There's a small amount of self-assembly to perform after you take the Samsung SM932B out of the box. The panel clips onto the stand at the pivot point for the tilt adjustment in a way that seems horribly insecure but which actually works admirably.

Although this may seem like a tiny point, it sums up Samsung's approach to manufacturing, as the use of a detachable base allows Samsung to package the screen in a small box. Previous models have used a single screw to secure the base, which isn't exactly rocket science, but the new attachment method means that there are no loose parts whatsoever.

The specification of the SM932B is relatively basic so the 19-inch screen has a 1,280 x 1,024 resolution with a brightness rating of 300 nits and a 700:1 contrast ratio. The response time is given as 5ms although Samsung doesn't spell out whether that's grey-to-grey or off-on-off. We found that the picture was clear and sharp, which is enough to make us happy in this regard.

Samsung quotes a viewing angle of 160 degrees in both the horizontal and vertical planes, which sounds rather restrictive, but we didn't suffer any problems as we shifted around at the desk. On a more positive note you get both VGA and DVI inputs so you can choose either an analogue or digital connection.

The OSD is fully featured but if you suffer the same luck as us then you might find this tricky to navigate, as our review sample was set to Korean. Once we'd switched to English our attention was drawn to the Color Tune and MagicColor adjustments.

Color Tone adjusts the white balance, which is quite commonplace but still welcome, while MagicColor is a Samsung image processing technology that adjusts the saturation levels of the colours. It has four modes so you can leave it turned off if you prefer colours au naturel, or you can use the Demo mode to split the screen and see 'before' and 'after'. Full mode adjusts all colours while Intelligent mode doesn't monkey with skin tones.

We couldn't tell these last two settings apart and we also take issue with Samsung's claim that MagicColor optimises colours such that they appear more natural. They don't, but they do gain intensity and a 'wow' factor. Heaven help you if you leave MagicColor enabled when you're looking at fabric or paint colours on the Web site of your favourite online supplier, as you'll get a surprise when your delivery arrives.

As for the styling, well, it's curvy and a far cry from the usual straight lines and right angles that you typically get on a TFT. We liked the looks of the Samsung and feel sure that you'd be happy to give it desk space at home or at work.

The specification of the SM932B puts it squarely in the mainstream, provided you don't want to watch widescreen movies, and by any standards it's a decent 19-inch TFT. But at this price it's an absolute bargain.