ScreenDock

Laptop work tends to sprawl: too few USB ports, a card reader that is never where you left it, and a charging cable that occupies the one port you needed. ScreenDock is a GREEN FUNDING project that proposes a single answer to those small frictions, a docking station that also carries its own display.

A screen beside the screen

The centerpiece is a built-in mini display measuring 10×8cm at 1280×720px. The maker pitches it as a place for information you want in view without cluttering the main screen: calendars, clocks, weather, news, stock data, reference documents, web pages, video or live camera feeds such as a home network or pet camera. It supports both mirroring and extended display modes, so it can duplicate the main screen or act as an independent second display. When idle, the maker suggests it can serve as a digital photo frame.

Power and ports

ScreenDock accepts up to 100W Power Delivery input via USB Type-C. According to the maker, roughly 15W of that is used by the built-in display and circuitry, with the remainder passed to the Host port. With the dock's power cable connected, the laptop needs only one full-featured USB-C cable for charging, data and video. The maker names the MacBook Pro, Dell XPS and Surface Laptop as examples of higher-power machines it is intended to support.

• Built-in 10×8cm, 1280×720px mini display with mirroring and extended modes
• USB Type-C input supporting up to 100W Power Delivery
• Two USB 3.0 ports, up to 5Gbps
• SD and microSD card slots
• 13.7×6.2×9.6cm, approx. 500g; stands upright on its own
• Windows and macOS support, no driver installation required

Compact, portable, driver-free

At 13.7×6.2×9.6cm and about 500g, the unit stands vertically without a separate stand, and the maker positions it as something to carry between office, café and travel. It is described as plug-and-play on Windows and macOS. One caveat the maker spells out: to use the display features, the connected laptop or tablet needs a USB Type-C port that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, which carries video over USB-C.