Are multimedia capabilities really important in an LCD monitor? When you see that the Philips 150P uses two speakers rated at a tiny 1W, you know the results aren't going to be too impressive.

I was quite surprised by the volume they're capable of, though, and being placed far apart means that the stereo effect is very good.

The lack of bass response means you wouldn't want to listen to music via these speakers, but for general PC purposes they're not bad at all. And the microphone socket may be handy if your PC lives under the desk.

Image quality is really what matters, of course, and there are no disappointments with the 150P - contrast is good, colours are bright, and image distortion is noticeable only by its abscence. Viewing angles are excellent, too, with a span of 150 degrees horizontally and 110 degrees vertically.

Other good features include a neat and easy-to-use on-screen display, an effective auto-adjust button, a DVI connection and a USB hub option. The only aspect of the 150P I really didn't like is the design of the OSD buttons, which are ugly, randomly-positioned metallic things. That's a small complaint compared to everything this display gest right, though, and in the LCD world it's an absolute bargain.