While the Surface Pro, with its x86 compatible processor and Windows 8 Pro, is clearly made for businesses, it is not yet an overly comprehensive device when it comes to productivity.
Microsoft clearly had to cut a few corners, and this is a void that other companies are seeing to fill.
The dramatically superior tablet offers remarkable portability making the Surface Pro a perfect companion to a presentation or company meeting, displaying the information on big screens. And this is exactly what DisplayLink has crated — a USB docking station with a plethora of video outputs.
The vice president of sales and marketing at DisplayLink, John Cummins noted:
“Everyone loves the mobility and portability of tablets, however in the office we still long for a full desktop experience so we can be productive.
DisplayLink enabled docking stations and displays are the perfect accompaniment for Microsoft Surface Pro tablet users, enabling mobility when traveling while providing a full desktop experience when back at the office via a single plug-and-display USB cable.
With this level of connectivity and expansion, the tablet is transformed from just another content consumption device to a full content creation and productivity workstation.”
The dock connects to the tablet and gets information via the USB 3 port, and then displays the contents of the screen on monitors and screens hooked up to its HDMI or DisplayPort outputs.
For extra functionality, a Gigabit Ethernet controller finds a place on the dock, as do a pair of additional USB 3 outputs and a couple of USB 2 ports, offering the possibility of adding more peripherals like mice, keyboards, headsets, etc.
No mention of model names, price or availability yet, but this is definitely meant for businesses and IT organizations, so understandably the company may be targeting enterprise users first.
Here’s hoping accessories like this continue making their way to consumers as well.
very nice