First Look–Acer Monitor for Windows 8 (T232HL)

I’ve been waiting very impatiently for the next wave of touch monitors that would come out designed for Windows 8.  The Acer T232HL is one of the first to show up with the Windows 8 Compatible sticker on it.  It’s a 23 inch touch monitor with 10 touch point support and most importantly for Windows 8 has edge to edge glass without a bevel.  It supports 1920x1080 resolution, the same as its big brother the T272HL which is 27”.  I also looked at the 27” Planar touch which is also new for Windows 8 – but both neither of the 27” monitors increased the screen resolution and both almost doubled the price so I stuck with the 23”.

So far I’m impressed with the monitor – setup was pretty easy and it only took about 10 minutes.  So I don’t create yet another unboxing video, here’s one I found that looked pretty decent in case you want to see more about how it comes out of the box

I was impressed they give you all the cables for VGA, DVI and HDMI in addition to the expected power.  Like the other touch monitor I used this one has a USB cable that is required to activate touch.  The manual isn’t really that great about that being required but I know from my older Planar it was required.  As you can see in the video, the monitor has a kick stand that allows it to tilt back.  One challenge for me on my desk was this kickstand almost drops off the edge.  I also think the kickstand is a little more flimsily than I would like.  If you want you can also wall mount it. I’m pairing it with a couple of other 24” monitors so another small thing that I don’t like is it doesn’t have a vertical height adjustment so there isn’t a way to raise it up off the desk.  I could probably mount it on an arm to the wall and that would fix the height and the kickstand issues but I will give it a try for a few weeks as is.

A touch monitor certainly isn't required for Windows 8 but it does  work well with it.  I’m using this with my desktop along with two other monitors and it allows for good interaction with the new Windows 8 style applications.

If you are shopping for a Windows 8 touch monitor the most important thing is to look for one without a bevel.  Early on prior to release all you could find was with the bevel – These do work but you have to really work to swipe from the edge for certain actions.  I had a Planar PX 2230 Mw that I was using before I got this and it connected fine but just was a little smaller and clumsy due to the bevel.  The same is true of many of the older all in one computers that offered touch. 

If you are looking for a windows 8 touch monitor I would keep it on the short list.  I do imagine that more touch monitors will be announced and I suspect the price on them will keep dropping as well it just a matter of how patient you are!