You know, I have to hand it to Acer. Once derided for being a manufacture of cheap computing goods that were also cheap in quality (I recall various horror stories of laptops whose screens would fall apart with very little force, among other tales), these days the company has made a niche for themselves in making electronics that are solidly built and offer something interesting while still remaining fairly priced. So it is with their latest product lines as announced by the company today: the R1 and the H7 series of monitors, and the next generation of its XR series.

Let’s be up front here. None of these monitors would qualify as “gaming” screens for those who take gaming seriously. However, all three models offer vibrant IPS panels with 178-degree wide viewing angles; and each has a different, unique touch for their price.

Take the new R1 series monitors, which seem very much geared towards the Apple creed that “thinner is always better”. Acer claims this range contains the “world’s thinnest” monitors with under 7mm thickness, and that its ZeroFrame design maximizes the view with an ultra-thin bezel. Monitors in this range will be available in a range of five sizes – 21.5, 23, 23.8, 25, and 27-inches wide – and will be capable of pixel resolutions up to 1920×1080 (making them 16:9 widescreens). Monitors in this series will first hit Europe this month (January) with prices starting at €139. North America will see them later in the first quarter of the year with prices starting at $130; other territories are to be confirmed.

For those who prefer function over form, the next set of monitors might be more interesting. Acer’s second new range of monitors, the H7 series, will include USB Type-C connectors allowing devices to be connected to the screen. While USB Type-C is still not hugely common, the standard is gaining traction and is already used to charge and for fast data transfer between smartphones, USB Hard Drives and other peripherals; and is likely to become more popular as time goes on. While still widescreen 16:9 format, screens in this range will not only have a higher screen resolution than the R1s – with a stated max of 2560×1440 – but will also be larger, with 25 and 27-inch models. They won’t be as thin, but will feature the same ZeroFrame design, to maximise the screen space. Europe can expect these monitors to reach their shores February, America later in Q1, with prices in both territories starting at 500 euros/dollars respectively. Acer claim USB 3.0 in a monitor is a “world first”, although Lenovo also announced similar monitors mere hours before.

Last but not least, Acer also revealed the next model in its range of XR series monitors. The snappily-named XR342CK feature a curved 34-inch 21:9 panel at a resolution of 3440×1440, and could reasonably pass as a good gaming screen as it uses Freesync technology for a super-fast refresh rate. Naturally it has a price to match – this model is only currently confirmed for Europe, and will retail at €1,100 in March, with other territories to be confirmed later.