Jan 8, 2009 9:45 am US/Pacific
D-Link Debuts USB-Powered Monitor
LAS VEGAS (CNET) ―
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The D-Link SideStage is a 7-inch LCD monitor that you can plug into your computer via a USB port. The port then both powered and feed data for the screen to display. Once plugged it, it becomes the extension of the computer's main screen.
D-Link/CNET
It's been a just two days at CES and I am already very tired of Alt-Tabbing and looking at my Dell XPS 1330's little screen and sorely miss my Dell 30" UltraShap LCD at home. Bragging aside, it's really hard to working multiple little windows on a little screen, especially when I need to look at more than one of them at a time.
For this reason, I am psyched run into about D-Link's newest invention: the SideStage.
Basically, it's a 7-inch LCD monitor that you can plug into your computer via a USB port. The port then both powered and feed data for the screen to display. Once plugged it, it becomes the extension of the computer's main screen.
The SideStage features 800 by 480 resolution with both landscape and portrait modes. Weighing only 1.34 pounds and housed in a sleek black frame, it is 7-inches wide, 4.6-inches tall and only .75-inch thick.
The SideStage makes a lot of sense for multitaskers like me. While it's small, it's great to designate certain Windows applications to, such as instant messengers, widgets or even our beloved CNETTV.com home page, leaving the main screen for serious program like Word that I use a lot. It's really perfect for writers on the go and in this case, unlike most cases of displays, its small size actually an advantage.
According to D-Link's representative Les Goldberg, the SideStage is compatible with virtually all CRT and flat panel monitors, has standard and wide screen aspect ratios, 32-bit True Color depth for high-quality images and ultra low power consumption, which is consistent with the D-Link Green initiative.
Unfortunately, the SideStage will not be available right away for me to use during the rest of CES. I'll have to wait till the end of the year when it becomes available, at that time D-Link will also announce how much it'll cost.
If it doesn't cost too much, I am pretty sure I'll be (even) more productive next CES.
Author: Dong Ngo is a CNET editor who covers networking and network storage, and writes about anything else he finds interesting. You can also listen to his podcast at insidecnetlabs.cnet.com.
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