Viewsonic VX2260wm LCD monitor

With its Spartan styling and bland black and silver exterior, the 21.5in ViewSonic VX2260wm flatpanel monitor looks far from a showstopper.

But cast your eyes downwards and you'll notice a distinctive bulbous diamond-shaped base. This is the first hint that the VX2260wm is a rather different beast.

The ViewSonic VX2260wm keeps its buttons stuck away on the rear of the screen. All are incredibly small, decorated with tiny icons that, due to being virtually the same colour as the rest of the screen, are tricky to make out even in broad daylight.

Fortunately, the ViewSonic VX2260wm boasts some impressive features. It offers a triple-play of RGB, DVI and HDMI ports. You can, of course, use adaptors to turn DVI into HDMI, but that's a rather inelegant solution, and it's better by far to have a physical HDMI port.

There's no USB port and neither pivot options nor an adjustable-height stand, but the ViewSonic VX2260wm does have integrated speakers. These aren't great but, happily, you can plug in a set of standalone speakers for added audio impact.

The ViewSonic VX2260wm uses a 21.5in panel with a 16:9 aspect ratio, making it spot on for viewing HD content - whatever the source, you can be sure the image will be properly proportioned. The resolution of 1,920x1,080 works beautifully even given the relatively modest screen size.

The ViewSonic VX2260wm's display is consistently eye-catching, but without ever going over the top.

The ViewSonic VX2260wm does a good job in every department. Text and graphics alike are sharply rendered, while the ViewSonic also passed our games and Blu-ray tests with aplomb.