Westinghouse Markets $229 17-Inch Monitor for 'Back to School'

Westinghouse Digital Electronics is marketing what is likely the smallest HD monitor available in the United States these days--its new "HD-Grade" 17-inch widescreen LCD screen (model LCM-17w4)--as an "essential back-to-school product for students of all ages," according to a company statement.

The monitor features a white chassis with silver trim, which Westinghouse reports it's designed to enable college students to do what is traditionally done in college dorms and apartments (legally, that is): watch DVD movies and HD television, play video games, surf the Internet, and work on school papers, projects and spreadsheets.

The "HD-Grade" (a trademark name) $229 monitor offers one DVI input, 1280 x 768 WXGA resolution, 15:9 aspect ratio, 400-cd/m2 maximum brightness, 600:1 contrast ratio, response time of 15 milliseconds and a 170-degree viewing angle.