GeChic On-Lap 1302 13.3” Portable and USB powered Thin, Light, and Plug & Play LCD Monitor GeChic On-Lap 1302 13.3” Portable and USB powered Thin, Light, and Plug & Play LCD Monitor

Pros: Portable, USB powered, HDMI and VGA, bright and clear image

Cons: Nominal control over settings. Basically relies on the output device to tell the monitor what resolution to display. This results in incompatibility with most devices other than computers. It fails to display my DSLR and tablet at the proper resolution. Of course, its sold as a laptop companion, so its not too surprising that it has compatibility issues.

Pros: Very Useful for making client presentations. I like the mounting system.

Cons: Rubber legs are somewhat difficult to use.

Pros: -Lightweight
-Thin
-Perfect for travel
-Bracket can be removed (but not meant to, so it looks slightly odd without it)
-Fits in a neoprene 13.3" case

Cons: -Bracket should have been meant to be removed and not an integrated part of the monitor
-No touch (not advertised as such so I'm not knocking points off...I just wish it was!)

Other Thoughts: I have a 12.1" netbook so this monitor is actually larger than my main screen so I end up using this as a primary screen often with an external mouse and sometimes even a bluetooth keyboard.

As a second screen for use while traveling, it is perfect and has great video quality. Some people have complained that the VGA cable has had some syncing issues but I cannot comment on that since I have only used the HDMI. This seems to work better than some of the other USB-only "DisplayLink" monitors out there. As an added bonus, I can use this for my phone and tablet in addition to the laptop since those are not DisplayLink-capable but have provisions for HDMI output (tablet is direct, phone is with an MHL adapter)

Case: I bought a MacBook 13.3" Samsonite neoprene case but it unfortunately it really tight--almost as if it will rip through the neoprene. However, it has enough space (width-wise) to also allow my netbook to fit in there. Other than being tight around the corners, this might work. I might also try to exchange it for a slightly larger case though, for a 14" laptop.

Screen protector: Since the screen is exposed and the "case" it comes with is really more like packaging material, I am trying to find a decent screen protector for it but have not had much luck.

Stand: Skip the "Stands Bricks I, II or whatever else" If you are planning on using it as a stand-alone second screen to one side of your laptop, get a tablet stand like the Arkon Portable Fold-Up Stand (IPM-TAB1). This works very well.

Integrated bracket: I find the bracket awkward and obviously it won't fit my 12.1" netbook since it is meant for 13.3" or larger. The bracket is also metal and has some rough edges. With the netbook in the tight case, it would have certainly scratched it. Thankfully, with some careful maneuvering, the bracket was removable with a mini screwdriver. It also reduces the weight a bit (it's very light as it is to begin with).

Bottom line: Quite possibly the best portable travel second screen setup there is; very light/very thin.

Pros: -the awe on people's face when they see it
-light weight, simple to use
-folds back when you need to store it
-decent size

Cons: -white 15" screen doesn't match my black 17" laptop
-HDMI connector doesn't work half the time (probably laptop's fault
-feels a bit flimsy

Other Thoughts: -managed to hook my SNES to it
-would be nice if it were a touch screen
-pretty cool and Nifty

Pros: Thin, portable, comes with both hdmi and vga cables, powered through usb, comes with those little green blocks to stand it up.

Cons: Because it's so thin, it just needs to be handeled carefully. I've held it in my hands similar to a tablet and my fingers start to press into to it, which probably isn't too good.

Other Thoughts: I'm just using this as an awesome, thin little monitor rather than the extra laptop screen that it's advertised as. Can't give any insight on how well it works with a laptop.

Pros: Incredible to have a second screen and all that extra desktop real estate on-the-go. Perfect for anyone that needs to see a lot at once. Great for having multiple console windows open at once, watching traffic graphs, multiple online auction windows :) etc...

About as light and portable as a second screen is going to get, but don't buy it thinking it's a great accessory for your ultrabook or macbook air :) It fits great with my 6.5 pound Dell.

Cons: Has a very low quality analog to digital converter. So, if you are planning to use it with the VGA cable, the picture quality stinks. Fuzzy with un-even sync. Lower quality than the laptop, even an old laptop.

Had problems with the screen not always wanting to turn on. Unplug USB, wait a few secs, plug in and try again. Also sometimes the menu doesn't work.

