Filed under: Accessories, Hardware, Portables
Win a BookEndz Dock for MacBook from Macsimum News
If you failed to win the BookEndz Dock for MacBook that we gave away last month, Macsimum News (MN) is offering you another chance. It's almost April, so they're having a good, old-fashioned Easter Egg Hunt. Several articles on the site will be littered with colorful eggs. Keep track of which eggs appear where between today (Feb. 25) and March 18, then email your findings back to the folks at MN. You can read the full details here.
The BookEndz Dock is a cool product. In our previous review, Mat said, "The MacBook model looks particularly nice with a built-in 5 port powered USB hub and both VGA and DVI connectors...and [makes] moving a MacBook (Pro) between locations with many different peripherals quite easy."
Good luck, everyone.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
PSTMD said 10:04PM on 2-25-2008
Wow. I'm so surprised that you are still commenting so positively about these docks. I bought 2 of them for my office and ended up sending them both back within days of receiving them.
The docks are very big and bulky. They are difficult to plug in and remove. They don't power the mac. You still have to reboot to get the macbook to recognize the external monitor. The build quality is shoddy with cheap plastics and loose connectors.
The speaker connector is particularly cheap. For some reason, Bookendz decided that the speaker connection should connect separately from the rest of the dock. The connector slides in a cheap plastic slot that did not allow the connector to fully engage the speaker jack giving me static and sound out of only one channel.
If these problems had occurred in only one unit, I could chalk it up to a fluke. But 2 supposedly new products had all the same flaws. This product is just cheaply made or overpriced or both.
IMHO, this product is a piece of junk. Save your money and get a USB hub. Alternatively, I bought a Targus Dock (ACP50US) on ebay for $35. Through it, I can connect my firewire backup drive, a keyboard, mouse, iPhone, and my speakers with one USB2 connection. True, it can't power my Macbook, or connect a monitor or a wired network connection through USB, but I'm still getting more solid performance with far less bulk for far less money.
PSTMD
Reply
mabhatter said 3:07AM on 2-26-2008
I agree, this product is an attempt to fill a market void, but not an answer to the business desktop. At my work our IT department gave up desktops and went to all notebooks we can take home or where ever to be on call. The single throw docks that Dell or HP have are beautiful. One lever to connect the notebook in the morning and one motion to take it off at night. All your connections stay ready to go and it saves wear and tear on the built-in ports as well.
I understand Steve's want for "clean lines" on all the products, but most IT departments won't take you seriously unless you have basic accessories. I chalk it up to Steve's NIH issues that HE doesn't think it's important versus what everybody does that says it is important. Also, Apple seems to have a problem with "growing" a system... that they want you to buy it all up front... or not at all... and replace the whole system if you grow beyond it's means. Apple has hit the point where they are big enough they need to address these issues and stop being condescending about it.