The NexDock 2 is a device that looks like a laptop — it has a 13.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 IPS pixel display, a full-sized backlit keyboard, a 51 Wh battery, and quad speakers.

But it doesn’t have its own processor, memory or storage. Instead you can connect it to a smartphone, Raspberry Pi, or other low-power mini PCs.

Basically the NexDock 2 can turn your smartphone into a laptop, or your mini PC into a mobile computing device.

The creators of the NexDock 2 raised nearly $500,000 for the project through a Kickstarter campaign last year. And while they missed the estimated ship date by a few months, the team started delivering laptop docks to customers in December. Now NexDock says all orders placed during the crowdfunding process have been shipped.

That helps set this project apart from some other laptop docks we’ve seen in recent years — the ill-fated Superbook, for example, only shipped to about three quarters of its crowdfunding backers before the company ran out of money, and some customers who did receive one were underwhelmed by the hardware.

So far it looks like the NexDock 2 may actually deliver on its promise — The Register has a fairly positive review that describes the laptop dock as a good solution for turning a Raspberry Pi 4 into a mobile, battery-powered computer with minimal fuss.

Penguin Tutor found that it works with all versions of the Raspberry Pi, and the phone also works with the Samsung Galaxy S8 and other Samsung phones that support the DeX experience, but you can’t use the NexDock’s battery to charge your phone while it’s connected.

It’s also worth noting that you may need to use a jumble of cables to connect the NexDock 2 to your device — it has a USB 3.1 Type-C input and an HDMI 1.4a input and comes with a bunch of cables and adapters that should help you run video and data from your phone and mini PC to the laptop dock.

It also has a USB-C PD charging port, USB 3.0 Type-A and Type-C data ports, a microSDXC card reader, and a 3.5mm audio jack. It comes with a 60 watt USB-C charger.

The NexDock 2 is about the size of cheap 13 inch laptop, measuring 12.4″ x 8.5″ x 0.6″ and weighing about 3.1 pounds. Carrying it around is going to feel a lot like carrying a laptop around… which means you have to at least consider whether this thing provides more value than a cheap Windows laptop or Chromebook.

But if you either like the idea of keeping all your apps and data on one device (your phone), or of turning a Raspberry Pi-like mini PC into a portable notebook, I suppose the NexDock 2 is one of the simpler solutions — and it’s nice to see that despite a delay of a few months, it’s a real thing that mostly seems to deliver on its promise.

Now that all of the Kickstarter rewards have been shipped, NexDock has opened pre-orders to the general public. You can order a NexDock 2 for $259 + shipping and it should ship March 1st.

Note that shipping isn’t cheap — rates seem to vary from around $15 to $65 depending on what country you want to have the NexDock 2 sent to.

via /r/Android and The Register

Support Liliputing

Liliputing's primary sources of revenue are advertising and affiliate links (if you click the "Shop" button at the top of the page and buy something on Amazon, for example, we'll get a small commission).

But there are several ways you can support the site directly even if you're using an ad blocker* and hate online shopping.

Contribute to our Patreon campaign

or...

Contribute via PayPal

* If you are using an ad blocker like uBlock Origin and seeing a pop-up message at the bottom of the screen, we have a guide that may help you disable it.

Subscribe to Liliputing via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 9,547 other subscribers

7 replies on “Crowdfunded NexDock 2 laptop dock for smartphones (or Raspberry Pis) ships to backers”

  1. All of these type of products remind me a few years back when Samsung tried to convince us to buy a $10k TV panel that we would just swap out “control modules” for every few years to get upgraded features and capabilities…..with the same tired screen that was cutting edge a decade ago. No thanks then, no thanks now.

    1. Well, this is a considerably cheaper device that bets on the fact you’ll have a powerful smartphone for the foreseeable future, and that Android 10 introduces native desktop mode for most devices. On the other hand the clunky connection options on this specific device makes me stay away too.

  2. Doesnt go far enough. Dock as open plaform isnt a bad idea, but id like to see like an open mobo standard where any number of processor-coprocessor combos can be linked via, say an insert cartridge. that way you can have combos like cpu, fpu, gpu, npu, fpga, dsp, soc that are application specific, and if mondays u take ur bike want to have 11 inch laptop but tuesdays you drive and wanna take the 17 inch one, you can swap both dock and processor combo in any number of ways. high res, low res, sizes, various cartridge sizes and power profiles….mix and match ecosystem.

  3. It reminds me of the Folio from Palm that – basically – was the same thing. It is a shame Palm never made it; IIRC.

  4. I thought that since I found out about this thing from this site, maybe I should post my video review here too, but I wasn’t sure if anyone was still thinking about the nexdock except the backers.
    Evidently that’s the case, so…here it is.
    https://www.bitchute.com/video/tCXlckYZ9v06
    Making video reviews isn’t something I usually do.

Comments are closed.