Digital Home Thoughts: Dell Introduces New 16:9 Aspect Ratio 1080p Monitor

The Inspiron Mini 9 wasn't the only new product that Dell announced today: they've released a new monitor called the S2409W. It's a 24" panel, at a 16:9 aspect ratio, running at 1920 x 1200 1080 resolution. It has an 85% colour gamut, 5 ms Gray-to-Gray response time, and connects via VGA, DVI, or HDMI with HDCP. No memory card reader, USB ports, component, or DisplayPort connections. I guess the $349 USD price point makes this a budget monitor of sorts. They also have 20" ($299) and 17" ($189) versions, although they don't seem to be 16:9. The 20" monitor has a 2.0 megapixel camera though.

So, am I missing something with this move to 16:9 aspect ratio? What's the benefit on the desktop? You get the same resolution, so you're not really missing anything, but you get a monitor that's a bit wider but shorter (vertically). Is that a good thing? I don't know, having never used a 16:9 monitor (my TV doesn't really count). What's your take on 16:9 monitors?