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TESCO HOME
ROW UPON row of electricals greeted me at the top of the escalator, but unfortunately monitors seemed to be missing. The website had listed many possible products that met my needs but where were they? I approached a salesman and asked. “We don’t have every product on the shop floor, although we do have a lot of the online stock in our warehouse – it’s a bit like Argos. Let’s have a look on the computer at what’s available.” Moving to a computer terminal the Tesco website was opened up and the monitors displayed. We discussed the HP 20-inch S2031A (£149.99)
featuring a 15000:1 contrast resolution, 5ms response time and integrated speakers. The HannsG HH241D 23.6-inch matched HP on the spec side of things, but was £5 cheaper with a bigger screen. It looked like the best value until I spotted a flashing LG banner at the top of the page promoting the W2243S-PF a 21.5- inch display with a resolution of 30000:1, full HD and 2ms response rate, all for £119. “It’s currently awaiting replenishment so you need to register your interest via email and we’ll notify you that it’s available to buy. I’ll print you out the details,” the member of staff said. As I got up to leave I noticed a school desk with a desktop set up. “Is that the LG monitor?” “Yes, it seems to be, but it’s not powered so I can’t show you it working – but you can at least see the size.”
The visit was not what I expected; the Tesco Home
store set-up had large displays of certain products with the option of ordering online and collecting in store, but unfortunately not monitors, which made choosing the right model difficult. If I had been shopping for a digital camera or TV the visit may have been completely different.
SCORE 5/10 www.pcr–
online.biz
CURRYS / PC WORLD
WORKING MY way along the PC monitor aisle I was pleased to see they were all switched on and running the same video feed. For me, this made comparisons easier and not just about the information on the price tickets. Behind me a sales assistant was unpacking a
laptop for a display but was more than happy to take time out to assist me. I’d narrowed my search down to a few 20-inch models in my price rage: AOC 2036Sa (£99.99), LG W2053TQ and HP 2010i (both £119.99). After pointing these out the staff member explained the differences in contrast and how that would improve the work I was doing on the screen. We mulled over the choices for a few minutes without a clear recommendation before the salesman pulled out the trump card: I’d missed a Packard Bell 23-inch monitor (Viseo 230 DVI), reduced by £50 in the sale to £159.99. The screen has a 80,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, 300 cd/m2 brightness, 5ms response time and full high definition resolution. “This is just over your budget but you can see the
picture is the best. If you can afford £10 more this would be the one; you are saving £50,” I was told. I had to agree, and my decision was aided by the fact that all the monitors were running the same video at the same time. The member of staff checked he had answered my questions fully before heading back to the notebook he had been unpacking. This visit was very impressive, from the wow factor
of the store itself to the customer service demonstrated. It was a shame I had to search out the staff attention I required, otherwise this could have taken the crown.
SCORE 8/10 December PCR 45
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