| A docking station can make it a lot quicker and easier | | | | Comparison chart. |
| to reconnect to your wired network, human-size | | | | * Do you use a universal dock, and do you |
| keyboard and mouse, easy-on-the eyes external | | | | recommend it? |
| monitor, printer and other peripherals. | | | | Universal docking stations, on the other hand, work |
| In other words, it's a notebook accessory that says, | | | | equally well with a multitude of laptops. Instead of |
| "Welcome home." | | | | being built for a specific machine to snap into, they |
| While consumers haven't been buying docking | | | | connect to your laptop via a single USB cable, making |
| stations in great numbers, businesses have embraced | | | | them easy to connect and disconnect. |
| them as a way to quickly make and break notebook | | | | But while most universal docks connect to your |
| connections in the office. Last year, companies | | | | network, monitor and peripherals with ease, they |
| outfitted 63% of laptops with docks, a proportion | | | | don't charge your notebook's battery, which is their |
| that has increased from 35% in 2006, according to | | | | biggest drawback. A less important downside is that |
| figures from analysis firm The NPD Group Inc. | | | | USB-based docks can't display the entire boot-up |
| Not all docks are created equal, however. Docking | | | | procedure, making troubleshooting an errant machine |
| stations made for a specific notebook let you snap | | | | difficult. However, you can always just watch the |
| the computer securely into place and immediately | | | | start-up on the notebook's screen if there's an issue. |
| connect the video to an external monitor, link to | | | | I recommend getting a dedicated dock if there's one |
| peripherals, exchange a Wi-Fi network link for a | | | | made for your notebook -- but it might not be that |
| faster wired connection and begin to charge the | | | | easy. Many notebooks don't have a dedicated |
| system's battery in one step. | | | | docking station for sale. For example, Dell Inc.'s |
| 5 universal docks | | | | business-oriented Latitude E4300 has a capable dock |
| Visit this website and you find more of Docking | | | | for $110, while the Inspiron 13, a similar machine |
| Stations for Laptops and Notebooks Reviews. | | | | aimed at home users, has no dedicated dock |
| - Find Info about Docking Stations for Laptops, | | | | available. |
| Notebooks and Reviews. | | | | If you can't buy a dedicated dock, a universal dock is |
| - Browse local sellers and support company Reviews | | | | a great solution. And it does provide one advantage: |
| about Kensington, Sakar iConcepts, Targus, Toshiba | | | | It can be used with a new notebook if you switch |
| Dynadock, Vantec, How I tested, Conclusions and | | | | systems. |