Monitor Review: Lenovo 2230x

Netbooks and mini-notebooks are fine when you're away from the office, but when you return to the friendly confines of your desk, don't you feel confined by that little screen? If you do, Lenovo has a slick solution for you. It's a spacious monitor that connects to a computer through either a USB port or VGA link -- and via the former, does double duty as a desktop docking station with three USB 2.0 ports and an Ethernet port.

The Lenovo L2230x, which lists for $260 (and sells for $232 to $250 online), will take a pint-sized computer into the wide open spaces with its 21.5-inch display that supports a maximum resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 pixels.

The unit is bright -- it's rated at 250 cd/m² -- and has a good contrast ratio of 1,000:1, although its blacks are a bit on the gray side. The LED-backlit monitor's rated response time is 5 milliseconds.

And you don't have to worry about shifting your viewpoint when gazing at it, either. It has a wide viewing angle -- 170 degrees on the horizontal axis and 160 degrees on the vertical. What's more, at 4.5 pounds it's almost as portable as your ultraportable.

Chapter 5

Everything you need to connect the 2330x to a computer is in the box. There's a CD for installing the unit's software, VGA and USB cables, and a power cord. There's also a base for the monitor that smoothly fits into a post behind the display.

For quickly connecting the monitor, there's a setup poster. Before you start following the steps on the poster, though, you'll want to turn it over. There, in over 20 languages, is the warning, "Please read Chapter 5 of the userguide in CD before you use the USB port replicator function of this product."

Sounds simple. Problem is, I couldn't find a user guide on the CD that would load on my computer. Fortunately, there was a copy of the guide at Lenovo's website.

What's so important about Chapter 5? Well, for one thing, you need at least Windows XP SP3, Vista, or 7 to run the USB replicator. Also, you may encounter problems if your computer has switchable graphics.

Setting up the display is very easy. You plug the unit into a power source, then connect the VGA and/or USB cable to the monitor and your computer. Next, you load software for the device from the CD. It's all done automatically, but it does require a reboot to get going.

The power button for the unit is located at the bottom center of the display's frame. When the unit is in sleep mode, the button is orange. When the display is active, the button's green.

To the right of the power button are four controls. One lets you switch between the VGA and USB connections if you have both cables connected, though it works fine with just (either) one.

Other buttons permit you to control the display's brightness, automatically configure the monitor to work with your computer (Lenovo recommends letting the display warm up for 15 minutes before using the auto-setup option), and navigate function menus.

The latter let you fine-tune the monitor's brightness and contrast, adjust the position of the screen image, and calibrate image setup should the auto setup prove unsatisfactory (it worked perfectly for me). Color intensity can also be controlled from the function menu, with red, green and blue saturation increased or decreased to your taste.

Extend Your Eyeballs

You can control the behavior of the monitor through an icon in the Windows task tray. You can have the display mirror the activity on your computer, so a program open on your notebook's LCD will also appear on the L2230x. One drawback to mirror mode is the resolution on the Lenovo display is limited to the native resolution of your PC. That doesn't always yield the best results on the Lenovo's screen.

It makes more sense to use the Lenovo as an extension of your PC's screen or vice versa, letting you arrange applications on the two displays for optimum productivity. Other functions available from the task tray icon are toggling the USB connection to the monitor on or off, choosing a resolution for the L2230x, and accessing sound and video settings in Windows.

When connected with a computer, all sound is pumped to the display by default. That can be changed through the audio settings in the task tray. The display doesn't have any speakers (a dual-speaker soundbar is a $30 option), but it does have a headphone/audio out jack.

The three additional USB ports, plus the Ethernet socket, make this monitor distinctive. Many displays will give you an additional USB port or two, but this Lenovo model is designed to play the part of a port replicator or docking station for a portable computer as well as a monitor.

If you just want to use the display as a monitor, the VGA connection will suffice, but if you want to tap into the full potential of the unit, you'll use the USB mode where not only can you use the monitor but tap into its USB hub and 10/100Mbps LAN connection. You can hang all kinds of goodies from the unit's USB ports, such as printers, scanners and external hard drives, as well as a full-sized keyboard, mouse or keypad.

All Work, No Play

Some amenities are missing from the display. It doesn't have a built-in webcam or microphone, for example, although it does have a mic jack. The display doesn't swivel from side to side nor can you adjust its height, but you can adjust its vertical tilt through a range of some 25 degrees.

For owners of netbooks and ultraportable computers, who want to simulate the desktop experience when they return to their desks, the Lenovo L2230x USB display will be a good choice. Its colors are bright and its text and graphic rendering is sharp.

For entertainment, however, the monitor leaves something to be desired. Trying to watch DVD movies on the Lenovo (connected by USB) was a bust. Action on the screen was intermittently choppy and the movies had less than HD definition.

Nevertheless, I found office applications worked well with the display. That, coupled with the unit's melding of the functions of a monitor and docking station -- which saves desktop space -- makes the L2230x a worthwhile addition to the hardware arsenals of netbook and ultraportable owners intent on increasing productivity.