Acer D241H Display Combines All-In-One, Media Center

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Acer’s new display, the D241H by itself looks to be a decent high-quality LCD display. However, Acer has added a bunch of new features that we really haven’t seen in a computer display before. The D241H straddles the fine line between display, all-in-one PC and media center PC.

Acer promises that the D241H will “revolutionize the way you use a monitor.” Hardware-wise, it’s a typical 24-inch 16:9 wide screen monitor. It supports a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 and promises a 80,000:1 contrast ratio. It will have an HDMI input and will act as a USB hub.

Good stuff, but nothing we haven’t seen before. This is where Acer has added a bunch of new features. The D241H will be able to connect to the internet, either via its own Ethernet port or WiFi. Once there, it can access an e-mail account or check RSS feeds. Plug in a SD card or USB external hard drive and it can play video and music off of it – and this is all without a computer being connected.

It also has a “bulletin board” mode where you can post notes to it via SMS or e-mail. I guess the application here is that it would be set up in a public place where a group of people work/live and they could post stuff to each other via this bulletin board. I’m not sure how often it’ll get used, but it’s an awesome feature, none the less.

The D241H can run widget-based apps, as well. Overall, this monitor is basically taking the internet functionality we’ve seen from various brand’s internet-connected HDTVs and bringing it to your desk in a computer monitor.

No word on pricing or a release date yet from Acer.