Samsung's Two-Headed SyncMaster 2263DX LCD

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We all need a little extra screen real estate from time to time. So when widgets, windows and various other digital ephemera start to metastasize, there are generally two common fixes: Upgrade to a more spacious 24 or 30-inch monitor, or shell out a little extra scrilla for a second screen to complement the first.

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The SyncMaster 2263DX may in fact be the first documented case of craniopagus parasiticus in an LCD unit, and is actually two monitors in one — a dominant 22-inch screen with a not-quite-fully-developed 7-inch (parasitic) monitor protruding from its backside. Admittedly, it's a nifty idea, especially for those with limited desk space. But a combination of high price and, well, second-rate performance cripple this intriguing two-headed experiment.

The Samsung SyncMaster2263DX provides a more reasonable balance between screen size and price by offering an enormous 22-inch widescreen monitor coupled with a more modest 7-inch side display to handle the screen overflow. Like the heads-up display in a car, the 2263DX gives users a convenient way to keep an eye on a handful of side programs without distracting from the main task at hand.

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The glossy-black monitor looks nearly identical to Samsung’s other high-end SyncMaster monitors, save for the matching seven-inch screen appended to its edge. Since the extra screen is meant to be positioned wherever it fits best, Samsung developed a rotating swing arm that lets users position it wherever they want in relation to the main screen. It can be tacked onto the left, right or top of the monitor, in either landscape or portrait orientation.

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Before attaching the secondary LCD, you connect it via USB to the main 22-inch one. Then you must link the 22-incher to the PC, through USB in addition to DVI, HDMI, or VGA. The small LCD can sit on the top or along either side of the main monitor's casing, and it can double as a portable secondary display for your laptop. I found it useful for housing Photoshop tools, my music player, a video conferencing window, or instant messaging windows--and I even used it as a digital photo frame (not all at the same time, of course). We did not test the secondary LCD's image quality, but in our informal tests the 800-by-480-resolution screen produced pleasing images--similar in quality to those shown on the main 22-inch display--when displaying YouTube videos and photos.

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Besides the satellite monitor that stands out as the SyncMaster 2263DX’s defining feature, it also comes with well-rounded multimedia capabilities. A 3.0-megapixel webcam provides high-resolution video feed for videoconferencing, coupled with a dual microphone array to pick up voice and filter out ambient noise. Samsung also added discrete 1.5-watt down-firing speakers to save desktop space and keep with its sleek minimalist look.

The only downside is the hanging interface cable – the mount doesn’t offer anything for fastening it. By the way, the mini-monitor can be easily connected via the 2263DX’ integrated USB-hub and work simultaneously with its web-camera.

The mini-monitor is a pleasure at work. It delivers adequate colors, a good brightness adjustment range, and a low response time. You may feel its vertical viewing angle to be narrow but this is compensated by the opportunity to orient the whole mini-monitor in space. Thanks to the small pixel pitch (the UbiSync 7 has a native resolution of 800x480 pixels) the picture looks sharp and detailed. The screen accommodates quite a lot of information.

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Samsung's SyncMaster 2263DX features

Monitors come in a variety of shapes and sizes, though these days they tend to be in 16:9 ratio with a size of 17, 19 or 22-inches. If you want a little extra real estate to work on, you’ll just buy another matching monitor and set them side-by-side. However, if you want a large monitor and need only a little extra room for various toolbars, you might like this new unique monitor from Samsung.

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You’ll notice that the Samsung SyncMaster 2263DX appears to have a small growth attached to it. That growth is actually a small 7-inch display mounted on the side. My first impression when looking at this is that it’s a crazy idea, and I’d never use it. Then I remembered how annoying it is when I’m working in Photoshop and want to see the image full-screen. Since I run two monitors anyway, it’s not a big deal to just move them onto the other screen. For someone that just works in a program like Photoshop all day, this would be a great setup.

Like all cool gadgets, this one is going to cost you a good little chunk of money. While you could get a
pair of monitors for $550, this one might be something to consider.