We’ve already covered several laptop docks for smartphones such as NexDock 2. AFAICR, all those modes would come with a full laptop body with non-touch display and keyboard.
“Losing the wires” company offers something slightly different with their Sm@rtDock 15 Touch as it aims to convert Samsung DeX smartphones into 2-in-1 hybrid laptops. That means the 15″ display comes with a touchscreen, and the keyboard is separate.
Sm@rtDock 15 Touch kit includes the following items and features:
- 15.6″ LCD display
- Full HD/1080p resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) with 10 point capacitive touch
- USB – 1x USB-C port to smartphone, 1 x micro-USB port for peripherals, 1x USB- C charge port
- Video Output – Mini-HDMI in for use as a secondary display for another device
- Battery – Up to 4 or up to 7 hours life (model specific)
- Dimensions – 356 x 224 x 9mm
- Weight – 900g (without case)
- UK Bluetooth keyboard with trackpad
- UK charger, USB-C smartphone cable and folding case
- Cables
- Hard carry case/stand
This is purely a product for the UK market right now, but they should be able to provide keyboard and power supply for other markets if you’re a reseller or distributors.
Sm@rtDock 15 Touch is said to work with Samsung S8, S9, S10, Note 8, Note 9 and Note 10 devices using DeX, Huawei/Honor devices using Easy Projection, as well as other devices supporting DisplayPort Alternate Mode over USB-C.
Typical uses would be for office workloads such as Office 365, Mobile Office Apps, Skype for Business, Teams etc… or virtualization with solutions such as Amazon Workspaces, Citrix, VMware or others. Demo time.
The product is available now, but for some reasons, the price has not been made public, you’d need to contact the company via the product page to request a quote.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Support CNX Software! Donate via cryptocurrencies, become a Patron on Patreon, or purchase goods on Amazon or Aliexpress
It looks to me like the screen implements a USB hub + Screen when connected via USB-C, with the keyboard and touch screen visible as USB devices attached to the hub. When a non-USB-C device is connected via mini-HDMI, the hub is exposed via microUSB, allowing that device to use the touch screen and keyboard as well, is my guess. The linked site says “MicroUSB (peripherals)”, but I’m reading that as the peripherals being the keyboard, touchpad and touch screen. I wonder how accurate that guess is, and how they manage people connecting both the USB-C and micro-USB connectors at… Read more »
a nice idea, but considering how – compared to a >12″ screen! – tiny, cheap & power-sipping the SoC/mainboard in a phone has become there’s little point in these devices :
– only one device to manage (if both devices have cellular multiple devices could auto-sync, may be costly though)
– that $20-$50 saved soc cost really counts
Samsung DeX really shines when hooked up to a Desktop sized Screen…
Another interesting alternative is Keydock from Oreason. It’s a mechanical keyboard with a usb-c hub, but it let you bring your own HDMi screen.
this isn’t really a laptop dock, it’s a portable screen. still, nicely packaged. you could use this as a second screen for a laptop too, or even a gaming console.
It’s available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2SCiW9J