Their main drawback is price. When they were first introduced, they were so expensive compared to CRT monitors that they were used only in situations where space was at a premium, such as trading floors, showrooms and shops. But the price of LCD panels has dropped significantly since they first appeared on the market, especially smaller-sized ones. So although they still aren't quite mass-market products, they are now affordable enough to appeal to a wider range of buyers. 15in LCD monitors are made by just about every monitor manufacturer on the planet, which means there are an awful lot of them to choose from.
Some manufacturers even offer more than one model.
And since specification sheets can't tell you how easy they are to set up and use, and how good they are at displaying the images sent to them from your graphics card, choosing which one to buy can be something of a nightmare. All is not lost, though, because in this month's Expert Buyer we will look at six 15in LCD monitors in great detail in order to determine how well they perform, what features they offer, and how easy they are to live with. We'll also take you through all the important technologies involved and give you an idea of the features and facilities you can expect on any LCD monitor.