Toshiba Mobile USB Monitor 14in review

If last month’s GeChic On-Lap 1301 took an unusual approach to the USB monitor, this offering from Toshiba looks a much more sensible alternative. The uninspiringly named Mobile USB Monitor has a 14in 1,366 x 768 display in a portable frame that’s light, neatly designed and easy to move around.

It weighs 1.29kg, and comes in a leather case that wraps around it for carrying, and unfolds to form a stand when in use. Rather than anything too elaborate, it simply uses a Velcro-clasped flap of the case to keep the foot of the screen in place, and a loop in the leather at the rear is perfect for threading through the cable.

And it only requires one: it’s powered entirely by USB, and the bundled cable has two connectors at one end to plug into two ports on your laptop or PC. It isn’t USB 3 yet, but at this resolution and with the maturity of today’s DisplayLink drivers that isn't an issue. We played 720p YouTube video full-screen without a hitch.

The screen itself won’t win any quality awards, but by general laptop standards it’s perfectly usable. It only has two brightness settings, and even the brighter one measured at a mere 112cd/m² on our colorimeter, but with a decent 6,333K colour temperature and reasonable colour accuracy it’s fine for an extra email or Twitter display. Viewing angles are a bit iffy, but unlike the wobbly GeChic this screen won’t move about with your laptop, so it’s easy to find a good position.

Once folded up it fits neatly next to a laptop in a bag, and when open it can be swivelled around to face any direction you like – in a far less clumsy manner than the hinging, suction-padded GeChic. So while the price for all of these USB monitors remains higher than we’d like – the Toshiba costs £139 and the GeChic £121 – if we were to delve into this niche market the Toshiba is the one we’d go for.

Author: David Bayon