Planar LX Mariner now has three new LX Mariner touchscreen PC monitors.

By Ben Ellison

Ben Ellison

Planar LX Mariner

The global display company Planar has entered the little marine world with quite a splash. Its three new LX Mariner touchscreen PC monitors—eight-, 12-, and 15-inch screens with prices ranging from $2,000 to $2,200—are bonded (no fogging), sunlight-viewable, and waterproof. I tested the 12-inch model against a Garmin 5212, a known benchmark for effective touchscreen view-ability, and it did very well; in a variety of light conditions the Planar looked just a tad less bright but had slightly richer colors. Aside from the power cable, a Mariner has just two ports, a standard VGA for your PC's video port and USB to send back touch commands. There's also touchscreen configuration software that makes it possible to emulate all mouse functions. I found the screen quite responsive and managed to run several regular charting programs on it. However sometimes a stylus (or backwards pencil) was useful, even with Nobeltec Admiral (shown), which is partly designed for touch. The greater expanse of the 15-inch model would no doubt make finger control easier, but I'll continue my search—see my blog at www.powerandmotoryacht.com—for good navigation/weather/etc. software that pairs well with this very good monitor.
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