Windows 8 is an operating system that was without a doubt designed with touch screens at its center focus point. Many laptops and all-in-one PCs are finally designating multi-touch displays as standard instead of an add-on, but what about the desktop user still using a tower style PC? There are a variety of touchscreen monitors out on the market and today we are going to take a look at what is being said to being one of the best – Acer’s T272HL.
The Acer T272HL is a 27 inch full 1080p widescreen monitor that the company markets as “intuitive and fun”. The large display is backed up by 10 points of touch detection – a standard number for most monitors. The monitor is stated to have a 100 million to 1 contrast ratio with a super quick 5 millisecond response time. When read on paper, you can’t help but to be amazed at the promise of what the T272HL might deliver.
| Simply superior design to other monitors available. Very good build quality. Three integrated USB 3.0 ports. Supports DVI, VGA, and HDMI. | Lackluster performance. Disappointing contrast and color vibrancy. Extremely expensive. |
| The Acer T272HL is an extremely beautiful monitor that simply doesn't live up to the price tag. If you are hurting for a large touchscreen monitor and have no intention of using it for heavy multimedia use, then it might be a good buy - otherwise stay clear. |
Design
The design of the unit is clean and very well done – it is by far one of the nicer displayed monitors we have seen. The front of the unit has a black border that surrounds the entire edge-to-edge widescreen display. The manufacturing process Acer choose to use created a stunningly rich black that is a beauty to look at. Underneath the screen and border sits a thick piece of plastic, which at times can give the illusion that the unit is floating in midair.
The sides of the T272HL (as well as the back) are crafted from a black plastic. On the right hand side of the display you will find an array of buttons that bring up on screen adjustment settings for the unit, while on the left hand side, you will find three USB 3.0 ports.
The massive 27 inch monitor’s silver stand is mounted on the back of the unit and allows the unit to tip back, although not all the way. Overall the stand feels well-built and has enough resistance to hold up the 20+ pound monitor reliability throughout its full range of movement.
Let’s talk ports; the back of the monitor contains a variety of digital and analog inputs for your convenience. The T272HL’s rear is home to VGA, DVI and HDMI video ports along with a USB 3.0 connector that is required to enable the touch ability of the monitor and its three USB ports.
Performance
The unit itself is a joy to use, simply because it is a large 27 inch touchscreen that I can place neatly on my desk, but the design and build quality is where the five star review ends. We felt that the monitor significantly lacked contrast and vibrancy in all available (and custom set) viewing modes. We had the unit placed next to a few different devices including Lenovo’s YOGA 2 Pro and Sony’s VAIO Duo – the image and video results were simply disappointing on Acer’s T272HL.
The touchscreen itself works well and seemed to accurately detect touch points throughout our use of the device, but the screen’s coating sometimes made your finger skid across the display. If you have ever used a large touchscreen at an airport, hotel, or arcade, you are probably aware of what this feels like – not all that great. I may personally be alone on this part though, as I had a friend test out the monitor and he didn’t feel the same way when using it.
Conclusion
Overall, the monitor’s body itself is extremely well designed, but the image performance was a disappointment. We really expected to see this monitor shine, especially for the MSRP of $699, but it fell a bit flat. If your primary focus isn’t multimedia and you are desperately looking for a large touchscreen monitor, this may be an option – although extremely expensive. Otherwise, we recommend passing up this monitor, even with its usual discount price on Amazon.com.
