Kensington 33244 Notebook Docking Station with USB, Ethernet, and Parallel Ports (PC)

by Kensington

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 13.8 x 4.5 inches ; 1 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BUHB4W
• Item model number: 33244
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Kensington 33244 Notebook Docking Station lets you easily transform your notebook into a desktop workstation. With simple, plug-it-in ease, this portable docking lets you make all your laptop connections at one time using a high-speed USB 2.0 port that allows 40-times-faster transfers than USB 1.1. This six-port unit features a unique wedge design that increases laptop cooling and helps provide a more comfortable work angle, and plug-and-play connectivity for your keyboard, printer, Ethernet network, and USB devices. This system improves your efficiency by including intelligent circuitry that lets you add or remove devices without powering down, while the standard Ethernet port helps you establish reliable Internet connections without annoying dropouts. The Kensington 33244 includes four USB ports, one Ethernet port, and one Parallel port, and is backed by a manufacturer's three-year warranty.

Product Description

Kensington 33244 Notebook Docking Station with USB, Ethernet, and Parallel Ports (PC)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth every penny, April 18, 2007

By 

Michael Meredith "e-Mike" (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kensington 33244 Notebook Docking Station with USB, Ethernet, and Parallel Ports (PC) (Personal Computers)

Docking stations are sweet! With this and my Sony VAIO VGN-N220E/B 15.4" Notebook PC (Intel Pentium D T2060 1.6 GHz Processor, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB Hard Drive, DVD RW Drive, Vista Premium) Black I can have a fair compromise of performance, mobility and convenience.

When I say "worth every penny", I mean that literally. You get what you pay for. You may notice that the price of this unit falls between that of a USB hub and other docking stations that are twice the price. You get what you pay for, and I don't say that to be snide or sarcastic.

So what do you get with the Kensington 33244? You get reliability (always a plus!) and ease of installation (it would be difficult to mess this up). A USB hub won't give you the Ethernet port (to connect to your DSL or cable modem), nor will it give you a parallel port to allow you still use that beloved older printer that's given you consistent service for years.

What doesn't it give? Basically, what separates this from pricier docking stations is the absence of video and sound support. If you want to use an external monitor and speakers, you still have to plug them directly into the notebook ports. That detracts a little from the mobility of things, but then again you're only giving up a little convenience (experienced only when you want to snatch the notebook off your desk and run down to Starbucks where you can appear to be writing the Great American Novel while really chatting with friends via IM). But I CAN still keep my ergonomic Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite keyboard, and I CAN enjoy the VAIO's superior screen resolution in tandem with an external monitor (which extends the desktop!).

Worth every penny? Absolutely! Disappointed? Not in the least!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars It won't work under VISTA, August 25, 2007

By 

Dennis Walter Kirsch (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kensington 33244 Notebook Docking Station with USB, Ethernet, and Parallel Ports (PC) (Personal Computers)

I couldn't use the device as it DOES NOT operate under VISTA, and Kensington does not have a driver available for download. DO NOT ORDER THIS ITEM UNLESS YOU HAVE XP OR LESS.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect addition for a Dell Laptop, May 12, 2007

By 

BBS, Bay Area, CA "BBS" (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kensington 33244 Notebook Docking Station with USB, Ethernet, and Parallel Ports (PC) (Personal Computers)

This docking station is simple to install and makes it very easy to remove a Laptop by just disconnecting two cords, one being the power cord, the other being the USB connection to the docking station. I have two Dell Laptops and like to interchange them occasionally so that I can keep the older one up-to-date in case it is ever needed. The docking station simplifies this procedure enormously. One slight disappointment was that I use a 14 year old DOS financial program that I wrote myself, it has been instrumental in allowing me to be a very successful mutual fund investor and is a program I cannot do without. It can only print through a parallel port since DOS does not recognize USB ports. I thought that the parallel port on the docking station would work but it doesn't. Although the parallel port looks and connects just like a true parallel port, internally it is in fact a Virtual USB port and is not recognized by DOS. Fortunately my DOS program can print to a file and I can then use Notepad or Wordpad to print the file so it turned out not to be a show stopper. Parallel ports are now obsolete it seems and are missing from new Laptops.