What it is
The Lenovo LT1421 Wide Mobile Monitor is a 14-inch LCD that Lenovo has designed to act as a secondary display for use when your notebook just can't get it done. With a hard, protective case, there's a reason the
company branded this device under its ThinkVision line of displays - it really feels like it could take a
beating and keep right on going. There's a built-in hinged stand, and a couple of buttons on the rear that let customers switch through its 16 shades of brightness.
What it isn't
It's not a laptop. It doesn't have any expansion ports on it. There isn't a battery, or any kind of A/C power adapter - you'll be powering this guy solely from your notebook. There is no storage, no ability to read files - it's a display, and only a display.
Build and design
I mentioned earlier that the LT1421 Wide is a Think-branded display, and it is completely deserving of that title. The mobile monitor is very sturdy; it looks and feels like the fabled ThinkPad line; wrapped in its protective plastic case, you can toss this in your bag along with any of your other gadgets without fear of a scratched or broken screen. Doing our own drop tests on an evaluation unit probably wouldn't go over too well at Lenovo's headquarters, but you can likely get away with relatively serious falls without too much trouble.
As part of that ThinkVision line, the LT1421 is black, so if you're a Lenovo company, it'll fit right in with everything else you carry. Even if you're not, it looks pretty great. The styling is conservative, of course, but in an age of gaudy gadgets, that's not such a bad thing.
The unit itself feels surprisingly weighty for a device its size. The display on its own weighs right at 1.9 pounds, which is the figure you'll see quoted in all of Lenovo's
advertising materials. That's slightly disingenuous, however, as
the monitor comes with that solid protective sheet - it weighs almost another half a pound, which brings the total weight up to 2.31 pounds. It's still light, of course, but extra weight is never great.
Key to the stability of the LT1421 Wide is that previously mentioned
plastic cover - it's quite durable. It's also a bit annoying, however, as it can be difficult to pop the display out of the protective jacket. Rubber feet that help to keep the unit stable make it impossible to slide out, so to get it open, you instead bend back the bottom of the unit ever so slightly. When you're finished working, you can
simply slide the monitor back into the top and bottom
tracks of the cover.
Easy peasy.
Lenovo's mobile display also comes with a special two-headed
power cable. One end features a mini-USB output - that part plugs into the display itself, while the other side branches into two full-sized USB ports, each of which plug into USB ports on your laptop. The reason this comes with two displays, and not just one, is that it helps to guarantee that the LT1421 receives a
minimumlevel of power from the notebook; this is increasingly important as you turn the brightness higher and higher.
Why would you want this?
So, we've covered that it's a monitor. And it's mobile. That's all important stuff.
To get an idea of how well the LT1421 really performs, however, I took it on the road, just like a Real Mobile Professional might. I'm actually really glad I did, too - sitting next to all of the bright, shiny monitors in a typical office, the Lenovo display doesn't seem all that impressive. It didn't feel *that* bright, for example, it's a big slow, and its
refresh rate doesn't measure up to
traditional desktop and laptop displays. Take it on the go, however, and it's easy to change your opinion of the unit.
There are times when the limited screen real estate on a notebook simply
isn't up to the task. Netbooks were and are the worst about this; newer laptops might be trending larger, but not by much. The recent spate of ultrabook releases, for example, mostly offered users resolutions of 1366x768 or just a bit more. If you want to work on a
PowerPoint presentation while researching a few company documents, that won't do. Similarly, editing
photos or video (something that this
staff runs into frequently) can be a bit of a hassle.
Before everyone jumps in, many laptops can do all of these tasks pretty well, and many users can do these tasks well on any laptop. That being said, a secondary monitor can be a huge boon to productivity, especially on such small screens - move all your toolbars or PDFs over there, and use the main display for your regular content.
Specifications:
- Panel size: 14 inches
- Aspect ratio: 16:9
- Resolution: 1366x768
- Pixel density: 111.9 pixels per inch
- Maximum brightness: 200 cd/m^2
- Maximum contrast ratio: 400:1
- Horizontal viewing angle: 90 degrees
- Vertical viewing angle: 50 degrees
- Response time: 8ms
- Panel type: TN
- Backlight: WLED
- Dimensions: 21.5 x 217.9 x 335 mm (DxHxW)
- Weight without cover: 1.91 pounds
- Weight with cover: 2.31 pounds
Lenovo is currently selling the LT1421 Wide Mobile Monitor at a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $199.99.
Performance
The monitor itself offers a rated 400:1 contrast ratio, and up to 200 nits of brightness. That means that even at the highest setting, it's not the brightest thing in the world; unless you're in a dim or dark room, chances are good you'll want to turn the LT1421 up to its maximum level. Once it's there, however, it manages to fare pretty well against bright office settings.
I used it in my hotel room this week, which had a set of floor-to-ceiling windows looking out over a snowy wonderland - all that reflected light lit the room brightly, and the LT1421 was still visible. Surprisingly, I was able to get the same performance from the monitor regardless of whether I plugged in one USB plug or the pair. One carries both the data and power requirements for the display, while the second carries just the auxiliary power - obviously, the former must be plugged into the notebook, while the second is optional.
For computers with multiple USB ports, and multiple peripherals pulling power from the same bus, it's likely that you'll need to plug in two units. Lenovo doesn't mention this, but it seems probable that for owners who need to plug in both plugs, but are out of ports, you could use a USB wall charger to supply the extra power. I tried this out just to see if it would work, and the monitorsuffered no ill effects.
Lenovo's biggest problem with the mobile monitor is the display's anemic viewing angles. Most TN-based panels have 160º or 170º viewing angles for both horizontal and vertical views. The LT1421, however, can't quite meet those lofty goals - it offers only 90º horizontal viewing angles, and only 50º of vertical viewing angles. These limitations quickly become apparent when you sit down and move your head slightly out of alignment with the limited 'sweet spot'. As a result, the LT1421 has only limited use in situations where a group would be viewing it, like in presentations and such. You'll want to keep this guy strictly for yourself.
Similarly, the display doesn't offer serious color fidelity. Everything is mostly crisp and clear, but if you'll be doing color-critical work such as media editing or design, you'll want to keep those applications on the better notebook display - if applicable - and leave the Lenovo for the toolbars and other such ancillary needs.
The monitor works best when display static content - toolbars, text-heavy websites, emails and other long form content such as writing or reading. It falls down a bit when it comes to moving content, though. You'll notice some tearing when rapidly moving your cursor around, and when scrolling through websites you'll see the screen flash and jump. Likewise, some video works great with the monitor - lower resolution YouTube videos are fine, as long as you don't fullscreen the embeds.
Conclusion
Lenovo's LT1421 Wide Mobile Monitor ended up being a lot better than I originally suspected it would be. Editing photos on the road from CES was made easier by the extra space for Photoshop; the monitor also came in handy for scanning press releases for supplemental information to add to our hands on coverage. It'll be equally helpful for anyone whose job demands a similarly mobile working environment.
It isn't perfect, however, and there are a few things we'd like to see Lenovo add. Toshiba offers a similar mobile monitor, but includes an A/C adapter to add a bit of backlight boost. It doesn't need the adapter; it's merely a nice bonus when you in area with sufficient power outlets. Slideshow functionality would also be handy - just plug in a USB cord for power, and an SD card slot. You could bring up your PowerPoint presentations without ever having to boot up your notebook, a welcome feature for customers who can't afford expensive flash storage.
For road warriors who find that their notebook just isn't enough, the Lenovo LT1421 Wide Mobile Monitor is a viable option that could help them do more in less time. For everyone else, however, it's probably worth waiting for the USB 3.0 models.
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