Capsule Review: GeChic's On-Lap 1302 Laptop Monitor
by Dustin Sklavos on April 15, 2012 12:00 AM ESTPerformance and Screen Quality
What GeChic hasn't changed is the panel used in the On-Lap 1302; both the 1301 and 1302 list the same panel model, which is detected as "MTC6655." Once again we have a 13.3", 1366x768 TN panel that they again rate for 200 nits and 500:1 contrast. For the most part GeChic is honest about the remaining specifications, though, listing very limited viewing angles and 262,000 colors.
I measured that the 1302's backlight does seem to have improved on the 1301, interestingly enough. Where the 1301 at maximum brightness only rated 142 nits, the 1302 goes up to 186 nits. The flipside is that the increase in backlight intensity has resulted in a corresponding increase in black levels; the 1301's black level was measured at 0.7 nits while the 1302's measures at 1.19 nits. Our net result is a marginal improvement in contrast, going up to a still middling 156:1 and well short of the 500:1 contrast quoted.
Color gamut and delta-E remain essentially unchanged, which is expected given it's the same panel used in the 1301 and near identical backlighting.
Given the increased backlight intensity, it stands to reason the GeChic On-Lap 1302 might also be a bigger strain on the battery. Since I didn't have the Acer TravelMate I used in the previous review on hand anymore, I opted to test it with the HP Folio 13 I have in house. In our internet usage test, the Folio 13 lasts for 425 minutes before going into hibernation. With the On-Lap 1302 connected, set to its maximum brightness (its default), and configured to mirror the Folio 13's internal display, the Folio 13's running time was reduced to just 236 minutes. That's still a cut under four hours, and you can definitely eke more battery life out of the 1302 by reducing the brightness.
It's pretty clear the increased default brightness of the 1302 can take its toll on running time, but given the otherwise identical configuration, you should be able to adjust it to the point where the hit is more manageable. Still, we're talking about driving an entire second display off of the notebook's battery when the internal display was already one of the biggest power hogs in the system.
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pensive69 - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
i like the idea of having something system connected in each room that is minimal and 'on'.Samus - Monday, April 16, 2012 - link
thats the dumbest thing i've ever heard. last thing we need is another battery in our mobile devices.i use a doublesight 9" usb screen that runs off a single USB port and works great. It's only 1024x800, but being 9", serves its job quite well holding widgets, vento, other misc tools, and occasionally a calculator/calendar when i'm typing up invoices.
by the way, I use it on a desktop, not a laptop. i prefer the low power consumption, small size, and not driving off my videocard which would impact in-game performance using an ordinary monitor. the usb monitor uses no resources when running just widgets during gameplay.
FrederickL - Monday, April 16, 2012 - link
Suggest you bother to read related postings before you post yourself. If you had taken a look at what Cobalt and I were discussing you would have realised that this product had prompted an exchange concerning a related but somewhat different concept - the wireless thin client touch screen. The user case scenarios for such a device are tolerably obvious are and the thought is, IMHO, very far from "dumb".FrederickL - Monday, April 16, 2012 - link
Apologies Dicobalt - spelling fail on my part. -:)
dicobalt - Sunday, April 15, 2012 - link
Maybe even use WiDi and put a touch screen on it?pensive69 - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link
well, you might use this as a 2nd monitoror
you could use it as a small form server or desktop
monitor if they offer VGA/HDMI outputs.
we will order a few to set in security video server
cabinets for our warehouses. power thru USB seems
do-able now and the small form of these displays
is very welcomed in a cabinet which is space
constrained in most locations.
a USB 2.0-powered monitor that still runs off of the GPU.
interesting product.
perhaps they intend to do 1080p.
ImSpartacus - Sunday, April 15, 2012 - link
Poor Dustin, he writes a fair and concise review of a fledglingly niche product and then we just apply the wrong standards for our brash snap judgments.It's a tough position for a reviewer to be in. Perhaps future articles could quickly review the fundamental limitations of this kind of product?
captcanuck - Sunday, April 15, 2012 - link
http://www.toshiba.ca/web/product.grp?lg=en&se...ImSpartacus - Sunday, April 15, 2012 - link
A larger display with a constant pixel count would increase power consumption, right?I feel like 13" is the sweet spot for a 768p display. Hell, a 12.5" display would be passable if the power consumption is better.
vegemeister - Tuesday, May 8, 2012 - link
The sweet spot for 1366x768, if one exists, is 6".