In stores or even on your desk to create.

Introductory

I open the box carefully, and something is about to break out with elemental force from the inside and the depths of my skull. It gets louder and louder until I finally recognize Samantha Fox’s voice as she yells, touch me, touch me now. The subtle twitching of my muscles warns me that if I don’t do something fast, it can be a problem, but I can’t turn off squeaking. I try to ignore the louder and louder screams, but it’s a hard thing because I can already see the shape of Samantha in a swimsuit in front of my eyes and cover up too much to see what I’m doing with my hands. I try to shed the vision, carefully, with a trembling hand, I put the display on the table, connect it to the machine, first HDMI, then USB, I give it power. Windows appears, I gently tap the start button on the monitor, and the demanding touch me finally begins to dim in my head. I breathe, it was a difficult procession.

Boringly exciting

If there is a dull yet exciting monitor in the world, then the Philips 22B is. It’s a no-brainer on the outside, a simple, chunky piece with a chunky stand, but if you turn it on, it turns out you can start creating. All you need is a normal capacitive pen and you can draw, put together 3D objects, recolor images, scribble a mustache under your kid's nose, so you can do anything you didn't know with a mouse.

However, Philips did not invent this monitor for this purpose. Rather, it goes to stores, community spaces, where the program running on the machine behind it helps visitors. It’s no coincidence that the rugged exterior, the rather dull front and back cover, the point of this display is that it can withstand the rigors, avoid scratches, and can be precisely controlled with our fingers. Philips has done everything in its power to succeed in this area, and the thing has come.

The 22 (21,5) inch diagonal is the average size, and the technology behind it is even more average. A smooth TN panel provides the full HD image, along with all its troubles and weaknesses. The colors were not invented for Photoshop, the contrast ratio does not decide peaks, and the viewing angles are not very good either. However, all this does not detract from its value, as it is perfect for the purpose for which it was intended. If we use it anyway, we’ll face it, and it won’t be confusing — we won’t even notice — if the sRGB color space coverage doesn’t reach 90 percent.

Although, that doesn’t sound too good so far, Philips has done its best to get the most out of the technology. They have introduced the proven SmartResponse, SmartContrast, EasyRead and Flicker-Free technologies for their monitors, which not only have their names sounding, but also, as our previous monitor tests have shown, effectively improve image quality. In addition, the display has a 3H anti-reflective coating, so the image is okay.

Since the focus of this monitor is more on the quality of use, it is important that you pay attention to this as well. Accurate touch detection is aided by Phillips' projected capacitive (PCAP) 10-point multitouch technology. The capacitive - that is, the touch-sensing - layer was placed under the thick, glass, front panel, which protects it and, of course, the display panel from the effects of public use.

The chunky scaffolding already mentioned above was also made in the spirit of the rugged court. We do not get a wide range of height changes, but the tilt is above average, as it can be used completely horizontally, in the same plane as the table top, so it can be installed in counters, for example.

Create freely

The Philips 222B, no matter how industrial it is for in-store use, stays in place at home. TN panel technology isn’t the pinnacle, but modern gamer monitors, for example, use it, so it’s not the end of the world. Plus, as you may have read, it also features Philips image enhancement technologies.

The most interesting thing about this monitor, of course, is that it allows you to control the operating system through it. Windows 10 has tablet mode, which was invented specifically for touch-sensitive displays, but the best thing isn’t even that, it’s the creation. We get a cheap and bumpy-tipped capacitive pen for the monitor, but that makes drawing not very enjoyable. On the other hand, it is very cheap to buy active, capacitive pens with a mountain thickness of up to 0,5 millimeters from China, which is a real pleasure to draw with. Of course, you have to get used to it, it’s not at all like drawing on paper with a graphite pencil. However, in many ways it is much more enjoyable than “analog” creation. Not only because of the undoable steps, though they also help a lot, but because of the plethora of brushes, pencils, crayons, and calligraphic pens available in drawing programs. In moments, we can create cheeky, handwritten greeting cards, recolor photos, and take lots of other things, things can only be limited by our imagination.

If you are not drawing, the Philips 222B can be used as a completely normal monitor. Its brightness and colors are enough for everyday tasks, at most it won’t be good for serious graphic work, but this category isn’t the best for that anyway, and that display size is best. I wrote above that TN technology is also used by manufacturers in gamer monitors. This means that the 22B is indeed suitable for running games as well, due to the low latency, it will not produce a pull-back even in the case of fast movements.

How to Use

I just want to say a few words about usage because this is the more boring topic with this monitor.

First and foremost, Philips has made sure that there is no problem with connectivity. In addition to the traditional D-Sub, the image can also be received via HDMI, DVI or Display Port, we also get audio input and output, and the work is aided by the built-in USB HUB, one of the outputs of which is also suitable for fast charging.

The Philips 222B menu system and PIP system are standard on Philips monitors and are controlled by mechanical buttons. The menu is, of course, “dumber” than on a traditional monitor, but soon, the essential settings can be found here as well, in fact, there is a blue light filtered mode, for example, that can be adjusted in four levels. The SmartImage menu is available at the touch of a button, where you can find predefined settings under names such as Office, Photo, Movie, Game, Economy and Low Blue mode.

Closing Remarks

Unfortunately, the Philips 222B could only spend a week on my desk, but I really enjoyed this one week after Samatha Fox no longer pounded in my ear. I used to order an active, capacitive pen for real drawing, which can also be used for tablets. Needless to say, the 22-inch, full HD resolution, was much more enjoyable to create.

Of course, as I wrote above, no matter how well the monitor can be used at home, its main area of ​​use is not even that. It feels good as a complement to information points, points of sale, various community spaces, and thanks to its enduring court, it will serve customers for a long time.

This is a durable court, and the touch-sensitive technology is also reflected in its price, I don't think we get much for it under 83 thousand forints. Of course, if this price is brought back by the fact that customers prefer to come to our store, it is not so expensive anymore.

Specifications