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Lenovo ThinkPad Advanced Mini-Dock - port replicator ( 250410U ) | List Price: $339.75
Discount Price: $129.99
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Brand: Lenovo
Binding: Electronics
Warranty: 1 year warranty
Features: - Left corner alignment for easy system attachment
- Step-by-step LED's and convenient buttons for easy system ejection
- Standard device ports: 4 USB 2.0 ports, 1 PS/2 port for mouse, serial, parallel
- Audio/video ports: Microphone in, headphone out, S/PDIF (digital audio), DVI, VGA
- Communication ports: Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) and modem (RJ-11)
Works as advertized! [Posted on 2008-06-27]
2 years ago I bought this product along with my ThinkPad T60 and it worked perfectly without any issues full desktop experience with my laptop before this I always use to have a desktop + a notebook now just a ThinkPad notebook will do 2 years later I upgraded my ThinkPad from T60 to T61 and the docking still works 100% this is a great solution from Lenovo to us ThinkPad owners, all in all a high quality product that deserves more than 5 stars!
ThinkPad quality, but not without flaws [Posted on 2008-08-20]
I bought this for DVI output. And for that purpose, its perfect. The build is of the same quality as the laptop. The price is a bit high, but this is the cheaper way to do DVI on the T60. The two problems I have with it is heat and mic-in.
I always have my T60 on a laptop cooler that blows air from underneath the laptop. The cooler works really well. Unfortunately, this dock manages to cover up the hottest parts of the laptop. To give you a comparison, my laptop cooler will keep my battery at 34C (not charging). With this dock, the battery is around 42C (not charging and cooler blowing on it). Without the cooler it can only be getting hotter, but considering there hasn't been a recall of any sort, its reasonable to say your laptop is not going to melt, but I still don't like the idea of it running hot.
Another problem I noticed was that the dock's mic-in seemed to be of poor quality. For example, anything you put on the mic-in sounds like the gain has been boosted to where it sounds distorted (almost like you have the mic-gain feature selected, and no that wasn't the problem.) The solution to this problem is to just use the audio out built into the laptop. This takes away a little bit from the ease of docking experience.
Overall, I feel like the DVI (compared to the jittery VGA on my 24" Dell WFP-2705 some weird conflict with this monitor) was well worth it. 4 more USB ports are nice. Can never have enough USB 2.0 ports.
2 external displays under Linux [Posted on 2008-10-28]
I was unsure about this myself, so I am happy to confirm that this product *does* let you use two external monitors under Linux. (You may have to disable the built in display panel to do it, though...I don't think the Intel GMA integrated card can support all 3 at once).
Docking station for Lenovo T61 [Posted on 2008-12-12]
The T61 (wide screen) laptop does not well attach to the docking station.
So you need to be gentele on the whole thing once it's in the docking station. Mechanically speaking - they could have done a much better job.
I needed the docking station to get RS232 and LPT ports, that the T61
on its own lacks. As such this is really really not cost effective solution. The docking station is way too expensive in my opinion and not just for my needs.
So if you are considering this product just for I/O extentions, I would suggest a much cheaper solution in the form of
- LPT: PCMCIA card
- RS232: USB-Serial cable.
Satisfactory, But Could Be Improved [Posted on 2008-12-31]
I bought one of these for my Lenovo T61 four months ago, mostly to add a "real" serial port, which is still widely used in the embedded development field in which I work (USB-to-serial converters add unacceptable overhead to data transfer rates). The serial port works at full speed with true RS-232 levels--no complaint there. Since then I've also appreciated the four extra USB ports, and the convenience of being able to leave all cables still connected to the Mini-Dock when I take my laptop off-site. I've had no mechanical issues, and I dock/undock on almost a daily basis.
However I've had enough OS problems with the undocking process (running WinXP SP3), that I've learned it's less problematic to just Shut Down the T61 before undocking. Also, if you happen to shut off power to the dock while undocking, that will definitely lock up the OS.
Except for the serial port and Ethernet jack, I haven't used any of the other ports (legacy parallel, audio out/mic in, DVI, VGA, modem, PS/2) so can't comment on those. The dock comes with a 90W AC adapter.
It would be nice if the Mini-Dock also included a stand (like the Lenovo ThinkPad Adjustable Notebook Stand, which I have on order); right now I have it propped up on a homemade stand to get a comfortable angle on the T61's keyboard.
Of course the ultimate question is, 'Would I buy it again?'. The answer is yes--I've just ordered another one for home office use.
Click here for more details and discount information...
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