The manufacturer also makes a flat out LIE in the documentation. They claim it uses capacitive touch for the buttons (power, menu, etc...) this is NOT correct, they are NOT capacitive touch buttons, but regular contact based micro-switches, and do need to be *gently* pushed for them to operate.

Other Thoughts: Unfortunately, the specific laptop I wanted to use this with only has VGA.

With all the problems with the picture quality (using VGA) and intermittently not wanting to turn on, I decided it would be best just to send the screen back. It's a flaky, touchy product, and I can't recommend it to anyone, unless you are really desperate to have that extra screen real estate on the go.

If your laptop is not ancient and has HDMI, then it's actually OK. It's not a great screen, but it works. If you plan to use VGA, you might want to think twice.

Pros: I had to travel for a week, but keep working while logged in to the wifi at the hotel.

This GeChic On-Lap 1302 packed pretty compactly, and worked well as a second monitor. I have it plugged into the HDMI on a Dell Vostro v131 w/ Intel integrated graphics running Ubuntu 12.04 and Gnome Desktop. When I plug in the On-Lap 1302, Ubuntu just brings up the second screen, very nifty plug-and-play,.

It's also pretty slick how it pulls power from a single USB connector so that you don't need to haul along another power brick, so it doesn't add that much to your laptop bag.

Visibility was pretty good from the angles for which I was using it. (...mostly in portrait mode so I could see a lot more code in my Emacs window.)

Cons: The "blocks" used as stand for this monitor are pretty lame, and very unstable, especially in portrait configuration. I'd say that this is the biggest drawback

A second drawback is that since this is mostly a mobile device, it really should come with a decent case, even if it's a piece of neoprene w/ a hard board to protect the LCD glass.

Other Thoughts: I haven't used the adhesive mount, as (1) I'm a bit wary of scratching up my laptop cover, (2), it looks like the glass would not protected if I folded the screen back when putting the laptop into my bag.

Pros: I am an editor and sometimes travel to location to edit. This works perfectly as a monitor for bins and organizing footage. I wouldn't try to color grade off of it, but for throwing together edits and having something durable enough to travel to 4 different continents it well worth the price tag. This is paired to a 15" MBP through the extra mini DP cabling.

Cons: Monitor buttons are hard to function at times. Flimsy mounting bracket.

Other Thoughts: Make the screen viewable while it is upside down and you have it.

Pros: I just got this last night and stayed up for three hours only so that I could see how awesome it works and to be able to test the mount kit on my traveling laptop. I watched a blue-ray movie on it and it was better than the color on the screen of the laptop. Very vibrant colors and crisp video resolution as my home laptop with the 17.3 inch screen. Mount kit comes with 6 extra sticky pads too. Only three are needed to secure the mount to the back of the laptop screen. I have a 15.6 screen on my dell, and the resolution is perfect for this side-kick screen. Was super simple to connect to the laptop. My kit came with two cable sets, one for HDMI and one for VGA connection (which none of my laptop have anyway).

Cons: I viewed several video reviews and was not happy that the Brick 2 kit was not included as it sounded like it was with the review kits. I got these two little S shaped pieces that allowed me to stand the screen up on a TV tray for viewing the movie while I waited for the mount kit to dry. Buttons are pretty hard to press. I have the most problem with the down arrow, I am not sure if I am pressing it or not, there does not appear to be a button click inside. I was only into the control panel to see what adjustments were there. Factory direct, you won't need any adjustments.

Other Thoughts: I am eager to test this on my WD Live box. It has two USB ports, one for a drive and I am interested in seeing if the other is enough to drive this screen, if so, it becomes the perfect portable video system. Just have to add speakers to the WD Live box's output. I found they sell extra mount kits through Newegg too, so I have purchased the kit, comes with parts for two other laptops from what I read.

Pros: -bright enough for outdoor use (wherever you'd see your normal laptop display)
-tolerable weight
-easy to install/uninstall after the bracket is placed

Cons: - would like the option of a much shorter video and power cable, to avoid the bundle of cable behind the laptop
- can't rotate to allow folding away with the screen protected

Other Thoughts: If they could find a way to add a pivoting element to the hinged portion of the bracket, I'd give it 5 eggs. Being able to flip it around, to show someone opposite you the display would be useful, as well as folding away with the screen protected (e.g. in your laptop bag) instead of face out and exposed, would be ideal. At the least, in the current design, it should include a silicone skin to slip over the face for travel to prevent scratching.