An extra monitor is always a good thing, especially if it works as simply as plugging into a USB port. The 7-inch Mimo monitors did this well enough. If you’d like a little more screen real estate, though, you should really look forward to the Panel, a 13-inch USB monitor designed for portable use.
Having a second display to siphon away your laptop’s already-limited battery juice sounds like a terrible idea, of course. That’s why they gave this monitor its own rechargeable battery. Able to last for up to five hours per charge, it does make having a second monitor on the road appear particularly convenient.
The Panel comes with a LED-backlit display, showing a 1280 x 800 resolution and 400:1 contrast ratio, making it a viable solution for most secondary display needs. Even better, it weighs a light 2.2 lbs and props itself up using a simple kickstand. Not short on functions, it doesn’t limit itself to PCs and Macs either. Armed with a slew of ports – mini-USB, mini-HDMI, VGA, component video, S-video and DVI – it can be used as a display for a whole slew of electronics, including handheld gadgets, such as gaming consoles, digicams and cellphones that output to one of those connections.
We’re not sure how this looks under the sun, but if they have that covered, this could become indispensable for regular on-the-road workers. And people who spend all day playing WOW at Starbucks, of course. No pricing yet, but you can sign up for updates on the manufacturer’s site.
[Medltech via Gizmodo]