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Kensington offers first Mac compatible USB display interface

by Mat Lu Jan 16th 2008 at 9:00AM

Kensington today announced the sd200V Notebook Docking Station, which is apparently the first Mac compatible DisplayLink adapter. For a while now Windows users have been able to add a secondary display to their system via a USB device. This is the first time Mac users have been so lucky. The sd200V supports VGA monitors with a resolution up to 1440x1050 and also functions as a USB hub with audio, allowing you to connect a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and speakers to your Mac with a single USB cable.

They will also be offering a display-only USB DisplayLink solution called the Dual Monitor Adapter later in the year with a DVI port. Although targeted at notebook users, I think this is particularly exciting for the Mac mini which gains genuine multi-display support for the first time (the Matrox DualHead not withstanding).

The sd200V Docking Station is available now for $139.99, while the Dual Monitor Adapter with ship in April for $99.99. Both devices will be Intel Mac only.

[via electronista]

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Kensington today announced the sd200V Notebook Docking Station, which is apparently the first Mac compatible DisplayLink adapter. For a...
 

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Midnight Ryder

No, the Mac Mini does not support multiple displays - there's only one DVI output to work with. For Mini users like me, this might be a good solution. I do a lot of work that would benefit from multiple displays (right now I'm running three VMWare sessions at once translating a project from one HMI package to another, with an older version thrown in the mix too). Even when I had a Powerbook, I had moments where a third monitor would have come in very handy! (But I'm abnormal - most people don't nessisarily need THAT much screen realestate.)

January 16 2008 at 4:12 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Shannin

will i beable to plug in as many as i want?
i mean the dual link thing

January 16 2008 at 11:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Rboyett

USB?

No networking passthrough, no DVI, no firewire.

Guys, there is this thing on the side of my MacBook Pro called an ExpressCard/34 slot. It has up to 2.5Gbps of bandwidth, not the 450Mbps burst speed of USB2. It could handle EVERYTHING.

So PLEASE make a dock device that makes use of it. I just want to put my Mac on the desk and plug in the power and ONE other device and be done with it.

January 16 2008 at 11:57 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Rboyett's comment
John T Davis

I get the feeling based on price and features (e.g.: the lack of ports you mention) this device is aimed at consumers with Macbooks, which don't have ExpressCard slots. If this device does well, I expect to see an even more well equipped version come out within the next six months that would support the ports you mentioned.

An ExpressCard version for the MBP might very well be possible, but that depends on whether or not there is technology that would allow a display to work over ExpressCard.

One also must consider whether it is cost effective to produce such a variant. EC's bus speed is either the same as the on board USB 2.0 or PCIe, depending on hardware configuration, so you may gain very little from an Express-Card version. Also, not all notebooks (and very few consumer level notebooks) have Express Card slots, but each is guaranteed to have at least one USB 2 slot. Ubiquity == more potential sales.

Also, consider that video+audio+USB hub is a lot of traffic for one USB port on the computer this is connected to. It may very well be that the device cannot handle more inputs (Firewire, etc.) without using more USB sockets in the host machine. Future models may do just that.

January 16 2008 at 4:09 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chris

The Kensington site still lists this device as requiring XP or Vista. I wonder if it is a hardware change or simply a driver update.

January 16 2008 at 11:38 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
csjk789

do you mean 1680 x 1050? 1440 x 1050 don't go with one another. It's either 1440 x 900 or 1680 x 1050, both of which are widescreen. So I can finally get a third monitor for my MacBook Pro. Ballin'

January 16 2008 at 11:16 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DanielX

opps "link" should have been "like".

January 16 2008 at 10:51 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
DanielX

Oddly Kensington says that you will need one Dual Monitor Adapter per screen you wish to add to your laptop.But at the Displaylink website they show videos of one adapter and using the basic usb functionality of daisy chaining one LCD to the next. Not using more than one connector. If this is true..seems link someone is trying to milk a per monitor dollar out of us.

January 16 2008 at 10:48 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Mike

any idea if this will allow multiple monitors on iMac's now?

January 16 2008 at 9:19 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
3 replies to Mike's comment
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