First non-Apple monitors to feature Mini Display Port announced
Want to play with Apple's new video connection standard, but don't want to shell out $800? Collins America has announced the first new line of LCD monitors to utilize Apple's new Mini Display Port standard.
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple pushed Mini DisplayPort onto its MacBook and display line in late 2008, but until now the only way to drive an external screen was through Apple's own hardware — and even that path was rough, with the company's Dual-Link DVI adapter showing periodic distortion within weeks of launch. Collins America's new LCD line is the first time a monitor maker outside Cupertino has shipped the connector natively.
The move also lands in a display market already split over the bigger DisplayPort standard: Dell put full-size DisplayPort and HDMI on its 30-inch flagship back in November 2007. A smaller Mini variant reaching third-party panels suggests Apple's connector may travel beyond Mac-only accessories.
First-order effects
- Mac owners can now buy a Collins America LCD and connect directly over Mini DisplayPort instead of paying for Apple's adapters or its premium-priced own-brand display — the $800 outlay SlashGear flags as the alternative.
Second-order effects
- Other monitor makers face pressure to add Mini DisplayPort inputs to keep their panels sellable to the Mac installed base, while Apple's adapter business loses its captive audience if native ports proliferate.
Third-order effects
- If Apple licenses rather than hoards the connector, Mini DisplayPort competes with standard DisplayPort for the desktop-monitor input slot, splitting the industry between two closely related specs at exactly the moment Dell and others have standardized on the full-size version.
The trend: Display connectors are consolidating around the DisplayPort family, with Apple's Mini variant now crossing from proprietary Mac hardware into third-party monitors.