY happy with the quality and easy of use with my MBP but i would love to use it on my mac pro as well. I know there is a video card upgrade coming that i can purchase and get the new display working, but it is after all 2 months out. I really think Apple should release a product more complete and backwards compatible instead of just throwing something out there just to say "look what we have". I can understand not supporting very old macs , but every mac we have (over 15) is less than a year old and not one would connect to the new display. The display should get 5 stars.... Apple Rollout of the Display should get 1 star so i gave it 3 overall. Anyone who compares the quality of this display to a cheap 200.00 display at best buy is blind. Also if you swear by a Matte screen... do not buy this ...its glossy and you will not be happy. I personally prefer glossy.

74 of 89 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Incredible display.

Written by DH from Los Angeles

Mar 5, 2009

Sure, it's expensive -- but it's also the best looking display I've ever had hooked up to my Macs. I do film and web work, and accurate color is a must. After being unhappy with the quality of some of the panels in the iMacs (sorry, Apple) I picked up this display. Let me tell you, I do not regret it. The colors are bright and vibrant, but still extremely accurate. The screen is glossy but not too reflective that is becomes annoying. And, unlike most of the displays I've been dealing with lately, it gets very bright, but WITHOUT giving you blown highlights. I am super happy with this display.

The only downsides... If you're watching something full-screen with a black background (i.e. a widescreen movie) you can see a little bit of LED glow bleeding into the black bar at the bottom, but it's not terrible. Also, the internal speakers on this thing were touted as being awesome, really are not. I'm sure they're better than those in most displays, but they really aren't very good. But then again, I would think that if you're the type of person who is willing to drop $900 on a monitor, you probably at least have some halfway-decent speakers.

Overall, this is the most impressive display I've owned, and but for a couple of issues and the price, would be a perfect monitor. If those things are not of concern to you, then consider this a perfect display, because there is nothing functional that I have a problem with.

62 of 73 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

Overall a Nice Display

Written by SL from FORT WORTH

Mar 4, 2009

Overall this is a great product. As others have already commented, it's a great "docking station" for any recent Mac laptop, providing recharging, a USB hub, camera and speakers all in 3 simple connections. I have one in my home office and one in my work office and it's great. I simply grab my Macbook in the morning and plug into a crisp 24" workstation with a laptop option for the usual parade of meetings. Then I can come home and do the same, with all my data following along. I also plugged in an external USB drive to the home station as a Time Machine volume for backup. There are a few issues - it's too glossy and from time to time my MacBook gets grumpy when I plug or unplug it and needs to be rebooted. I presume the later will eventually be resolved with a software update. And yes it's a little pricey. That said it really gives me 3 computers (two desktops and a laptop) effectively for the price of 2, without any of the headaches of data synchronization. At least for me, it's been a great solution.

51 of 60 people found this useful

Apple LED Cinema Display (24" flat panel)

It is the best!

Written by BS from West Barnstable

Mar 3, 2009

I have to hand it to Apple they think of everything, what a great display. I love how it hooks up to my MacBook Pro, the new display port is great so easy to hookup. I thought it was pricey at first but then I weighed the fact that it has the camera, speakers, usb and microphone built in plus the connections that are made for the laptop, I can leave my magsafe power adapter in my case. One more thing great design and good looking sharp display.
GREAT JOB APPLE!

29 of 44 people found this useful