This post brought to you by Lenovo. All opinions are 100% mine.

Is it possible to have a computer monitor that is too large? I think not! More is always better when it comes to screen real estate. But adding a 2nd monitor to your desktop or your laptop setup can be a hassle because they require a power cable and a video cable, not to mention that they are usually heavy and bulky. The Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 14″ LCD monitor with Plastic Cover solves both of these problems beautifully. You can even carry it with you in your gear bag because it’s so portable.

Note: Click the images in this review to see a larger view.

I’m familiar with Lenovo’s high quality products as that is the brand of laptops, desktops and workstations that we use at my day job (Cummins Inc.). The ThinkVision LT1421 is a 14″ widescreen LCD monitor that is considerably different than other LCD monitors that I’ve used because it has been designed with extreme portability in mind. It almost looks like a tablet computer doesn’t it?

It comes with a plastic cover that snaps on the front to protect the display when you’re carrying it with you, and doubles as a tray for the adjustable stand built into the back of the monitor.

Together, the monitor and the cover only weigh 2.25 lbs, so it is very portable.

On the back of the monitor, you’ll find a Kensington lock slot, and a brightness adjustment button for 16 level brightness. The only connector is a USB 2.0 connection on the left side of the display when you’re facing it. That’s right, the LT1421 does not have a video cable connector or even a power cord connector. Both video and power use a simple USB cable.

This monitor lacks a VESA mount, so it’s designed just for use on a flat surface instead of mounting to a wall or a specialized bracket.

Notice the Red strip at the bottom center? That’s the foot of the adjustable stand.

The monitor can be used with or without the plastic cover, but it’s nice to have a place to put it when it’s not protecting the display.

The inside of the cover has slots that match up with the stand to provide a 12 degree – 40 degree adjustable viewing angle.

Connecting the LT1421 to your desktop or laptop is easy. Using the included USB Y cable, you can connect one end to the monitor and one (or 2) of the other ends into 1 or 2 USB ports on your computer.   I tested the monitor with my 27″ iMac, which only required one USB connection, but if you use this monitor with a laptop, it will most likely require that you plugin both cables. It’s also important to note that the LT1421 can draw as much as 5 watts of power, which may be a significant drain on your laptop’s battery.

The Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 isn’t exactly plug and play. It comes with a driver CD that has to be installed first. I was a bit worried when I found out that the CD contains Windows XP, Vista and 7 drivers, but does not include Mac OS X drivers. Luckily I found that Mac drivers can be downloaded easily from DisplayLink, who is the manufacturer of the controller.

Once installed, you will see both displays and can arrange them and set the Lenovo to be a mirror of the desktop or as an extended desktop. I use mine as extended so I can put my iMessages app and Dropcam live viewer on it.

I have the LT1421 on the left side of my iMac. If I decide to move it to the right side, I can go into the settings and move the smaller box to the right side.

At first I didn’t realize that it made a difference if I had the smaller box at the top, center (as in the image above) or on the bottom, until I tried to move my mouse from the edge the iMac’s display into the LT1421′s display and it kept stopping at the edge. Setting as you see above allows me to move my mouse to the center edge of the iMac’s display so it will go “into” the Lenovo’s display.

The Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 14″ LCD monitor has a max resolution of 1366 x 768. It has an anti-glare matte surface, good colors and decent brightness. I tend to have it set the to max brightness level which you see here. It’s not as vibrant as my iMac’s display, but it’s perfect for what I use it for. I’ve also been impressed with the viewing angle as I can read text on the display even when I’m at a right angle to it.

I think the Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 14″ LCD monitor makes an handy companion for desktop and laptop computers. It’s especially convenient for the mobile warrior for presentations and other uses.

You can get a 10% discount on the Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 14″ LCD monitor with Plastic Cover when ordered online using:

CODE: LENOVOMOMS (if you have a mom blog) or LENOVOTECHIES (if your blog is tech related).

Discount codes are valid 3/1/12 – 3/31/12 for part number 1452DS6

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: LCD, monitor, USB

Lenovo ThinkVision LT1421 14″ LCD monitor with Plastic Cover Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 19, 2012 at 2:13 pm.

Remember the Boogie Board LCD drawing tablet from Improv Electronics that I reviewed over a year ago? They’re finally coming out with a version that has a SAVE feature. The new Boogie Board Rip (Record Image Preserve) will have a save button that will capture your drawing and then allow you to upload it to your computer via a micro USB connection. There’s no word on how many images the device can store before uploading and there’s no definite pricing info available except that it will be over $100 and won’t be on the market till November. Hmmm, I don’t know about you, but when we get to that high of a price point, the device no longer seems quite as appealing. Is it just me?

