Customer Reviews

HP xb4 Notebook Media Docking Station

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

Being deployed to Iraq, you have very little space to yourself. You need to confind everything you brought with you to take up as little space as possible. I bought the XB4 docking station just for this reason. The 2.1 surround sound speakers are best when you are living in a CHU (cilivan housing unit) for a year. Also having a wireless keyboard and mouse lets me be at one place and still point and click. The six 2.0 USB ports can handle everything I got, from my thumb drives to my 1TB external. I highly recommend this product to anyone who is short on space...

SGT James Mosley
Iraq

Length:: 0:24 Mins

I bought this item as the recommended docking station from HP for my dv7t quad edition notebook. It did not work and put my computer in a rebooting infinite loop. Dealing with various departments in HP was the worst (no issues with Amazon). First they claimed that it was not happening...I took a video to prove it. They replaced the model to no avail and claimed that I was still imagining things until I got a couple of people from their own technical support to confer what I, a Computer Engineer for over 25 years, already knew - it was incompatible. I have been complaining about this since the product was 2 weeks old. The replaced it and then strung me along for months to push me past the 90 day refund policy. I have been on the phone with them for over 12 hours on numerous phone calls and they will not refund my money. They only wanted to give me a portion of what a paid for my next purchase with HP. Is that unreal???

This experience has been unbelievable. HP WILL NOT REFUND YOUR MONEY regardless of what their policy says. I am planning to take legal action. This is fraud....beware!!!!

I attached the video of the "non exsisting problem"....same problem with the replacement docking station.

Easy to use, good speakers, decent keyboard and mouse, saves space, and particularly convenient for tablet notebooks.

Main points:

* simple setup and easy to connect/disconnect (though I'm not sure if non-HP laptops have the Quickconnect port)
* allows you to adjust and lock the height and angle of the laptop platform
* clear and powerful speakers, though somewhat lacking in bass range
* the keyboard and mouse are okay, conveniently wireless but otherwise nothing special; they are quite acceptable if you buy this docking station on sale (I got mine under $100)
* 6 built-in USB ports, but the wireless keyboard-and-mouse transmitter take up one port, so you're left with 5 extra ports
* the dock's power button puts your laptop into and out of hibernation
* if you buy a power supply (not included) for the docking station, then you can keep your laptop's power supply ready for travel
* a hidden bay for a HP Personal Media Drive (not included), which let me reclaim deskspace from my previous external drive
* when everything is set up, it looks impressive sitting on your desk

Other notes:

* The drive cover for the hidden bay was difficult for me to take off. I was afraid I was going to break the plastic, but once I finally got it off, the drive in, and the cover back on, I haven't had anything to worry about.
* The touch volume controls on the front of the dock are a little irksome. The mute button is convenient, but the volume up and down controls sometimes lag. I would have loved if HP used a volume knob instead.
* My favorite thing about this dock is how it allows me to use my laptop (HP tx2) to do word processing in portrait orientation. (Previously, portrait orientation was only convenient in tablet mode, which made the laptop's keyboard inaccessible.) Unfortunately, when I'm using my tablet in portrait orientation on this dock, the placement of the Quickconnect port makes it so that the fingerprint reader and orientation button are covered by the dock piece that holds the laptop in place. However I'm still glad for the added versatility this docking station allows me.
* I stuck on felt circles on my dock's rubber feet so that I can slide it around easily across my glass desk. The heaviness of the dock, in my case partially due to the external drive, makes the overall setup feel solid and secure.

Conclusion:

I'm very pleased with this purchase. I highly recommend this docking station, an extra power supply, and a HP Personal Media Drive, especially for other tablet users.

This Docking Station is far more then I expected. The Wireless Keyboard and Mouse are tremendous...if you are looking for a docking station, this is the one for you. I searched for over a year, looking for 'just the right one'...This is it! You won't be sorry...It is truly a 5 star item.

Just bought the xb4 docking station (2 hrs ago) and it's already boxed up to be returned. I own a HP Pavilion dv7-4061nr. While the box states the xb4 is compatible with the dv7, my computer does not have the input for the docking cable. What a disappointment! Was very excited as it looks very useful and exactly what I wanted. To add to the bad experience I called HP technical support and after getting the run-around I gave up and hung up. They don't sell this product at the HP store so they couldn't look up the compatibility list? Go figure that one out.

Although this unit, the HP XB4 docking station, is advertised as compatible with DV7 model laptops, it is not for those without HP Expansion Slot #3.

For those of you who may have already purchased, there is a special USB cable that will let you connect to the XB4 to share the USB ports and an audio cable to allow you to take advantage of the excellent speakers. These connections will not charge your laptop so you will need to have two AC adaptors should you decide to take this path.

Otherwise, a quality constructed product.

I just got this for my b-day from someone off my wishlist. It seems ok. Much better sound then my laptop or monitor, but nothing wall shaking. Took 5 minutes to get working. My one "issue" is that it came with a mouse and keyboard, but it doesn't say that anywhere in the description. I actually ordered one before it arrived, and of course read the reviews after the fact where everyone seemed "delighted" that it also came with a keyboard. BUT...the keyboard is horribly cheap and the mouse is enor-mouse and feels like it's from 1990. One really annoying thing about the keyboard that might not seem like a big deal (until you use it) is that there is no CAPS-lock light on it. (it's way more annoying than you might think) I'm using my blutooth mouse that I got with my laptop, and I might just keep the keyboard that I have ready to be returned.

..otherwise it seems pretty nice.

I have a "DV6" which seems to never be listed anywhere, but the dock works with it if anyone is wondering. (oh, and a power supply would have been nice but I bought one for around $17. It will work with your laptop power supply, but it's a pain depending on how often you'd be moving your computer or where your wall plug is)

The station was ready to use right out of the box. The hook up and adjustments were intuitive. HP also solved the USB hub problem and now I can hook up all of my peripherals at the same time. Excellent product.

I have had 3 units in 1 year and now the warranty period is over. All 3 units eventually had the sound quit working. One unit I received as a replacement was worse than the one it was replacing. Not only did the sound not work but it also made a loud buzzing noise. HP makes a fine laptop but this docking station stinks.

Before buying this docking station I owned a Logitech Alto with no real complaints it functioned as stated but nothing to praise either. At the time this docking solution from HP was [...] while the Alto was only [...] after a rebate. Having just spent [...] on the laptop I could not justify the extra cost but when I got it for Xmas 2009 it was just over [...]. I love this docking station because when I return home all I have to do is connect ONE PLUG. Instead of having to plug in a card reader{for my camera), an external monitor cable(for my 22" 2ms Samsung), a 320GB USB-powered harddrive(for back-up), a 500GB USB-powered harddrive(with all my cds), an ethernet cable, a wireless mouse/keyboard dongle and a power connector, those SEVEN PLUGGGGGGGS stay plugged in and all I have to do is connect ONE PLUG. Fan freakin' tastic!!! Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the powered speakers I don't have to plug in because there is a pair of great sounding speakers built in. My Presario V6000 came with only TWO USB ports and now I have SIX thanks to this base station. The laptops' speakers were barely audible over the sound of my heater and now I can wake my neighbors thanks to this media docking station. I can continue to use my 2.2ghz dualcore, 4gb ram, laptop as a home computer for years to come. Well done HP, well done.
PS. the volume controls(mute, down, and up) on the wireless keyboard come in very handy when watching a DVD from the couch.