Everyone is talking about Apple vs. Dell, but what about the HP L2335 23" display? Although the HP does not have an aluminum frame, it is silver and it looks a lot better than the Dell, has the same video input choices of the Dell (no media card reader, though
), rotates like the Dell, and can be had for a price similar to the Dell. The performance of HP's other LCD business displays is great -- the 23" should perform just as well.
As for the 20" vs 23" I say get the 23" if you can afford it. The higher resolution and extra screen space will always be helpful.
If the 23" pushes your budget, a 4:3 fullscreen 20" or 21" display with 1600x1200 resolution may be a better deal than a 16:9 widescreen 20" with 1680x1050.
Consider this:
20" 4:3 -- 1600x1200 landscape, 1200x1600 portrait
20" 16:10 -- 1680x1050 landscape, 1050x1680 portrait
23" 16:10 -- 1920x1200 landscape, 1200x1920 portrait
All of the 23"/24" displays I've seen have a resolution of 1920x1200. The key number is 1200, your horizontal resolution. You'll be able to read documents and webpages a whole lot better with minimal scrolling on a display sporting 1200 horizontal lines vs. 1050 lines. The 23" is a better deal if you need/want exceptional width with those 1200 horizontal lines. And, if you decide to rotate the fullscreen 20" display or widescren 23", you will have a decent 1200 vertical lines of width. A 20" widescreen display will shortchange you, unless you MUST have a small wide screen.
(Personally, I'm popping for the 30")