[Via Engadget]

Filed in categories: Miscellaneous, News

Tagged: Drawing, LCD

Boogie Board Rip – Same cool drawing pad, but now with save feature originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 1, 2011 at 3:43 pm.

I had my Dad over for a Father’s Day visit this past weekend and while he was here, he wanted me to show him how to look up stock information on the web. I loaded up Google’s financial page on my Macbook Pro and showed him how to use it while we were sitting on the couch. I had to cringe several times when he touched the MBP’s display to point something out to me. Dad, I love you, but quit touching my screen! That drives me bonkers. Luckily for me, I had recently been sent the Moshi TeraGlove Microfiber LCD Cleaning Kit and was able to clean the smudges his fingers left behind.

The cleaning kit consists of a microfiber pad and a small spray bottle. The microfiber pad is made with Moshi’s special Terahedron™ microfiber and is designed to remove dust, stains, and fingerprint smears from any display. The best part is that there are no special chemicals involved with the cleaning process. You fill the included spray bottle with regular old tap water.

To clean a screen, you just spray some water on the pad (NEVER spray it on your LCD), stick it over your hand and start wiping.

I tested the TeraGlove on my Macbook Pro’s glossy display, my 27″ iMac’s glossy display and a non-glossy Dell laptop LCD.

Check out the dust after just one wipe of my MBP’s display, which didn’t even look dirty (other than a smudge from my Dad’s finger).

You can turn the TeraGlove inside out to wipe off excess water with the Grey suede part of the pad. I didn’t find this to be necessary when I cleaned the three displays mentioned above. It took almost no effort to clean the screens. Just a few swipes of the moistened pad and all the smudges magically disappeared.

FYI – The TeraGlove is machine washable.

You might be able to find similar microfiber cloths for a better price, but some of the cloths I’ve seen are not as fine and dense as the TeraGlove. I also like that the TeraGlove is slightly padded feeling. It helps to prevent you from pressing too hard on your LCD.

All in all, two thumbs up from me!

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Laptops and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: Cleaning, LCD

Moshi TeraGlove Microfiber LCD Cleaning Kit Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 23, 2010 at 5:43 pm.

A month ago Jackie sent me an email with the subject line of “Interesting Product” and a link to the Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet from Improv Electronics. It looked interesting to me too, so I posted a quick news blurb about it and kept waiting for it to come in stock so that I could buy one to try it for myself. I got lucky a few weeks ago and was able to order one through Amazon. I’ve been playing with it the last few days and here are my thoughts.

Package Contents

Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet
Stainless steel telescoping stylus
Cleaning cloth
User guide

The Boogie Board is a 8.75 x 5.5 inch thin plastic slate that will remind us 40 somethings of the Magic Slates from our childhood. Remember the waxy black cardboard tablets with a thin layer of grey plastic that you would draw on with a plastic stylus? When you wanted to make a new drawing, you would just lift the plastic to erase the ‘screen’. The Boogie Board has taken that concept and modernized it.

The Boogie Board tablet does not need an on or off button because it does not require any power to continue displaying what has been written on the LCD. In that way, it is similar to e-ink ebook readers like the Kindle and Nook. According to an article in the March 2010 article of Popular Science:

The Boogie Board sandwiches trillions of liquid crystals—tiny modules that arrange themselves in spirals—between two sheets. At rest, the screen appears dark because the spirals lie in a way that lets outside light pass through to the black plastic below. But direct pressure causes the spirals to stand upright. Light then bounces off them, naturally creating a bright Whitish color, no energy-hogging light needed. The image stays put without power, unlike a traditional LCD, because polymers mixed in with the liquid crystals help keep them in place. To erase, you press a button that sends a charge between the plastic sheets (which are coated with conductive film) and re-scatters the spirals.

It’s always ready for you to write or draw on it. Just take the included stylus and write on it the way you would with a pen and paper. Since the board does not have a spongy surface, it feels surprisingly similar to writing on paper. It almost feels magical the way the ‘ink’ flows out of the stylus on to the screen. I know that sounds crazy, but it sort of feels that way. Like you’re writing with a super smooth magic marker.

When you want to clear the board for a new drawing, you press the Erase button at the top. The board flashes (like a Kindle) and then turns Black again, ready for new notes and scribbles that will stay there till you press the Erase button again.

