ViewSonic Set For Vista

LCD Windows Vista operating system

All of ViewSonic's LCDs in its value, graphics, professional and X Series display lines will be stamped with Microsoft's Certified for Windows Vista logo, a move that could integrate the Walnut, Calif.-based company's monitor message with new OS functions, said Erik Willey, senior product manager of ViewSonic's LCD unit.

"There are a number of enhancements with Vista that improve your display experience," Willey said. "Vista is more resolution-independent. It's able to scale up to higher resolutions. You don't have small-font issues."

Though some tier-one PC vendors have said they anticipate a sales boost when Vista hits the marketplace, peripherals companies have largely stopped short of weighing in with their expectations for pull-through sales tied to the new OS.

"A lot of people in the industry kind of expect another bump from the Vista release," Willey said. "You'll see a bump in the consumer space first and for the business side a little later."

One ViewSonic channel partner said the vendor is on the right track with its Vista strategy.

"It's a wise move," said Steve Shark, vice president of sales and marketing at DakTech Computers, a Fargo, N.D.-based system builder and ViewSonic VAR. "They're trying to differentiate themselves through leveraging this new operating system, which is going to have an incredible amount of awareness and advertising and promotion behind it."

Shark said many of his customers are in the education space, including one school that recently decided to put off a 50-PC purchase until the Vista launch.

"We would like to get them ramped up as soon as possible," Shark said. "The more machines and districts we can get on Vista, that requires a more robust machine. And that can accelerate the turns in terms of refreshing the PC base that's out there."