Asus Zenscreen Go MB16AP
ADD A SECOND SCREEN TO YOUR PORTABLE WORKSTATION.
A PORTABLE DISPLAY is a rather niche proposition, but if you are one of the few that needs a multi-screen setup that can go anywhere, or a big screen to display your smartphone, then Asus’s ZenScreen Go should be in your shortlist. The ZenScreen Go has the same honed metal chassis as its ultrabook brethren and is one of the only portable displays to really minimise the bezels. Combine this with a sleek magnetic folio case and smartphone sized charging cable and you have one of the best looking portable displays available.
The 15.6-inch Full HD display features a 7800mAh Li-Po battery which will last four hours on peak brightness settings. This will stretch to almost a full working day if you can lower the brightness or live with the slightly duller ‘Eco’ display settings. The MB16AP uses a USB Type-C interface, which makes it compatible with most new ultrabooks and many flagship smartphones. It also includes a USB C to A adaptor. This interface also offers the ability to run power and video through the one cable, minimising clutter and keeping the display running for longer.
With a peak brightness of 220nitts the screen isn’t going to be setting any luminance records, but this is a good level for a portable display offering ample brightness to work in a bright room without being overly demanding on the battery. Combine this with an 800:1 contrast ratio and the wide viewing angle offered by the IPS panel and this screen looks good enough to sit alongside any ultrabook on the market.
While it’s important for a portable display to look great, it’s perhaps equally as important for the stand to support the screen in a wide variety of conditions – since the space and overall stability of the surfaces you are trying to use it on will vary considerably when travelling. The MB16AP’s foldable folio can contort into four display positions that each offer varying degrees of support, ranging form barely adequate to extremely fragile. The magnets on the folding support structure aren’t overly robust and all of them require a perfectly flat surface to work without toppling, and even then a small bump like a train slowing down or some mild turbulence would be more than enough to topple it. If you bring along the included ballpoint pen then you’ll get a 5th screen position by slotting it into the spacer hole in the bottom right of the display. This unusual arrangement is, surprisingly, more sturdy than the stand, but still requires a perfectly flat surface to work.
Screens generally aren’t a particularly expensive PC component, so $599 for a 15-inch 60Hz FHD display with no special colour calibration seems particularly steep. If you can live without the battery then the ZenScreen MB16AC portable display comes in at $429 and it’s not hard to find portable SD screens, at this size, going for as little as $200. If however, you absolutely need that battery, there isn’t much in the way of alternatives.
This sleek, fully-portable monitor has enough tech to justify the lofty price – we just wish Asus spent a more time on engineering a better support mechanism.