The Boogie Board does not have a back light and unlike the images shown on Boogie Board’s own site, the ink is not neon Green. As you can see (click on the images for a larger view), it’s more of a light Grey.  You won’t be able to read the board in the dark, but you’ll have no problem viewing it in a normally lit room.

Writing and drawing on the table is a lot of fun. I found myself doodling like I haven’t done in years. But that’s where the bummer comes in… you can’t save anything that you write or draw on the board. I guess you could take a picture of it with a camera, but that isn’t too convenient.

Another bummer is that the battery that powers the Boogie Board is not user replaceable. Once it’s depleated, the board is useless. According to the Boogie Board site, that’s around 50,000 erase cycles.

Other than the fact that this product has a somewhat limited lifespan, the only other complain I have is that there isn’t a clip or tether for the the stylus.

I hope there will be a version 2.0 of the Boogie Board that somehow allows image saving and maybe even other ink colors. But until then, this is a fun little product that I’ve enjoyed testing and using.

Update 9/13/10

There are now a few accessories available for the Boogie Board:

The Magnet and Stylus Clip set pictured on the left includes a few magnets that you can stick on the back of the Boogie Board so that you can slap it on your fridge or file cabinet. Also included is plastic clip that holds the stylus. $2.97

There’s also a neoprene sleeve that has a sewn in stylus holder. $9.95

Both of these items are available on Amazon.

Filed in categories: Miscellaneous, Reviews

Tagged: Drawing, LCD, Tablet

Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 28, 2010 at 5:05 pm.

Did you have a Magic Slate as a kid? It’s a thin cardboard pad with a dark rubber-like bottom layer and a thin sheet of opaque plastic on top. You could draw on it with a stylus, creating dark lines. Then to start over, you would peel up the plastic, lay it back down and your canvas would be cleared. Definitely NOT a high tech tablet/drawing tool. Enter the The Boogie Board LCD Writing Tablet. It’s an electronic alternative to paper, pencils, and pens. Like the Magic Slate, you can draw on it with a stylus or your finger. But to clear the screen, you just press a button. They are available for $29.97 at Amazon.

Filed in categories: Miscellaneous, News

Tagged: Drawing, LCD, Spotlight Gadgets

Magic Slates for the 21st Century originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on February 4, 2010 at 11:49 am.

Do you have multiple LCDs connected to your desktop or laptop computer. Would you trade them for this 41 inch wide monster from Ostendo? The CRVD has a 43 inch diagonal curved display with a maximum resolution of 2880 x 900. It’s actually a projection monitor that uses DLP technology. It has DVI and HDMI inputs and a hefty price tag of around $8000. That is, if it ever comes to market. I can’t seem to find any online stores selling this beast.

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear

Tagged: LCD, Spotlight Gadgets

Multiple LCDs or one ginormous one? originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 7, 2009 at 12:36 pm.

TRITTON Technologies enables PC and Mac users the opportunity to enhance their computer capabilities by adding up to six VGA displays with the help of the See2 UV150 and See2 Xtreme external VGA video cards. The See2 UV150 can add a second VGA display to computers at $49.99. The See2 Xtreme USB to DVI external video card, priced at $79.99, can add up to six displays to a computer. Now available at any local Best Buy or BestBuy.com.

Filed in categories: Desktop Computer Gear, Laptops and Gear

Tagged: LCD, monitor, Spotlight Gadgets

Create a 6 headed monster – Tritton See2 Xtreme originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on August 17, 2009 at 5:07 pm.

The LogicBUY deal of the day is a coupon for $550 off a Sony BRAVIA V-series KDL-40V4100 40-inch HD 1080p LCD TV on sale for $1,299 – $550 off coupon code = $749 plus FREE shipping. Deal ends 7/3 or after 650 redemptions.

Filed in categories: Uncategorized

Tagged: Gear Diary, LCD, Sony

Deal of the Day – $550 off Coupon 40″ Sony Bravia KDL-40V4100 originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on July 1, 2009 at 1:11 pm.

This looks like a neat addition to a gadgeteer’s desktop… It’s the Mimo Mini 7 inch LCD monitor that attaches to your computer via USB. The max resolution is 800 x 480 and it can even rotate. It can be used as a separate display for your IM client, widgets, etc. The price might be prohibitive though at $129.99. It’s available at ThinkGeek. Would you use something like this? I used to have a second display connected to my iMac and used it exclusively for my Adium chat sessions.

Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, Desktop Computer Gear

Tagged: LCD, USB

Attach a mini LCD to your computer via USB originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 24, 2009 at 10:53 am.