Earlier this year I got an early look at a 12.5″ portable display called the Lapscreen that measured just 3.6mm thick at its thinnest point, but 7.9mm at its thickest.

Now an Australian company called Espresso Displays has unveiled a new set of super-slim portable touchscreen monitors that are just 5mm thick when measured at any point.

The only catch? You can’t actually get your hands on one yet — Espresso Displays is running a Kickstarter campaign for its portable monitors, and hopes to begin shipping them in February, 2020.

The displays come in 13.3 inch and 15.6 sizes, feature USB-C and mini HDMI ports, and they’re designed to work with accessories that let you use them at home or on the go.

One of those accessories is a flip case that covers the display when you’re not using it for easy transportation, but which also folds in a way that lets you use the case as a stand for propping up the display at two different angles.

Another accessory is called the MountGo and it’s an adjustable stand that you can set up on a desk. There’s also a Mount Pro VESA adapter.

Espresso Displays says its screens are 1920 x 1080 pixel monitors with glass front panels and anodized aluminum bodies, support for up to 300 nits of brightness, and an 800:1 contrast ratio. They have a 170 degree filed of view and support for 10-point multitouch input. As a stretch goal, Espresso also plans to offer a stylus.

The company says the expected retail price for the 13.3 inch model will be about $320 in US dollars, while the 15.6 inch model will go for about $350. But backers of the crowdfunding campaign can pick them up for around 40-percent off.

One weird thing about the campaign? It shows the same specs for both screen sizes — including weight. Both are said to weigh 690 grams (about 1.5 pounds), which seems… weird. I don’t know which version will have that weight, but I’d be surprised if both models did.

Which brings us to the other thing to keep in mind — this is a crowdfunding campaign. There’s always some risk involved in backing a crowdfunding project. There’s no guarantee that the company will be able to deliver its product on time… and there’s also no guarantee that if and when the screens do ship that they’ll live up to expectations.

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4 replies on “Espresso Displays makes portable monitors that are just 5mm thick (crowdfunding)”

  1. Given the current state of that OTHER crowdfunded portable display (the TAIHE Gemini one), I would be hesitant about this. At least being in based Australia, some of the target market (i.e. English speakers) can theoretically actually do something about it if they get ripped off.
    Maybe the Gemini never actually shipping aside from stacks of dubiously full boxes is why these guys think there’s an opening in the market, but the market is currently 3567 kinds of annoyed.
    In any case, being able to stick it on a VESA mount is neat. If I needed a new monitor I might get this…once it retailed.
    And the logo is cute I guess.

    1. Agreed. There are plenty of similar monitors on Amazon with no risk even if they aren’t as worryingly thin.

    2. Only based on your comment, that sounds more about the typical “backer beware, you’re NOT preordering” anything”. There is no buyer protection because you’re not buying anything. The same goes for this Kickstarter.

      I’m always amused that so many backers never understand what they’re doing works.

    3. I actually got my Gemini. But yeah, it’s not worth getting a crowfunded product when readymade already exist.

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