Dual Screen with the USB 3.0 Dock
With recent rumours of the upcoming Surface branded accessories I thought it would be a good time to check out what else was around. As I was interested mostly in a docking solution I came across the Kensington USB 3.0 Docking Station. This one caught my eye as it was stated to work with the Microsoft Surface Pro.
Included in the box
- USB 3.0 Dock
- USB 3.0 Cable
- Power Plug & Adapter
- DVI to HDMI and DVI to DSUB converters
Specifications
| Chipset | DisplayLink DL-3900 IC (SD3500) |
| Host Interface | USB 3.0 |
| Video Output | HDMI, DVI |
| Audio Port | 3.5mm stereo mini-jack 2.0ch |
| USB Ports | 2 x USB 3.0 (Front) 4 x USB 2.0 (Rear) |
| Ethernet | 10/100/1000Mbps |
| Video Resolution | 2048 x 1152 |
| Power Input | AC 100-240V |
| Power Output | DC 5V/4A |
| Operating Power | 14.43W |
| Standby Power | 1.95W |
| Dimensions | 70mm (W) x 127mm (D) x 195mm (H) |
| Weight | Approx 365g |
Installation
Installing the dock was fairly straight forward. The supplied USB 3.0 cable connected the Surface Pro to the dock. I also installed a Logitech wireless keyboard/mouse combo, some speakers, ethernet cable, microUSB for my phone and a HDMI lead to a Dell U2711 27″ screen. Windows 8 Pro immediately detected the dock and prompted for the installation of the DisplayLink driver. Once the driver was installed, everything worked as expected.
Final Thoughts
A great generic docking solution that would work well with almost any device with USB 3.0 support. It also supports dual 1080p screens which I was unfortunately unable to test. The gigabit network connection is extremely handy when I’m on the LAN and makes the transfer of large files a much better experience. For anyone looking for a desktop experience from their Surface Pro tablet when at home/office, this is a great accessory to help you achieve that. The only negative comment I could make regarding the Kensington USB 3.0 Dock is that you can’t charge the Surface Pro through the dock. This is something I’m sure the Surface dock will do but for those that don’t care, this is certainly a viable alternative.
