Customer Reviews

Kensington 60148 USB 2.0 Universal Laptop Docking Station (PC/Mac)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I took a chance on purchasing this item because it says it's for 16" and smaller laptops. I was plesantly surprised to find out that my laptop with it's 17" widescreen fit remarkably well. It fit so well that it even left my built in speakers open as well as my power button. It does tend to wobble a little bit but I expected as much with the size of my laptop. The USB ports for the built in hub are easy to access and the cord tucks away easily within the base. This stand helped me to clear space on my desktop that I badly needed. My overall opinion is it is a great product and well worth the money.

I recently bought a 17" widescreen notebook to replace my desktop. I really like this product for use when I'm not taking the notebook to the family room or deck. The USB ports are excellent for one quick connection to my printer, digital camera cord, etc. The notebook kind of dwarfs it, but still feels stable. It's actually nice that the computer sticks out on the sides, as it doesn't block my speakers.

This stations plugs in to an outlet, but since my USB items all have their own power cords or don't have any power, there seems to be no need for that function at this time. If I had something that charged through a USB port, that function would be awesome for saving space in the surge protector.

Overall, I'm very happy with it!

I have a large notebook, with a 16 inch screen and it still fits into this holder. Only problems for some notebookes could be that the cover might hide the on off switch and also internal speakers. The later happens in my case, but I have external speakers so it makes no difference. It is not particularly easy to adjust the height with the notebook inside. But, aagin this is not a major problem.
The USB 2 ports work well. If you are looking for a way to raise the height of your notebook screen and gain USB ports, this is a good solution.

To the reviewer below who states:

"Great idea in theory. In practice if you pull your laptop in and out a lot the design breaks keys on the keyboard.

Also, Any of the stands which hold your laptop at an angle run the risk of damaging your CD/DVD. Buried on Apples site it says, "Be aware that the drive should only operate horizontally, and it may be noisier if you try to use it at an angle. Any damage sustained to the drive or the media as a result of operating it at an angle is not covered by warranty." http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=88275"


Maybe Aple laptops can't be titled which is unfortunate. In fact, DELLS WEBSITE offers this at the time you purchase your laptop. It it basically designed for Inspirons and the fact Dell offers it for sale with their Inspirons gives me enough comfort to know that it will be fine for my laptop. They also make the port replicator to go along with this. If you freak out about the fact it is at a tilt, just adjust the thing so that is horizontal.

It is a great space saver and enables you to avoid purchasing a separate LCD screen. And as far as it breaking your keys on the keyboard if you pull it in and out alot?!?!?! I'm not sure about that. However it seems to be with a little care (which should accompany laptops anyways) this can be avoided.

Our school system had just converted to laptops for administrators. After a couple of weeks of looking down at the screen, the neck begins to get a little achey, so I began to look for docking stations. The Kensington had good reviews so I gave it a try. Excellent!!! My laptop, 15" screen, now sits level with my eyes. It's got USB ports so I attached a wireless keyboard setup which stays hooked up. The laptop slides out easily when I have to go to a meeting. I come back, slip my laptop into the station, hook up the single usb connection and voila! I now have a desktop.
Cons: If you have any connectors in the front of your laptop, you will not be able to connect to them.

Although I don't see this as a real "space saver," I love this laptop stand. I had been using a wireless keyboard and mouse for a while, and buying this stand just made sense. I really like having the screen raised up so that I'm not looking down at the screen anymore. It's also nice to use the USB ports on the stand so I don't have to mess with a lot of wires when I need to take my laptop out of the stand. I keep my iPod and bluetooth thingy plugged into the stand now, and when I get a printer it will also stay plugged into the stand. I also love the document holder. I'm a student, and I love being able to clip research sources or assignment sheets so that I have them right in front of me while I'm working. Be careful clipping things up there though; if you push on the clip too hard, you may end up pressing keys on the laptop's keyboard. The only thing I was really annoyed by was the fact that the stand needs to be plugged in in order for the USB ports to work. I guess this makes a lot of sense after I gave it some thought, but I was not expecting to have to search for an open outlet. Overall, I'm very happy with this stand. I just wish it were more of a "space saver," and I wish the plug were less bulky so it could fit in a power strip better.

I bought one of these units for my wife while she was recovering from foot surgery and she was able to work at home with her bosses' and HR's approvals. I noticed she was slumping badly while working on the laptop's keyboard with her foot up, so I started looking for "something" to help her out. I was thinking about a wireless keyboard when I tripped over this unit on Amazon. It looked like a good idea and for $56 bucks, I figured, "What the heck - why not try one?" and ordered one. When it arrived I was totally blown away by the simple design and the clear thinking that went into it. I work in technology and my employer spends $400-$500 for docking stations and external displays. This item takes the place of all that pricey equipment PLUS it's also portable with a little build-in handle, but why bother to carry it around when it's this inexpensive (notice I did not say cheap!), just buy two of them? I have since bought a second one for OUR personal Toshiba laptop and have shown it to both our daughters. Looks like a GOOD Christmas present for them. I've worked in technology for over 30 years and don't usually get this excited about a piece of computer equipment, but this is DEFINATELY worth the money!! Make sure to buy an external USB mouse and keyboard! It does not have PS2 (round) connectors.

If you don't want to spend a fortune on a docking port for your laptop and/or want your laptop monitor to sit at a reasonable height off you desk then you should be considering the Kensington Laptop Desktop USB 2.0 Universal Docking Station. It is stylish, has a convenient document holder and the powered USB hub is great. Now here comes the "but" part. The lock mechanism that sets the angel or height of the monitor has an extremely limited number of positions with the highest being around 35ish degrees. As a result, by the time you have placed you laptop in the cradle and set a keyboard in front at a comfortable distance the monitor will be almost an arms length away. Additionally, if you plan to use it for a laptop that is deeper than the 9 inches the unit is designed for every additional inch pushes the monitor further away and higher into the air making viewing distance and height above the desk possible strains on both eyes and neck. I use my laptop as my second monitor and the laptop/dock sit on a shorter table next to my desk so the height is not an issue for me but others may not have the same flexability.

A lot cheaper than model-specific docking stations, and 'does what it says on the tin'. Quite stylish too, as docking stations go.

I have a 17 inch Inspiron 9300 and it fits perfectly fine in the dock. I love that it comes with a usb 2 hub for connecting all of your devices.