Performance/Use
I've used this screen for 4 days now, and have done: Photo Editing, Web Browsing, Gaming and Movies. I haven't noticed any problems relating to the performance aspects of this monitor (Response Time and refresh rate). During gaming I noticed absolutely no ghosting or blur (unless it was intentional). I even turned of the "Ultra-Response" feature (which lowers the response time to 3ms from 5ms), and I still could not see any ghosting.
Day to day use of the monitor and its functions were easy and effortless. The touch-panel menu controls work flawlessly and are an elegant solution to OSD control.
The OSD is very well laid-out and easy to control, two attributes of which are commonly lacking on most OSDs. In addition to that, the sheer amount of customization is mind-blowing (as far as monitors go). From here you can adjust the usual brightness and contrast, color, OSD position, language and input but you can also adjust things such as LED brightness, audio feedback on touch-panel buttons, PIP settings, video modes (DVI's color and VGAs geometrical adjustments) and lastly gamma. Thats right, gamma adjustment on the monitor. I love that feature, it is definitely a vital part of the picture adjustment.
Software
Gateway includes a custom Gateway version of Portrait Softwares "EzTune". This software normally just allows the customization of display settings but on the Gateway Edition paired with a Gateway monitor, it can do so much more. Sadly, I however could not witness any of these features first hand, because EzTune (even the latest version off their site) would crash every time I attempted to use it. I've sent them an e-mail, and when I get it working I'll update the review. So until then I'll tell you the features that I've read about from the menu and their site.
EzTune allows you to access every single one of the monitors settings from the computer, and even adds extra functionality not normally available with just the monitor. The first notable feature I saw was the automatic display rotation. When you rotate the monitor into Portrait mode, EzTune will automatically rotate Windows with it. So apparently there is some sort of sensor in the rotator (correct word?) that allows the software to detect it. Next up is the monitor protection, which I briefly mentioned earlier. With this option turned on the monitor will only work on computers given permission to use it by EzTune. You can protect it even more by setting a user-pin to this, so that it will not work without the PIN number. The last added feature is the PIP adjustments. Not only can you move the PIP, change its size, etc. but with the software you can set the PIP to go transparent whenever the mouse passes under it. I can't wait to try out these features because they all sound very cool.
Conclusions
This monitor really has blown me away in pretty much every aspect. The color, clarity, physical appearance/design, and performance has really shown me how a top-of-the-line monitor should look. Aside from small problems such as the not-as-sharp text and the backlight bleeding, I was thouroughly impressed with this monitor. I would definitely recommend it to anyone in a heartbeat, be it if they would be using it for web, movies, photos or games. Though the software didn't work, (I am currently talking with Portrait Software about that) the monitor was not left without almost all of its features and therefore it did not bother me.
Pros:
-Great appearance
-Solid construction
-Flexible stand
-Wide range of inputs
-Glossy screen (can be a con for some)
-Easy to use Touch Panel OSD
-Picture in Picture
-Amazing Color and Clarity
-Extremely good contrast and brightness
-Has Several security features
-Great software included
-No dead pixels or backlight bleeding
Cons:
-Text is not as sharp as everything else
-Springy stand can be annoying
-Software crashes
Ease of Use: 10
Build Quality/Appearance:10
Picture Quality:10
Performance:9.5
Software:9
Overall: 9.7
-Indybird
**Update #2**
After I finally re-installed windows onto my RAID 0 setup, I reinstalled the EZTune Software. This time...it works! I tried out everything from the advanced PIP control to the brightness/contrast to the calibration tool. Everything worked great, and I feel EZTune is a very cool and useful piece of software. There was one flaw though; the auto-pivot would not work. In case you are wondering, auto-pivot automatically rotates your desktop when you physically rotate your screen. I contacted Gateway and they seem to think its a monitor flaw. Anyway, after calibration the colors looked even better! I am in love with this monitor all over again.
**Update #1**
After 18 days of use I could not stand the backlight bleeding anymore. I don't know if it had gotten worse or if I am starting to mind it more but I had to return it. By the way, this is the reason I did not but it off of newegg. I took it to Circuit City, got a new one, brought it home, hooked it up and...
Its flawless! Yes, I said flawless. No backlight bleeding whatsoever! I didn't even know that was possible. But wait theres more! I am noticing that the vertical contrast is a little better. When I slouch in my chair the top of the screen doesnt go dark anymore.
Make sure you buy this monitor from a retail store because it seems as if you have a 50/50 chance of getting a flawless/small flaw monitor.