So many of us have second monitors on our desktops that help us be a lot more productive at home or at work, but when we hit the road, we're stuck starting at a single laptop screen. Mobile Monitor's Monitor2Go, powered by DisplayLink technology, solves this serious problem by providing a 15.4-inch, 1280 x 800 display that fits easily in a bag and attaches to your notebook via a USB port.
At 4 pounds and 14 x 10.7 x 1.4-inches, the Monitor2Go is thin and light enough to fit into a larger notebook bag, but if you're walking around all day with your notebook, you'll probably want to leave the Monitor2Go in your hotel room or remote work site. There you'll be able to daisychain up to 6 of the devices together to get even more desktops.
The Monitor2Go has a stand in the back that flip our to hold the monitor up when it is folded flat. However, you can also fold a flap out of the bottom and use that as a base. The casing is made out of comfortable and attractive rubberized black materials and even contains a couple of extra USB ports so you can use it is a mini hub. In order to power the Monitor2Go, you must attach an external power cord, rather than using USB bus-power, because a typical USB 2.0 port just can't provide enough juice for a screen this size.
Having an extra desktop means having somewhere to put your web browser for researching information or your e-mail for checking messages or even a movie to watch while you type on the main screen. Numerous studies, including this famous University of Utah project (funded by NEC) have shown productivity gains of 44-percent or more from having a second screen. Yet, up until now, the options for having a portable second screen that can travel with your notebook have been few and far between. A couple of manufacturers, most notably MIMO, have released portable USB monitors in sizes ranging from 7 to 10-inches and while these are more portable than the Monitor2Go, they have very low resolutions (800 x 480 or 1024 x 600), which don't give you nearly as much work area. The Monitor2Go is the fist portable monitor to offer 1280x800, which is a really strong resolution for work and play and offers more vertical space than a typical 1366 x 768 notebook has on its main screen.
The Monitor2Go will be availble later this sprint for $279. However, you can get the same monitor today, called The Field Monitor Pro, for $289 with a numeric keypad on its base that you won't get on the Monitor2Go. Even if you don't need the numeric keypad, it might be worth paying the extra $10 to get the Field Monitor Pro today.
You can preorder the Monitor2Go or order the Field Monitor Pro by visiting the Mobile Monitor Technologies site. Check out the video below to see the Monitor2Go in action.
