A Closer Look
The bottom of the stand has touch sensitive power button, and also shows when it is wirelessly connected.
The back of the monitor is clean – all the available connectors are on the stand.
The rear of the stand has the power connector, LAN connector, RGB IN and PC IN.
The sides have HDMI and USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 connectors, and a headphone socket.
The monitor is quite slim and is connected to the stand and the viewing angle is changeable to a great degree.
Using the Samsung CA550 Monitor
When you first switch on the monitor you can see various information, including information about the USB Super Charging feature.
You need to install the Samsung Central Station software on your computer – it’s very easy and just needs to you to follow the onscreen instructions:
Now you can start using it, and it’s very simple!
Final Thoughts
The first thing you notice about this monitor it that it looks beautiful. It is very slim and it is highly polished black (so much so it made taking some of the pictures for this review interesting!).
You also notice that the stand is actually attached to the monitor itself and that all the connections are on the stand, rather than the monitor.
The stand gives a large degree of movement and angle so you should be able to get an angle that is just right for you, although sometimes the angle isn’t that great!
The stand has a number of connections, including multiple USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports.
One interesting aspect is that the connections are lacking a DVI port! Yes, there is HDMI (which I used to connect it to my PC), and there is an RGB port, but not DVI. I am not sure why they didn’t include one though. That said though, one of the main selling points of this monitor is the wireless connection capability, so you really don’t need a cable to connect.
I really liked the touch screen buttons and icons that glowed on the base – it all just adds to the user experience.
The picture quality was pretty good, but it’s certainly not the best on the market, so depending on what you are planning on using the monitor for you might want to see it in action first.
Also, the maximum resolution is 1920 x 1080, which for most people may be fine, but again it would have be better to have had a higher resolution like some other monitors on the market.
Price wise, when this monitor was first released last year it retailed for around £300, but you can pick it up for around £200, and as we always say, look around as there are bargains and offers to be had.
Overall though, if you are looking for a good 23” monitor this one is certainly worth considering, however there are monitors out there with better picture quality on them, but the connectivity options on the monitor, including the USB 3.0 ports make it worth considering.
