In my last post, I talked about using the iPad as your productive device and why it fails on the most important aspect. Laptops, in general, don’t have that problem. But in comparison to a traditional desktop computer setup, there is one thing they lack. Screen real estate.
Dual Screen Built-in
It’s nice, but David from D2D was not a big fan of the setup and neither am I. The position of the second screen is not ideal, being on a flat surface and the location of the keyboard is not very ergonomic either. But for now, this laptop wins the screen to body ratio.
Before you shell out $2.5k on a new laptop, consider my setup:
You can power the monitor and transmit data separately using two USB cables, but if you have USB-C cable that provides enough power, you might be able to handle it with just 1 cable. I am using Dell XPS 9570 model.
Ergonomics
Laptop manufacturers somehow convinced you that ergonomics of laptops or even tablets are acceptable. What they didn’t tell you is, that they are testing the boundaries of human physical limits under a secret project. I work long hours on my machine and while an external monitor is a possibility, I prefer to move my face vertically rather than horizontally and I think you will too.
Flexibility
I open my bag. Do I need to be in a discrete mode or full commando mode? It’s nice to have an option.
Interoperability
I know that there is a market for a tiny second monitor. AirPlay is the new thing for macOS users, but your brain still has to adjust to the different screen sizes. Having the two exact same screen size allows windows to move without resizing and thus helps me to visualize screens as workspaces.
Modular
The concept of interchangeable parts the innovation from the late 18th century. I’ve shattered the external monitor twice before I relented and decided to use the canvas cover they provide in the package, but instead of using screws and drivers, I could just put the thing in a second as I normally would.
Cost
It costs must less than a keyboard because a keyboard these days cost $350. (iPad) You are looking at about $230, and somewhere around $250 with tax.
- Lepow 15.6 Full IPS Screen USB-C $195
- Side Mount Clip for Dual Monitors $11 (I cut excess handle using a Dremel)
- Foldaway Stand for tablets $24
Fixes
- The brightness of the external monitor reset every time I reconnected, so I installed ClickMonitorDDC to set it automatically. This can also can change contrast and color balance, but you won’t get the quality won’t be that great.
Going concerns
This setup works great for me because I have a nose-cam and noticeable bezels. I hope manufacturers don’t treat bezels with utmost prejudice like mobile phones because they do provide a better structure for shock resistance.
Most of these panels hover around 72% NTSC color gamut and 300cd/m², although there are rampant false advertisements on Amazon. For a15.6 inch model with USB-C, Lepow brand was the best one I found. Since I didn’t test other higher-end 4k models, I will reserve my recommendation on those.
Okay, now we shot down the most problematic aspect of laptops. In my next post, I will talk about getting around the lack of computing power by using cloud services.
