Have An Inclination To Enhance Your Laptop
At some point in the recent past laptop designers developed trypophobia, much to the amusement of Apple’s desktop team. This new phobia has resulted in several generations of laptops with next to no remaining ports on them and has made docking stations and hubs a popular accessory for anyone who likes network ports or the ability to use more than one peripheral at a time. That popularity has created a huge market with many models to chose from, such as the ~$90 Choetech HUB-M20 11 port hub up for review at TechPowerUp.
The hub connects via USB-C and adds audio-out, gigabit ethernet, SD and Micro SD slots, four USB 3.0 ports of which one is Type-C, 4K 30Hz capable HDMI out, a legacy VGA output and a 100W power connector. It is a slim bar, measuring 271 x 45 x 18mm (10.7 x 1.8 x 0.7″), with a slight slope to the long axis which lets you place it under your laptop if you prefer a slightly angled typing surface. There are rubber pads on both side to prevent any slippage.
This isn’t likely to be the most exciting review you have read recently, but if you are looking for a decent dock that doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars it might just be the most useful one you will run into today.
These range from simple dongles with a few ports to stand-alone units which take up their own space on your desktop. The Choetech HUB-M20 tries to walk the golden middle by offering lots of ports in a form factor that is both useful and space-saving.
