ACD's are just so expensive, & Dells are getting to be unreliable (seems they play the ol' switcharoo w/ panels once tech reviews of new models are published--they start using cheaper panels).
Dell does the switcheroo from IPA to PVA panels after reviews come out, but sometimes that's not necessarily a bad thing. If you're a gamer, I don't see why you'd want the expensive IPA panel monitors. Even if the Apple 23" and Dell 24" were the same price, I'd rather have the Dell 24" because these "cheaper" panels are faster.
The reason people are mad at Dell is because they started off with S-IPS panels in their 20" WFP monitors, but now use S-PVA panels as well once reviews involving things like colour accuracy were completed. That, and because customers are not getting a "steal" anymore. The Dell 20" LCD was the cheapest 20" S-IPS panel LCD monitor you could find. The price was really "Too good to be true," so for Dell to switch to S-PVA, even if only sometimes (they use both), doesn't mean they're doing anything wrong. Why? Because they are and were never obliged to offer 20" LCDs with S-IPS panels for what is likely at (or perhaps below) cost. They can switch LCD panel suppliers whenever they want, as long as they meet the advertised specs. They owe people monitors that meet the spec sheet, and since they never advertised this monitor as being an S-IPS panel LCD to begin with, it's not like they're taking anything away. They're still offering you what they advertise. They don't need to make 20" LCDs with S-IPS panels for 50% the price of other manufacturers, just like Apple isn't obligated to offer you a 30" ACD that's priced at $200.
The fact that some Dell 20" WFP monitors are still S-IPS is quite amazing, actually. If you were to get a 20" Viewsonic LCD or something with an S-IPS panel, you'd be paying much much more than what Dell is asking. This is also why the 20" Apple LCD is so expensive.
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only reason to worry about the type of panel is if colour accuracy is critical, and you need to send files or images to other pros, and you want that other pro to see the same colours you do (assuming the other pro also colour calibrates his LCD and has a decent screen). Printing is also a concern. For everyone else, PVA panels are fine. In terms of response time and colour accuracy, they're in between......they're not the worst at anything, but not the best, either. Some other panels are best for people who make colour accuracy their lowest priority (eg: movie watchers, gamers, regular use folks, etc).
