StarTech Launches 'Essential Family' Laptop Docking Station Lineup
StarTech, which makes a plethora of hard-to-find cables and adapters, has announced a new product lineup designed to address the growing needs for universal docking stations for offices with bring-your-own device policies.
StarTech said it recognized that hot-desking is a growing trend in office environments and saw an opportunity to fill a growing gap in the market. The company is launching three new docking stations under the newly created Essential Family lineup, with each one offering different display capabilities.
The USB3VDOCK4DP is designed to interface with 4K displays through the included DisplayPort connector. The USB3VDOCKH features an HDMI port with support for resolutions up to 2560x1440, and the USB3VDOCKD includes a DVI port. The DVI version is limited to a max resolution of 2048x1152.
The rest of the features of the Essential Family laptop dock lineup are shared across all three models. The docks include two rear-mounted USB 3.0 ports and a front mounted port with fast-charge support, gigabit Ethernet, and a front mounted 3.5mm 4-position audio jack with simultaneous headphone and microphone support.
Each docking station includes the USB 3.0 cable to plug it into a computer and the 5V DC power adapter. It also features an integrated security lock so it can be secured to the desk if necessary.
StarTech said the Essential Family docking stations will soon be available at a number of online retailers and that they will be distributed through multiple channels, so you should find them anywhere StarTech products are sold. The DVI version will sell for $134.99. The HDMI version will be a dollar more at $135.99, and the 4K DisplayPort dock will be available for $157.99.
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Kevin Carbotte is a contributing writer for Tom's Hardware who primarily covers VR and AR hardware. He has been writing for us for more than four years.
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koga73 So all of these ports integrate with the laptop via a single USB 3 port?! I'm surprised there is enough bandwidth for all of the external ports.Reply -
kcarbotte Reply17103402 said:So all of these ports integrate with the laptop via a single USB 3 port?! I'm surprised there is enough bandwidth for all of the external ports.
USB3.0 has a surprising amount of potential.
These sort of docks aren't a new concept, but there aren't many out there.
HP sells a universal dock that works the same way though.
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gggplaya Reply17103402 said:So all of these ports integrate with the laptop via a single USB 3 port?! I'm surprised there is enough bandwidth for all of the external ports.
Most people using this will be doing so in an office environment. So keyboard, mouse, and a headset are all that i have at my desk. None of those will equal up to even 1% of USB 3.0 bandwidth.
The monitor is the major bandwidth hog, also an external hard drive could slow things down as well.