My Apple 30″ monitor is dying so I decided to go ahead and replace it (additional business expense in 2008 FTW). I was surprised at what I found when looking up the Apple and Dell 30″ offerings.

Apple offers (for $1799 retail):

• An elegant cosmetic design.

Dell offers (for $1399 retail):

• Faster response time.
• Higher contrast.
• Three times the support level (3 years to 1).
• Card reader built in.
• Adjustable height.
• Does not have a big power brick.

I buy much of my gear refurbished, so let’s compare the refurbished prices as well. Apple: $1499, Dell: $750. Literally half the price. The Apple display refurbished is more expensive than the Dell new.

Sorry, this is a no-brainer.

(Hopefully the Dell arrives in good working order and there is no postscript to this post needed.)

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$750 for a 30″ display is amazing. I bought the original 22″ Apple Cinema Display in 1999 and my Apple 30″ monitor in 2004. I think both were in the $3k range at the time.

As Rands says, you’ve got to have room for big ideas.

UPDATE 2008-12-24: It arrived today and seems to work beautifully (card reader works too). I’ve added “height adjustable” and “no big power dongle adapter” to the Dell list.