I'll cop to it, I was kind of feeling the review out and should've been more direct.
Out of curiosity is there much interest in more of these bite-sized reviews of peripherals and accessories provided I can polish the presentation a bit more?
I think we should definitely do more accessory reviews, as long as it doesn't include iPhone case reviews :-D A long article isn't always needed so in this case, I would say quantity over "quality" (quality being the length of the article, not the quality of the content).
For the feature products, you guys should continue the always great reviews. Even if it means having to delay it for a while. I might try and read the poorly reviewed competition first, but I'll ALWAYS read the Anandtech version when it come out.
For small things like this, keep cranking out these shorter reviews. Something is always better than nothing, and now I'm potentinally interested in a product that I didn't now existed.
Waiting for a revision too. I just wish Lenovo still made their awesome dual screen laptops.
Same, but it wont with W8 as it's the minimum resolution.
I would have preferred it if they made the minimum 1280x720 though, that makes a bit more sense as that's already a standard for video. 1366 just creates stretching problems.
It's a 13.3" screen, the resolution for it is actually fine. Also remember this is being powered entirely off a single USB 2.0 port; raise the resolution or screen quality and you run the risk of needing too much power.
I think I said a few months ago that this would be a better idea versus that 2 screen laptop that was reviewed. It allows for an extra screen, but only when you need it, and it requires no additional power source. The next step should be to put a Li-Ion battery on the back that can either power the monitor on its own, or provide reserve power for the laptop (which would require creative cabling, so probably a no-go). Either way, a thin battery would take one drawback away when it comes to portability.
Actually, the battery idea could be accomplished by adding a "backpack" to the display itself. Think of a cellphone battery width, screen size (or close to that). Should give the screen a good 10 hours of continuous use, right? It shouldn't give the display that much weight, also.
I like the idea, but being productive "on the go" is a very niche market TBH (designers for the most part, maybe programmers). Hope they do well.
Is there any way we could get more pictures of it on a larger laptop? I really like this idea, but would want to see how it looks installed on something. I think the 'presentation mode' would actually be useful, wherein I could show other people at a table data without having to spin the laptop back and forth
I'd buy it if it works on a Mac Mini. Such a setup sounds like a reasonable portable desktop. The wires could use some work, but I imagine they can be removed if not used.
Would be neat to stick to the side of a LAN party box, too. You could certainly do better for the price display-wise, but the convenience is second to none, and it would look neat on the side of a SFF PC.
Normal USB monitors cannot output a display untill the USB drivers load
But THIS could be used as a portable diagnostic monitor when you are unsure if you have a computer problem or a monitor problem
ANY 5 volt X 1 Amp USB power supply (Battery or AC) could power the monitor and the you would get instant display capeability for accessing BIOS screens before the USB drivers kick in
Back when LCD desktop monitors were uncommon but larger LCD panels were common in notebooks, I was angry that no notebooks have VGA or DVI input, especially considering that they were the most expensive part in a notebook by far and they could help justify the cost. I remember it being a lot of trouble to troubleshoot someone's computer if I needed to try another monitor and I only brought my laptop and some tools (who's going to pack up a CRT unless they know it's needed ahead of time?).
It would cost peanuts for any of the giants, Samsung or LG to offer screens of this nature. I won't be surprised if this market gets a bunch of additional competitors since laptops are more than 50% of the market and growing.
I was actually searching for something like this a while ago, though not for it being portable... What I was trying to find was a compact monitor for use at home in the living room, to use the HTPC when the TV was in use by someone else, that could easily be stowed away when not in use. Since I'd also want to play games on it from time to time, all of those USB monitors can't be used, but this would be quite interesting.
You could run off a single one if mobile (along with the negatives of brightness/etc.) but if connected by AC you could plug in the second for additional brightness.
Honestly I would see this product used MORE when connected to the mains rather than on battery alone. Bump up the resolution, give the ability to run with more power, fix the hinge issues you've brought up and this could be a really great product for the mobile workstation crew that doesn't want to lug along a standalone monitor.
I respectfully disagree to a certain degree (HUH?)
A 1080P monitor could be used when AC is connected, but when on battery, the monitor could limit the Display Area AND resolution to keep the power requirements down when you need a mobile monitor
A physical switch could also allow you to run at 1080P when you have enough battery power to use it for extended periods of time
Tablets "could" also be used for portable diagnostic screens by adding a micro HDMI or Displayport input but I doubt we will see them if we haven't yet
A tablet would have its own power supply as well and you would only need a micro HDMI to VGA / DVI / HDMI or DISPLAYPORT cable
But then again, why couldn't we use a portable digital TV or a portable digital photo frame or digital media player to do the same thing
Probably so we need to buy 20 separate devices instead of 1 device that does it all
GeChic 1301 is one of their older monitors, as this post is 2 years old.
