inch and under

It's frustrating for me to read useless reviews from people who either do not have the product or trash companies for allegedly not sending them the rebate check. First of all, you should never buy a product based on rebate promises, because if your rebate form gets lost in the mail, they are not responsible. Second, as the recent Dilbert cartoon points out, rebate items probably have inflated prices anyway.

In the case of the Kogi L4AX I got my rebate check after a little over two months. I followed the instructions very closely, and sent in both the invoice and the packing slip and carefully circled the monitor, the price I paid, Amazon's name, and the purchase date. I also made a copy of everything just in case.

Now about the monitor. This is definitely a cheap monitor, both in image quality, construction, and the after-rebate price. I'll be honest: this is not worth the original, inflated price. The rebate is a must if you were to buy this monitor. While 14" of viewable space is not bad -- at 1024x768 (native resolution) you get razor-sharp text -- this monitor has viewing angles narrower than even Kogi's own 17" offerings (which lag behind rival products from NEC, Sharp, etc.). Color saturation is actually not bad, as you get red reds and blue blues, unlike many of the KDS LCD monitors I've seen at higher prices. The response time (i.e., the time required to draw each pixel) is pretty slow, evidenced by the ghost trails when you play games. But, for those on a budget and with a tight desktop space, this is a good choice, provided, once again, on your getting the rebate. If you can spare a bit more money, go with a 15" or bigger. My recommended brands are NEC/Mitsubishi (best quality and good value), Sharp (expensive, though), Eizo, and ViewSonic.

The L4AX measures exactly 14.1 inches diagonally, about .2 inches more than a 15" CRT monitor, so it works best as a replacement for a 15" CRT. Resolution is standard XGA at 1024x768. I'm never a fan of higher resolution than that so I can live with XGA happily.

Mildly stylish, the Kogi seems well built with a sturdy stand. The brightness can't compare with the best from NEC or Sharp, but is adequate in an office or home. Viewing angle is less than more expensive monitors. I don't share my monitor with others so I don't see this as a problem.

In real-world usage the monitor performs admirably. The controls are intuitive, and the no-frills design makes it a good value. (Yes, I was attracted to it due to Amazon's good pricing and a generous rebate.)

The clarity is so awesome that the tiny 14 inch screen is clearer at 1024 x 768 resolution than my CRT 17 inch monitor was at 800 x 600 resolution! (...) The color is so crisp and clean that it makes everything look FANTASTIC! Did I mention how crisp and clean the type is? TOTALLY AWESOME!