Dell's 24-inch LCD monitor gets a face-lift

Today Dell announced the latest refresh of its UltraSharp line, debuting the Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP. This 24-inch wide-screen LCD replaces the very popular , which we reviewed last year. We had a little hands-on time with the 2407WFP last week and found it to be very similar to its predecessor, with a few minor upgrades and a low $949 price.

The Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP's design follows that of the other updated UltraSharps, and we expect it will have the same smooth adjustment capabilities including portrait/landscape pivot, panel tilt, side-to-side swivel, and back and forward tilt. We also expect the 2407WFP to wobble slightly, just as we've experienced with similarly designed UltraSharps. The inputs on the back panel consist of one upstream and two downstream USB 2.0 ports, DVI-D and VGA signal inputs, a 12-volt audio jack for connecting an optional Dell Sound Bar speaker, plus composite, component, and S-Video ports for connecting a VCR or DVD player. Along the left side of the monitor are two more USB 2.0 ports and a 9-in-2 media card reader. Like its UltraSharp siblings, the 2407WFP's cable management is a bit sparse: the display's slender neck has only a simple rectangular cutout through which to thread the cables.

The 2407FPW's onscreen menu (OSM) has the same horizontal layout we saw on the Dell UltraSharp 2007WFP. This OSM is set along the monitor's bottom bezel and each adjustability option has its own submenu; you must navigate through the submenu to select settings. A dedicated button on the monitor's control panel launches picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture functions, and another dedicated button allows you to switch between inputs.

The native resolution for this display is 1,920x1,200, and Dell rates the UltraSharp 2407WFP with a 6-millisecond gray-to-gray response time and a 1,000:1 contrast ratio--both specs are improved over the 2405FPW. Dell has also added high-definition content protection (HDCP) to the 2407WFP.