BenQ breaks LCD response times

Having just announced its first digital hub product, BenQ has also turned its hand to flat panel display and home networking markets.

Over the coming months BenQ’s focus will be on LCD displays. Its star product is the FP591 – a flat panel display which features a response time of 16 milliseconds. While that may not mean much to the average users, it opens LCD panels up to the gamer market that has traditionally stuck with CRT monitors.

The technology comes from Acer-owned AU Optronics. A typical LCD response time is between 24 to 30 milliseconds – too slow for the lightning fast world of computer gaming.

BenQ hopes the response time will both appeal to that lucrative market and allow users to enjoy the more mainstream display aspects, such as watching DVDs.

The monitor will also include an option for a TV tuner.

“We see the LCD market as a real opportunity,” BenQ marketing communications manager, Sony Aboudargham, said. “The 16 millisecond response time will be a feature of our entire range. There won’t be just one star product with that response time.”

The vendor will also dabble in the broadband market with a range of networking devices due out later in the year. It will also expand its digital hub concept.

However, Storage will continue to be the bread and butter of the company’s product lineup. As such, BenQ will release its latest optical product – the DVD Ruby – in May.