First look at the Samsung SM 226CW
This morning in Paris, Samsung presented its next line of upcoming screens, one of the stars (the main one, in our opinion) of which will be the next SyncMaster 226CW. You may remember, this is a clone of the 226BW with an additional extended gamut thanks to a new backlighting system.
Of course, the question of the origin of panels arose. Samsung cannot guarantee a 100% Samsung supply of panels, but they did say that this panel was not a classic product. For its production, they will have to intervene to implant the advanced backlighting system. This technology is not yet mastered by the competition and according to Samsung France, this guarantees the implementation of S panels, S being for Samsung. Also, the volume for this screen should be a lot less than for the 226BW. Samsung esteems that they will therefore be able to entirely control production, while the admitted being overwhelmed by the success of the 226BW. This was the reason for their (temporary, they say) reliance on other panel manufacturers, which wasn’t entirely beneficial to buyers.
The 226CW was presented for viewing at the press conference, however, we couldn’t test it, because we had no control over the parameters (the image, light sources, etc.). However, we were able to pick up a few details, mainly, that there has been some progress in colors and twinkling in video sequences.
The final issue is the price. Samsung did not give an official one, and they just announced that the 226CW would be offered at the price of the 226BW upon its release. This leads to some speculation. Will it be at 499 euros, the price announced just before launching the 226BW in Fall 2006? Or will it be 399 euros, which was the actual figure we found in stores at the beginning of 2007 ? If it is 499, this will be, in our opinion, too expensive for this screen to impose itself on a market where prices are dropping. For example, a 22 inch at 199 euros (TN 5 ms) was just released. If it is 399 euros, we can hope to see it for 350 euros in on-line stores. So, the 226CW could create some surprises, and replace the dear spot, which the 226BW holds in consumers’ hearts. This will be true especially if there are Samsung panels inside.
