Two things catch my interest in this.
Contrast and cost.
Anything I'd expect form Alienware would have been several times the price. $290 isn't horrid for a screen of said resolution, though not great. The contrast is nice though.
What am I using?
ViewSonic VX724. Awesome screen if you can get around the 1280x1024 resolution thing.
If I were to finally upgrade from my VX724, it'd have to be a 2560x1600 screen. I know that colour quality and refresh rates drop at higher resolutions, regardless, I see no need to upgrade until then.