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By Mike Joubert 12 November 2009

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It’s interesting to see a monitor being punted specifically as a secondary monitor, and in the case of Samsung’s 21.5” LD220G, more narrowly as a secondary notebook monitor. As such the LD220G looks a little different, since it sits flat on the table and doesn\'t include an adjustable neck. The reasoning behind this is that the Lapfit can be put along side your notebook with you not having to move your head from screen to secondary monitor. The LD200 can also be tilted at similar angles to your laptop’s screen, making working on it even more pleasant.

USB connection
Another interesting feature is the ability to connect the monitor via both VGA and USB (the one usually used with printers). Set-up was dead easy, and after installation of the drivers we could simply connect the screen via USB (UbiSync) without having to first select the screen as secondary monitor under Display Properties.

Style
The Samsung is a very attractive piece of equipment with its slick glossy black bezel which doesn’t look out of place next to the flashiest of laptops. There are no awkward buttons present, instead a collection of touch buttons that only light up once stroked.

Full HD
While the screen includes two USB ports at the back to connect USB flash disks, using it was a pain since it involved bending over the screen and then trying to find the USB slots. It would have been better suited on the side of the display. The screen can handle 1080p full HD, and we can definitely not fault the display quality of the device. Even power consumption was good, with Samsung claiming 33% less energy usage than conventional LCD monitors.

Although it is touted as a secondary monitor, the value of the device is hampered by the lack of HDMI or DVI slots to connect HD devices. If you want to hook it up to your Xbox 360, and we do believe the device lends itself to this with its 4ms response time and 20 000:1 dynamic-contrast ratio, you can only connect via low-def VGA.

The Samsung LD220G Lapfit monitor looks extremely stylish and was an absolute pleasure to work on. As a secondary notebook monitor it seems a bit specialised, and with no HD ports it’s hampered in its usability. Whether the Lapfit is really that much more easier to work on than just a regular LCD monitor is also debatable. It has an RRP of R2499.

PROS
1080p display on almost 22
CONS
No HDMI or DVI input, seems a bit too specialised.
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