They have upgraded the monitor to 1302, and even a better 1080p display, GeChic 1303H. I've used GeChic 1303H, I didn't get mine from Amazon though, I purchased directly from their website. I've only used it for a week with my Macbook Pro so I can't comment too much as of yet. It comes with an HDMI cable so you can hook it up to your mac mini as well. I've listed some of the highlights of the monitor below:
- Great picture quality/resolution; I've only tried web browsing and PS4 games so far but the monitor displays an an awesome 1080p picture with a clean refresh rate. Great colour range as well. You can make the picture very vibrant if needed. - Easy to set up and use; can theoretically plug any device with visual output into this thing if you have the right adaptors/cables. - Thin and light; this monitor is as thin as an iPhone 4 - Useful case/stand - Simple menu navigation for settings
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31 Comments
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Lonyo - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
I know it's only a short product review, but unless I'm blind... you don't seem to have stated the resolution anywhere.Lonyo - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
My bad, it's there hidden in the conclusion stated when mentioning standing the screen vertically.mfenn - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
Still a lot more hidden than it should be IMHO.Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
I'll cop to it, I was kind of feeling the review out and should've been more direct.Out of curiosity is there much interest in more of these bite-sized reviews of peripherals and accessories provided I can polish the presentation a bit more?
Kristian Vättö - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
I think we should definitely do more accessory reviews, as long as it doesn't include iPhone case reviews :-D A long article isn't always needed so in this case, I would say quantity over "quality" (quality being the length of the article, not the quality of the content).nomster - Sunday, January 22, 2012 - link
Maybe best to leave quantity meaning quantity and quality meaning quality?Otherwise by saying you prefer quality over quantity, you're actually saying you prefer quantity over quality
er...
anishannayya - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
For the feature products, you guys should continue the always great reviews. Even if it means having to delay it for a while. I might try and read the poorly reviewed competition first, but I'll ALWAYS read the Anandtech version when it come out.For small things like this, keep cranking out these shorter reviews. Something is always better than nothing, and now I'm potentinally interested in a product that I didn't now existed.
Waiting for a revision too. I just wish Lenovo still made their awesome dual screen laptops.
retrospooty - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
A great idea... but, 1366x768. I'll pass. That res must die.IcePhase - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
Same, but it wont with W8 as it's the minimum resolution.I would have preferred it if they made the minimum 1280x720 though, that makes a bit more sense as that's already a standard for video. 1366 just creates stretching problems.
Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
It's a 13.3" screen, the resolution for it is actually fine. Also remember this is being powered entirely off a single USB 2.0 port; raise the resolution or screen quality and you run the risk of needing too much power.Kristian Vättö - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
USB 3.0 version would be cool as it delivers more power. It might even be enough for the data so it would be just one cable.Nihility - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
Don't forget that it's being powered off of the laptop battery. USB 3.0 gives you more power but that would come at the expense of battery life.MonkeyPaw - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
I think I said a few months ago that this would be a better idea versus that 2 screen laptop that was reviewed. It allows for an extra screen, but only when you need it, and it requires no additional power source. The next step should be to put a Li-Ion battery on the back that can either power the monitor on its own, or provide reserve power for the laptop (which would require creative cabling, so probably a no-go). Either way, a thin battery would take one drawback away when it comes to portability.YukaKun - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
Actually, the battery idea could be accomplished by adding a "backpack" to the display itself. Think of a cellphone battery width, screen size (or close to that). Should give the screen a good 10 hours of continuous use, right? It shouldn't give the display that much weight, also.I like the idea, but being productive "on the go" is a very niche market TBH (designers for the most part, maybe programmers). Hope they do well.
Cheers!
Meaker10 - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
Hmz, it would be interesting the crack open the shell and see what kind of cables are inside as you could look into putting your own panel in.bennyg - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
Did you test off a standard USB 2.0 port only?Could this device draw more from a USB 3 (or over-spec USB2 port like on my P150HM which can supply more than 500mA) - and thus be brighter?
Great effort for 500mA though. Hope this isn't a concept resigned to the "oh yeah whatever happened to that" bin of history.
Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
Tested off of USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, makes no difference that I could see.max347 - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
Is there any way we could get more pictures of it on a larger laptop? I really like this idea, but would want to see how it looks installed on something. I think the 'presentation mode' would actually be useful, wherein I could show other people at a table data without having to spin the laptop back and forthchillmelt - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
I'd buy it if it works on a Mac Mini. Such a setup sounds like a reasonable portable desktop. The wires could use some work, but I imagine they can be removed if not used.Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
No reason it wouldn't. It just draws power off a standard USB 2.0 port and then uses HDMI or VGA for a video connection.PhoenixEnigma - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
Would be neat to stick to the side of a LAN party box, too. You could certainly do better for the price display-wise, but the convenience is second to none, and it would look neat on the side of a SFF PC.Nihility - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
I'm worried that adding 2 pounds of weight to the already flimsy hinges of a laptop would damage it over time.Especially because that weight is added at an angle creating a lot of torque.
Out of Box Experience - Sunday, January 22, 2012 - link
Normal USB monitors cannot output a display untill the USB drivers loadBut THIS could be used as a portable diagnostic monitor when you are unsure if you have a computer problem or a monitor problem
ANY 5 volt X 1 Amp USB power supply (Battery or AC) could power the monitor and the you would get instant display capeability for accessing BIOS screens before the USB drivers kick in
Portable, Extremely Low Power, Instant On.....
Whats not to like?
CZroe - Sunday, January 22, 2012 - link
Back when LCD desktop monitors were uncommon but larger LCD panels were common in notebooks, I was angry that no notebooks have VGA or DVI input, especially considering that they were the most expensive part in a notebook by far and they could help justify the cost. I remember it being a lot of trouble to troubleshoot someone's computer if I needed to try another monitor and I only brought my laptop and some tools (who's going to pack up a CRT unless they know it's needed ahead of time?).I still wonder why no one has yet done this.
eh_ch - Friday, February 3, 2012 - link
+1FXi - Sunday, January 22, 2012 - link
It would cost peanuts for any of the giants, Samsung or LG to offer screens of this nature. I won't be surprised if this market gets a bunch of additional competitors since laptops are more than 50% of the market and growing.Finraziel - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
I was actually searching for something like this a while ago, though not for it being portable... What I was trying to find was a compact monitor for use at home in the living room, to use the HTPC when the TV was in use by someone else, that could easily be stowed away when not in use. Since I'd also want to play games on it from time to time, all of those USB monitors can't be used, but this would be quite interesting.7Enigma - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
You could run off a single one if mobile (along with the negatives of brightness/etc.) but if connected by AC you could plug in the second for additional brightness.Honestly I would see this product used MORE when connected to the mains rather than on battery alone. Bump up the resolution, give the ability to run with more power, fix the hinge issues you've brought up and this could be a really great product for the mobile workstation crew that doesn't want to lug along a standalone monitor.
Out of Box Experience - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
I respectfully disagree to a certain degree (HUH?)A 1080P monitor could be used when AC is connected, but when on battery, the monitor could limit the Display Area AND resolution to keep the power requirements down when you need a mobile monitor
A physical switch could also allow you to run at 1080P when you have enough battery power to use it for extended periods of time
Out of Box Experience - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
Tablets "could" also be used for portable diagnostic screens by adding a micro HDMI or Displayport input but I doubt we will see them if we haven't yetA tablet would have its own power supply as well and you would only need a micro HDMI to VGA / DVI / HDMI or DISPLAYPORT cable
But then again, why couldn't we use a portable digital TV or a portable digital photo frame or digital media player to do the same thing
Probably so we need to buy 20 separate devices instead of 1 device that does it all
MONEY MONEY MONEY
adventurebutter - Wednesday, May 13, 2015 - link
GeChic 1301 is one of their older monitors, as this post is 2 years old.They have upgraded the monitor to 1302, and even a better 1080p display, GeChic 1303H.
I've used GeChic 1303H, I didn't get mine from Amazon though, I purchased directly from their website. I've only used it for a week with my Macbook Pro so I can't comment too much as of yet. It comes with an HDMI cable so you can hook it up to your mac mini as well. I've listed some of the highlights of the monitor below:
- Great picture quality/resolution; I've only tried web browsing and PS4 games so far but the monitor displays an an awesome 1080p picture with a clean refresh rate. Great colour range as well. You can make the picture very vibrant if needed.
- Easy to set up and use; can theoretically plug any device with visual output into this thing if you have the right adaptors/cables.
- Thin and light; this monitor is as thin as an iPhone 4
- Useful case/stand
- Simple menu navigation for settings
You can find their products on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1PFJR9U