We had high hopes for this monitor, but unfortunately few/if any were met. Most of all, in this particular implementation, the benefits of LED technology are rather tough to spot. For static image quality, a decent PVA or IPS panel with a CCFL backlight still gives clearly superior results to the VLED221wm's TN-plus-LED combination.

This leaves it in a pretty tricky position because, if we ignore its price for a moment, the Viewsonic VLED221wm is certainly one of the better 22-inch TN screens currently available. It's more vibrant and satisfying than the average dull and dingy budget competitor.

But is it worth twice as much as a conventional 22 incher? In the end, the answer has to be no. It has too many flaws, including relatively poor pixel response and the poorly implemented and non-switchable dynamic contrast technology, and there are too few benefits of the LED backlight, for that.

Nevertheless, we still think Viewsonic deserves kudos for giving it a go with affordable LED technology. That's a lot more than can be said for most monitor makers, who tend to be a pretty conservative and unadventurous bunch. Indeed, the VLED221wm is apparently selling well. Despite its flaws, it's probably just about innovative enough to deserve to do so.