GeChic 2501C On-Lap HD LCD Portable Monitor

GeChic 2501C Portable Monitor Highlights -

Pros: Plug and Play. Competitively priced. USB powered. Good overall performance.

Cons: Non-VESA compatible. Non-touchscreen. Lacks Full HD resolution.

Have you ever felt the need or thought of having a second monitor but you’re not sure if it’s a good thing and worth the investment? Research done by Microsoft and The University of Utah (commissioned by NEC) show that adding a second screen can increase productivity by as much as 50 percent and that users were able to complete simple operations — such as editing text, formatting spreadsheets, or retouching images/videos much faster. As notebooks replace more desktop PCs, a larger portable monitor alongside the laptop can help boost productivity and satisfy users. This may be especially true for a mobile workforce who travel a lot and may need something compact and lightweight. Perhaps you are a photographer and you want something portable that you can quickly connect to your digital camera and show it to your clients or you may be an IT technician where you need a portable monitor on hand so that you can run diagnostics on your servers. Maybe you think that your smartphone screen is too small for video gaming and streaming and just want a simple lightweight monitor for connecting to your smartphone so that you can enjoy the experience on a bigger screen. IT programmers will especially appreciate dual monitor setup as they could be coding and working in one monitor and see the output on the other screen in real time. By having two screens, users won’t have to constantly switch between two windows. Not only it is less annoying, but it would dramatically reduce errors. Professionals who deal with clients on a daily basis could also use the other second monitor to permanently display their calendar making it much more available when talking with clients and setting up appointments. They could even use the monitor for making presentations. As you can see, the benefits of having a portable second monitor is plenty and may appeal to a wide variety of users.
GeChic, a Taiwan based company, focuses on product design and development of gadgets that could be useful to users. Of these, their line of On-Lap portable monitors is particularly impressive. It showcases their dedication to come out with innovative and user friendly products. GeChic 2501C HD LCD portable monitor is one of them. The demo unit was provided to us by ICI Touch Tech Inc. The first thing that impressed us was just how thin and lightweight the monitor is. Weighing just over 2 pounds and only 1.28cm in thickness, it makes it very easy to be carried around. To add to the convenience, users don't need a separate power outlet or software drivers. The monitor is powered by USB power and the installation is pretty much plug and play. Considering that nearly every laptop and desktop comes with at least one USB port, using this monitor should be a breeze. The input controls for menu, volume, power and mute settings are located on the upper-right hand side and are easily accessible. The included plastic cover serves dual purpose and acts as a protective cover to keep the screen from getting damaged when carrying around and then doubles as a hinged stand. Besides the standard black color cover, there are also red, yellow, and blue colors available. For a firm support stand, there is also an optional accessory available for vertical or horizontal monitor placement at different angles - Stand 4. The whole body is made of plastic and features a clean, modern aesthetic complimented by somewhat thick bezel in with a matte-white finish. However, the cover appears to be delicate and fragile and therefore applying too much pressure when it is used as a stand is not recommended. Overall, the monitor appears to be well-built. The monitor comes with a black cover, micro HDMI video cable, micro USB power cable, cable clip and a user manual as standard included accessories. However, the VGA cable is sold separately.
As far as the specifications of GeChic 2501C monitor is concerned, it features a decent sized 15.6 inch high definition (1366x768 pixels) TFT LCD screen with a 16:9 aspect ratio, 45˚/45˚ viewing angles, true 8-bit performance to display 16.7 million colors, 8ms response time and 400:1 contrast ratio.

Screen Size : 15.6 inch
Panel Technology : Twisted Nematic (TN)
Response Time : 8ms
Aspect Ratio : Widescreen 16:9
Horizontal Viewing Angle : 45?
Vertical Viewing Angle : 45?
Maximum Resolution : 1366x768 pixels
Refresh Rate : 60 Hz
Contrast Ratio : 400:1
Color : 262K
Brightness : 200 Nit

Click here for a closer look and buyer reviews.

Not offering a Full HD 1080P resolution is a bit of a disappointment as it doesn't do justice to Full HD content. The display is not touchscreen and the panel technology used is TN (Twisted Nematic). The main advantage of TN panels is that the response time is good, making it great for gaming. In combination with LED backlighting, the monitor offers high brightness and draws less power than competing technologies. TN panels are also cheap to manufacture, resulting in lower prices for end users. That being said, the monitor exhibits sub-par color reproduction and limited viewing angles in which the images are rendered. Both the contrast and black level seems to be average. The images and texts appear crisp but the colors are a bit washed out. However, since the main purpose of this monitor is to serve as a secondary display, we think the color reproduction is not that important. The monitor does a great job of being a secondary display and performs pretty well. For most part everything works very smoothly. We were able to drag program windows easily between monitors without any lag and even full screen videos and games seemed to work just as well as they did on the main monitor.
The On-Lap 2501C supports HDMI and VGA input which is located on the side. In addition, you'll also find an audio jack and DC input for connecting to a USB power source on the side. The 2501C also comes with in-built speakers at the back. The sound is reasonably loud but it lacks richness. Also, there is no VESA mount support. The monitor comes with a 1 year limited manufacturer warranty. The monitor measures 387mm x 260mm x 12.8mm (without cover) and weighs 885g (without cover).



ReviewsBucket's Verdict:
Overall, the GeChic 2501C portable monitor is a niche product and in our tests, the monitor performed pretty well. Setup is very easy and there is no need for any software driver or a separate power source. While it is non-touchscreen and doesn't offer Full HD resolution, it packs more than enough performance to make it a suitable secondary monitor, giving users more screen area for increased productivity. A variety of devices can be connected to the monitor. It can extend the display of a computer, tablet, smartphone, camera, gaming console, or DVD/Blu-ray player. Photographers, IT technicians, mobile professionals and web designers alike will find this monitor especially beneficial if they want something compact and lightweight. It is highly portable and able to fit into any standard laptop bag alongside your laptop. Overall, for the price of less than $200, we think it's a pretty good deal for what it has to offer.

Update: GeChic has come out with an upgraded model with Full HD and IPS panel - GeChic 2501H.

About ICI Touch Tech Inc:
ICI Touch Tech Inc are North American representative of GeChic Taiwan. They have offices located in the US, Canada and Taiwan and promote GeChic products and provide local customer service.

[azcss]

VN:F [1.9.22_1171]
Readers Rating: 3.9/5
GeChic 2501C On-Lap HD LCD Portable Monitor, 3.9 out of 5 based on 12 ratings

 

 

We're here to help!
Didn't find what you were looking for or have a query? Want us to review a particular product?
Please fill in the form below and we'll get back to you.
Thank You. We will respond to your query as soon as possible.