docks

For over a decade, Apple has been using its own proprietary charging connector for its MacBooks. While it offered safety features no other connector did or does to date, it was also non-standard and incompatible with the not so small number of competing standards already in the market. When Apple finally gave in, it didn’t come without a price. The 2015 MacBook only had one USB-C port for both data and charging and last year’s MacBook Pros threw all ports out, replacing them with two or four Thunderbolt 3 ports. That, however, consequently gave birth to a new market of docks and dongles that aimed to bring back what was lost. One of them is the new Belkin USB-C Express Dock 3.1 HD, which we have taken for a spin to see how it fares against the competition.

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The Nintendo Switch is the ultimate portable gaming console. And no, we don’t mean just a handheld but an honest to goodness console that you can plug up to a larger screen and play from your favorite couch. When you do the latter, though, you temporarily give up that portability. That is why the folks at Hong Kong-based YesOJO Studio though of creating the OJO so that you could take your TV with you anywhere and not even worry about power. All you need is a flat, white wall to project on.

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This week the folks at OWC have a new super-duper-dongle that they call the USB-C Travel Dock for Mac and PC. This device rolls with five ports, extending the abilities of the meager USB-C port well beyond its original, single-ported existence. Of course this device would be nothing if USB-C wasn't able to provide the connections - it's a teamwork sort of situation.

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Google may be working on a smaller Google Home Mini for October 4, but Ninety7 has the fix if you want to cut the cord completely. After the VAUX, a clever battery-powered speaker dock for the Amazon Echo Dot comes LOFT, a way to turn Google Home into a portable assistant. It also has the added benefit of making Google's smart speaker look even more like a little Dalek.

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What is the most diverse accessory for smartphones in the market? If you quickly answered “cases”, you’d be only half right. Though myriad in design, color, and appearance, smartphone cases, by nature, need to fit adhere to form and usability of phones. Docks, on the other hand, have a bit more room, almost literally, to innovate and differentiate, though that usually ends up making the docks more inconvenient at times. Elevation Lab’s new ElevationDock 4, in contrast, took that freedom to create a dock that, while completely functional, is so compact and easy to use that you can undock your iPhone or iPad with just one hand.

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Amazon won't be content until Alexa is within earshot of us all, and iHome wants to give her a place on the nightstand. The iHome iAVS1 Bedside Stereo Speaker System for the Echo Dot is effectively a dumb clock-speaker with a bay for Amazon's smart speaker. Pair the two together, and in theory you've got the ideal addition to bedtime. At $69.99, though - and that's before you've bought the Echo Dot itself - does iHome do enough?

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There is no shortage of smartphone and tablet accessories of all kinds. We power banks and chargers of different wattage and technologies. We have stands and holders of all shapes and sizes. There are, however, only a few that combine these two traits: docks. And those that do are, more often than not, specifically designed for a specific model or OEM to the exclusion of others. Chuwi wants to do away with multiple wall chargers and multiple stands for those with multiple devices and it does so in a rather unique way. Chuwi calls it the Hi-Dock and it’s almost exactly what the doctor ordered. Almost.

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Thunderbolt 3 may be the wunderport of the future, but sometimes it feels like nobody told the peripheral-makers that. While notebooks like the most recent MacBook Pro may have switched entirely to Thunderbolt 3 and the USB Type-C connector, actually finding things to plug into them can be hard going. Enter Belkin's Thunderbolt 3 Express Dock, one of the first to market to take advantage of the connection's 40 Gbps throughput and power/display/data flexibility.

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Yesterday, Intel reveal its big industry push to make Thunderbolt 3 the de facto standard in wired connectivity. It enumerated the benefits of this technology, which is basically a beefed up USB-C connection. One of those is the ability for a single cable to do everything from power to data to display. No where is that going to be more evident than in Elgato's Thunderbolt 3 Dock specifically designed with the new MacBook Pro in mind and finally shipping next month.

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Samsung's DeX is hardly the first attempt at offering a desktop-like interface and experience using a Galaxy S8, a dock, and peripherals. While far from perfect or done, the advantage of hindsight allowed Samsung to deliver a somewhat better experience than, say, Microsoft's equivalent Windows 10 Continuum. Those two share a lot in common in idea and required accessories but apparently they might be sharing more than that. Out of curiosity, Youtube user Gary "gazcart" Carter tried to put his old Lumia 950 into the Samsung DeX. Lo and behold, it actually works like Microsoft's own Continuum Dock.

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A major piece of the Galaxy S8 story has finally fallen into place. On the heels of the announcement of the Galaxy S8, the Galaxy S8+, and their friends, Samsung has finally answered one remaining question: how much will the DeX Station cost. On paper, it might not sound too costly compared to other smart accessories, but, in light of the Galaxy S8's own price tag, it's going to end up costing nearly $1,000 in total. All for a feature that some are considering more of a gimmick than an actual necessity.

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Much of the features of the upcoming Galaxy S8 have already been leaked to death. Some, like the Bixby AI-powered assistant, has even been confirmed by Samsung itself. One feature, however, has mostly remained on the sidelines, the Continuum-like DeX desktop. While details are still scarce, the accessory that will make DeX possible has recently come to light. The DeX Station dock is unlike any smartphone dock you've seen. Because in addition to transforming the Galaxy S8 on a desktop, it also has a fan to keep the smartphone cool.

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