Review: 5 universal docking stations make quick connections

Link your laptop to an office full of peripherals with 1 USB cable.

Contributing Writer, Computerworld |

Whether you're away from the office for an hour, a twenty-four hour period or a calendar week, the final thing you want to do when you become back is bollix with a slew of cables in order to get your notebook connected. A docking station tin brand it a lot quicker and easier to reconnect to your wired network, human-size keyboard and mouse, easy-on-the optics external monitor, printer and other peripherals.

In other words, it's a notebook accessory that says, "Welcome habitation."

While consumers haven't been buying docking stations in cracking numbers, businesses accept embraced them every bit a way to quickly make and intermission notebook connections in the part. Last yr, companies outfitted 63% of laptops with docks, a proportion that has increased from 35% in 2006, co-ordinate to figures from assay firm The NPD Grouping Inc.

Not all docks are created equal, however. Docking stations made for a specific notebook permit you snap the computer securely into place and immediately connect the video to an external monitor, link to peripherals, exchange a Wi-Fi network link for a faster wired connectedness and begin to charge the system'south battery in one step.

Universal docking stations, on the other hand, work as well with a multitude of laptops. Instead of being built for a specific machine to snap into, they connect to your laptop via a single USB cablevision, making them like shooting fish in a barrel to connect and disconnect.

But while most universal docks connect to your network, monitor and peripherals with ease, they don't charge your notebook'southward bombardment, which is their biggest drawback. A less important downside is that USB-based docks tin can't display the entire boot-up procedure, making troubleshooting an errant machine difficult. However, y'all can always just watch the first-up on the notebook's screen if there's an issue.

I recommend getting a dedicated dock if at that place's one made for your notebook -- but it might not be that piece of cake. Many notebooks don't have a dedicated docking station for sale. For example, Dell Inc.'s business concern-oriented Breadth E4300 has a capable dock for $110, while the Inspiron 13, a similar machine aimed at dwelling house users, has no dedicated dock available.

If you can't buy a dedicated dock, a universal dock is a great solution. And information technology does provide one advantage: It can be used with a new notebook if you switch systems.

Some docks lie flat; others stand up
Some docks lie flat; others stand.

Universal docks accept two basic designs: Some stand upward; others lie downward. For instance, products from Kensington, Sakar and Targus are designed to fit underneath the notebook, and some provide a comfortable tilt to the keyboard. Others, like those from Toshiba and Vantec, sit upright alongside the notebook.

Regardless of their shape, they provide connectors for audio, networking and video, plus a bunch of USB ports for connecting everything from a keyboard and mouse to a memory key and DVD bulldoze. Some fifty-fifty accept specialty items like old-school RS-232 serial and PS/2 connection ports, speakers, and fans that can cope with an overheating notebook.

I put five universal docks through their paces by mimicking how businesspeople come and go. I ready each dock to my part infrastructure, including an external monitor and several peripherals, and gave each one a good workout, connecting, disengaging and reconnecting many times. (For details, see "How I tested.")

One affair is for certain: Every notebook deserves a welcoming dock to come home to. Which one you choose depends on how and where you piece of work.