Isn't the pixel orientation geared for landscape? Every monitor I've used just doesn't look right in portrait. I've tried turning off ClearType (I'm using windows) but just looks strange. I don't know exactly how to communicate what it is, but it's just not good. I've tried it with 3 generations of mid-range Samsung TN panels, and most recently with Dell 2007FP and U2412.
There is a guy I work with who uses two 20" 16:9 TN panels in portrait orientation, and it always looks bad to me. He says it looks fine.
Yeah, that's what I expected, but is sadly not the case. I don't know what variety of IPS the 2007FP is but the U2412 is e-IPS. Perhaps I need to pay some real money and go with the H-IPS or S-IPS to get that experience. Maybe I can score one of these knock-off Korean monitors to test that.
I also feel like maybe the glare coating could be contributing to the problem. I should get a glossy one to test.
Oh, btw, I think the colors are fine from any angle or orientation. The best way I can describe the problem is that the "sharpness" is off.
There is a guy I work with who uses two 20" 16:9 TN panels in portrait orientation, and it always looks bad to me. He says it looks fine.