Apple Intros 20" Cinema Display, slashes 17" & 23"HD price


Apple has released al 20" Cinema Display, which utilizes a wide-format TFT LCD with 1680-by-1050 pixel resolution at $1,299.

Apple has also substantially reduced the price of the high-end 23" Cinema Display, to $1,999 from $3,499. The 17" LCD display is now $699, down from $999.

"The new 20-inch Cinema Display, with its 1680-by-1050 resolution, offers more pixels than our previous 22-inch product," said Greg Joswiak, Apple's vice president of Hardware Product Marketing. "We've priced it very aggressively at $1,299 (US) so that almost everyone can now afford a stunning, widescreen Cinema Display."

The 17-inch display actually has some new specs along with a new price. The display lists a slightly larger viewing angle, 170-degrees versus 160-degrees. This allows better display performance when not looking at the display head on. The new 20-inch display has impressive specs with greater brightness than even the HD display (220 cd/m2 vs. 200 cd/m2) and matches all other specs including the 0.258 mm pixel pitch. These specs and price point make the 20-inch Cinema Display an excellent value.

The Cinema Display is less than two inches thick while providing a wide format design (16:10 aspect ratio). The 20" also features an ADC connector and a powered 2-port USB hub.

The 20" Cinema is available now for $1,299.

Analysis: Combined with the surprise Power Mac refresh, this is an attractive and (almost) affordable display, particularly for SOHO applications. But a lot of pros will go for the 20". The 20" was rumored recently, which sounds like it's the end of the line for the 22", now the 20" has arrived. The price cut on both the 17" and 23" - the latter in particular - are very aggressive, and Apple's LCD sales should show a tidy profit at quarter's end.