One of the few advantages of the current depressing state of the economy is the compulsion that most retailers have to lower their prices more than usual, in order to attract customers with dwindling disposable income. So if you're looking to expand the size of your present PC monitor to make the most of widescreen images and the digital format, then this might be a good time to investigate something like the latest HANNSG Hi221D LCD.

This 22-inch widescreen TFT is a doddle to assemble; simply slot the toughened plastic support into the base of the unit, attach the power lead and the relevant video cable and you're ready to rumble. You have a choice of VGA or DVI-D inputs (although disappointingly you're only supplied with a VGA cable) plus audio input to link up with the two built-in 1W speakers.

Designed in chic jet black, the only visible marks on the bezel surround are the HANNSG logo and the unit number (in discreet grey) and a blue Energy Star sticker implying it's good for the environment. If you look a lot closer you'll discover the OSD controls icons at the centre front in matching black, with the corresponding buttons protruding beneath. Unfortunately this means that you're literally hunting in the dark whenever you need to make any alterations.

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Despite its width (measuring overall 510 x 202 x 424mm), the Hi221D weighs a relatively comfortable 4.9kg. The screen can be tilted from 0 - 20 degrees (but can't be pivoted) and has viewing angles of 170 degrees (horizontal) and 160 degrees (vertical) before you start to lose significant clarity.

Now HANNSG claims that this monitor has a native resolution of 1680 x 1050 “for the use of multi applications simultaneously” but as the resolution is always automatically set, we have yet to see it. The VGA standard, for example, seems to be 1440 x 900 and there's nowt you can do to vary it. The contrast ratio is 1000:1 and you have a 5ms response time which is good for most gaming (apart from the hardcore who demand 2ms if possible) and anything up to 10,000:1 contrast.

As most gamers make use of their own 5.1 surround sound or better, it comes as no surprise that the built-in speakers (which are positioned under the base of the bezel) should only be used in extremis. A word of warning; the accompanying installation CD (which was missing from our review sample) has a driver for Windows Vista only but we found it plugged and played on both Vista and XP machines. Some users have complained, though, that they've had problems with XP, so check with HANNSG if problems persist.

In terms of picture quality, in our tests colours seemed reasonably vivid and sharp without leaping out at us, while the blacks were less well defined. That may be partly because you only have limited control over brightness, contrast and colour, with 'Auto' pretty much handling everything else.

On the whole this is a perfectly respectable DVI-D capable monitor for relatively undemanding gamers and CAD users, who are not looking for anything too high spec and are happy to leave the controls to Auto. HD lovers will want to spend more and look elsewhere.