Size Does Matter (At Least for Monitors)

March 13th, 2008 | by Chris Mendes

University of Utah researchers recently completed a study testing how productive different size monitors make computer users. The researchers found that those who used 24 inch monitors performed common office tasks like editing word documents or spreadsheets 52% faster than those using a 18 inch monitor. Those who used two 20 inch monitors performed the task 44% faster than those with 18 inch monitors. Screens too large, however, decreased productivity with 26 inch monitors performing significantly slower than those with 24 inch screens.

James Anderson, the leading researcher, says that these results will greatly depend on the task a person is performing and that companies should asses the monitors they give employees depending on the employees’ tasks. In general though, he advises companies to get bigger monitors.

[Source: Wall Street Journal]