Pros: Reasonably priced, easy to install and run, makes viewing a computer screen fun.
Cons: Some light colors look washed out, no contrast adjust in DVI mode.
The bottom line: I would recommend this monitor to anyone. Hard to find something this large, this easy to use, and at an affordable price.
I had been watching this monitor since it was put on the market early in 2005. I was struck by the retail price of $1199.00, the 12 millisecond response time, the built-in card reader and USB 2 ports, and all the video inputs (DVI, VGA, SVHS, Composite, and component). I shopped it to death until I found an almost new one for sale on www.craigslist.com. That one has been mine for about 2 weeks now.

Dell has changed the face of upscale LCD monitors with this puppy by undercutting everyone's price while throwing in more bells and whistles, and offering a 3-year warranty. (2/27/06-WARNING: If you don't buy it from Dell or from an authorized Dell reseller you don't get the 3-year warranty. Most of the people selling this item at a big discount on Ebay advertise the 3-year warranty, but you don't get it. Many online stores offer it at a discount with the warranty, but you don't get it. You need to have a 9-digit Dell invoice number to get the warranty)

Setup was easy, in part because it unpacks in the order you need the parts to fit together. The cables and base come out before the screen, which you hang on two metal fingers and snap into place. The monitor swivels 90 degrees so you can see the inputs to attach the power and video cable (choice of VGA or DVI from your computer). Dell did not include pivoting software with this unit, but I have that software from my previous pivoting Samsung 213t. I haven't tested it yet to see if it works (UPDATE 11/22/05: The Pivot Software included with the Samsung works with this unit. You can buy it at www.portrait.com, and the most current version is 7.68). Once the cables are attached your computer operating system should install it, although older OS's may not have drivers and colors for it. There is a CD, but I couldn't find the 2405fpw.inf file (tells Windows how to install it). It is better to go to Dell's web site and download the installer (why it isn't on the CD is a mystery). This monitor runs on Windows and Apple OS's.

The colors are better if you use the Dell installation files, but they are quite amazing anyway. It is bright, and at times lighter colors like grays seem washed out. There are some adjustments you can make with the On Screen Dialog (OSD), but for most users the auto adjust will be best. There is a button on the lower right hand bezel that chooses which video input by cycling through VGA, DVI, Composite, Component, and SVHS). I used the DVI input from my computer because my video card, an older nVidia 5200 has a DVI out plug. If you have an older card with only a VGA plug (blue 15 pin sub-D)it will work fine.

I plugged my daughter's portable DVD player into the monitor with the component cables that came with the player. Because the monitor screen is 16:9 ratio, it was like being in the theater watching the movie. The colors are richer, more saturated, and the light colors did not look washed out at all.

There is a speaker system that attaches to the bottom of the monitor's bezel, but it is an option (AS-501 is the Dell part). It is a two-speaker system with a headphone plug that definitely will not replace your 5.1 woofer system. It sells for $29.95, and is not necessary, although it looks nice in the pictures. My daughter and I used headphones from the player for sound so we wouldn't have to turn the computer on. I am considering getting a TV tuner card for my computer so I can watch cable TV on either the picture in picture or picture by picture. You can work and watch TV or run other inputs.

On the lower right front bezel there are 6 buttons that allow you to control the monitor. They are in order from left to right: 1) Input selection (choosing VGA DVI, SVHS, Composite, Component); 2) PiP/PbyP selection; 3)OSD menu and select(after choosing a field you push this again to select it); 4) Minus button for navigating down the menus and for making adjustments downward after selection;
5) Plus for navigating up the menus and for making upward adjustments after selection; 6) Power button (on and off).

The settings for picture in picture (PiP)allow you to choose one of the five inputs as a source, position the PiP on the screen, choose its size, and to swap it with the main screen. Picture by Picture (PbyP) also allows you to choose the input source and to swap screens. In the advance menus in PiP and PbyP, you can adjust picture brightness, contrast, hue/tint, and saturation. Contrast is one that can't be adjusted in DVI mode. Most of us have these settings are on modern TV monitors, but we don't really understand them or use them. For all but the truly advanced, most people will be fine with auto adjustment.

The Onscreen Display (OSD) has setting for positioning the picture on the screen (vertical and horizontal), image settings, color settings, OSD settings, language choice, PiP/PbyP, audio, factory reset (very handy if you are not advanced, but do choose to fool around with image and color settings or any other of the advanced submenus involving phase and pixel clock). I did not find the documentation on these useful, so like most people I stuck to auto adjust. For people who can eat Photoshop 7 for breakfast without thinking about it, the advanced menus will be very handy and simple.

The native resolution of this monitor is 1920 X 1200, but at that setting icons and print are very small and sharp. You should make sure your video card will support that setting if that is a feature you need. The monitor will run at 800 X 600 up to 1920 X 1200 and everything in between if your card supports the settings. I am running it at 1600 X 1200, which is very sharp, but still with smallish print and icons.

Dell includes a power cord, and both a VGA and DVI cable. You will have to print the User's Manual off the included CD. Here is the link to Dell to download the setup file:
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&releaseid=R91058&SystemID=LAT_PNT_PNT_D800&os=WW1&osl=en&deviceid=7801&devlib=0&typecnt=1&vercnt=1&formatcnt=1&fileid=118667. The file is R91058, and will install the monitor drivers with a doubleclick. I love this monitor with its massive acreage of screen, even though I don't need all the fancy adjustments. As I get older a big screen is, in and of itself, a major improvement.