If like myself you are use to a 16:9 display, the EX3501R, with its 21:9 aspect ratio will feel colossal when taken out of the packaging. On first inspection this screen is impressive and certainly makes an impact.
While the super-thin bezel borders the very edge of the display – when inside Windows, there is a 5mm black digital border between the edge and the usable area. The viewable area does not fit precisely to the edge.
EX3501R employs a 1800R curve which is perfect for the 35-inches we’re dealing with. Some 35-inch monitors on the market utilise 2000R or even 3000R (less of a curvature) and this can impede productivity when handling a resolution of 3440x1440.
You may be able to notice the surface texture is somewhat reflective/shiny – from a side angle, this is more evident on the ‘Viewing Angles’ page of this review. This does not hinder the viewing experience but is a worthwhile note.
Around the back things are kept minimalistic and sleek with a soft, matt grey finish. The legs and stand are fixed onto the back of the monitor with no visible screws in sight.
The stand features a sliding mechanism which allows for 60mm of height adjustment – while the display does not offer the ability to turn, there is -5°~15° of tilt movement available.
The feet can be removed from the stand but out of the box, they arrive fixed in place. These two feet take up little space on the desk but we would rather they featured a matt finish instead of the reflective/shiny surface which has been implemented – in its current state fingerprints and marks are picked up easily. Plus, all other elements feature a matt finish and the design here doesn’t appear to be coherent.
Tucked away underneath the backpanel there are an interesting assortment of ports which are all up-to-date with current technology and standards. Available here we have:
• 1x Power port
• 1x Headphone jack
• 2x HDMI 2.0 ports
• 1x DisplayPort 1.4
• 2x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type A
• 1x USB 3.1 Gen1 Type C
This provides us with a good variety of video outs and also supplies fast USB connectivity, should this be required.
To access the OSD settings there are a series of six black buttons – the larger, clear button emits a white glow and acts as the power on/off.