Capsule Review: GeChic's On-Lap 1301 Laptop Monitor
by Dustin Sklavos on January 19, 2012 2:16 AM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- Peripherals
- LCD
- gechic
Conclusion
What we have with the GeChic On-Lap 1301 is a good idea unfortunately marred by some serious drawbacks. As a multi-monitor aficionado (my desktop sports three 24” 1920x1200 displays and I find them to be more practical than a single large display), I’ve frequently found myself wishing for a second screen when I’ve been on the go with my ThinkPad X100e. Be it screenwriting or article work, I always have at least a second document or window I want to have open and I like the order that comes with having Windows see two discrete displays. If you’re at all like me, the On-Lap is going to be a very compelling product.
Where GeChic fouls things up a bit actually isn’t with the mounting system, which is surprisingly firm (the suction cups are big and well-made, and I found even just two on the back of my ThinkPad was enough to support the On-Lap’s weight), but with how unprotected the screen itself is and the way cables are routed. The USB cable feels like it’s a bit too short, essentially forcing you to plug the screen in on the right side or rear of the notebook. That’s not a huge drawback but I can see it causing problems depending on what your laptop’s port placement is like. And while having that thin cable coming out of the side is helpful, running the monitor cables out of the bottom is not. The green rubber standing blocks are lousy, leaving the monitor tilted back at least 45 degrees no matter how you place them, and with the video cable coming out of the bottom it winds up not even mattering since the screen is going to be bumped up regardless. You can try to stand the screen vertically (resulting in a 768x1366 effective resolution), but even then it’s off-center due to the notch for the hinge being off-center. All this, and there isn’t included any kind of protective sleeve for the screen to travel in.
This is a potentially useful product that needs a revision. The screen needs to basically be facing the lid of the notebook and then slide out on a railed hinge similar to what Lenovo used on their dual-screen W-series notebooks. Display cables should also come out of the side instead of the bottom. I understand this design would prevent the On-Lap from being used as a display that faces outward for presentations, but the horrible viewing angles of the TN panel coupled with middling brightness honestly prevent that from being a realistic usage scenario anyhow. Finally, I’d like a built-in stand instead of the terrible green blocks so that users who don’t want to mount it can still use the display without too much hassle. The screen is so light even a basic swing hinge made of cheap plastic on the back should be more than adequate.
There are good ideas here. Honestly I don’t find fault with the mediocre display quality or low brightness simply because the On-Lap is portable and powered off of USB; you can forgive a lot when it’s this easy to add a second screen to your laptop. GeChic has a strong first try here, and there’s nothing else out there quite like it; the closest competitor is a 14” DisplayLink monitor from Toshiba, but that monitor can’t be mounted to your notebook, can’t use your notebook’s internal graphics (and thus doesn’t benefit from them), and will draw more power. At $199 MSRP the GeChic On-Lap 1301 is a reasonable investment if you have a need for a portable second screen, but I’d personally like to see a revision come down the pipe before going investing.
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Lonyo - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
I know it's only a short product review, but unless I'm blind... you don't seem to have stated the resolution anywhere.Lonyo - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
My bad, it's there hidden in the conclusion stated when mentioning standing the screen vertically.mfenn - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
Still a lot more hidden than it should be IMHO.Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
I'll cop to it, I was kind of feeling the review out and should've been more direct.Out of curiosity is there much interest in more of these bite-sized reviews of peripherals and accessories provided I can polish the presentation a bit more?
Kristian Vättö - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
I think we should definitely do more accessory reviews, as long as it doesn't include iPhone case reviews :-D A long article isn't always needed so in this case, I would say quantity over "quality" (quality being the length of the article, not the quality of the content).nomster - Sunday, January 22, 2012 - link
Maybe best to leave quantity meaning quantity and quality meaning quality?Otherwise by saying you prefer quality over quantity, you're actually saying you prefer quantity over quality
er...
anishannayya - Monday, January 23, 2012 - link
For the feature products, you guys should continue the always great reviews. Even if it means having to delay it for a while. I might try and read the poorly reviewed competition first, but I'll ALWAYS read the Anandtech version when it come out.For small things like this, keep cranking out these shorter reviews. Something is always better than nothing, and now I'm potentinally interested in a product that I didn't now existed.
Waiting for a revision too. I just wish Lenovo still made their awesome dual screen laptops.
retrospooty - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
A great idea... but, 1366x768. I'll pass. That res must die.IcePhase - Friday, January 20, 2012 - link
Same, but it wont with W8 as it's the minimum resolution.I would have preferred it if they made the minimum 1280x720 though, that makes a bit more sense as that's already a standard for video. 1366 just creates stretching problems.
Dustin Sklavos - Saturday, January 21, 2012 - link
It's a 13.3" screen, the resolution for it is actually fine. Also remember this is being powered entirely off a single USB 2.0 port; raise the resolution or screen quality and you run the risk of needing too much power.