Asus ZenScreen May Be The Portable USB Monitor You’ve Always Wanted

GADGETS

asus-portable-monitor-1

We’ve seen portable USB monitors before, which allowed you to have a second screen while working on the road. And we’ve never really understood why they’ve never gone mainstream. Asus will be the one trying this time around with the ZenScreen.

Designed for portable use, the monitor measures just 8mm thin, ensuring you can squeeze it into a briefcase, along with your regular laptop. It comes with its own protective case, too, so no need to purchase extra cases to keep it free from nicks and scratches.

asus-portable-monitor-2

The Asus ZenScreen has a 15.6-inch IPS panel, with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 1080p resolution. A hole on the lower corner allows you to insert a pen to use as a makeshift stand, although the accompanying cover also serve as a functional stand, with the monitor able to go in either landscape or portrait in both instances. It can identify whether it’s positioned in landscape or portrait, by the way, auto-rotating the output to the correct orientation (only for Windows, though), with a blue light filter setting that you can use to make it a little more sleep-friendly at night.

asus-portable-monitor-3

Do note, it doesn’t come with its own battery, so it will leech off from your laptop’s power, so make sure you have a charging solution on hand. It comes with a single USB Type-C connector that transmits both data and power using just a single line.

Available now, the ASUS Zenscreen is priced at $249.

Check It Out

Related Posts

13 Responses

  1. I like the idea of a portable USB monitor, but I won’t buy this one.The landscape/portrait detection mode only works with Windows. As a MAC user I am not going to buy something that is limited in features to me.

    If this would work with my iPhone I would consider buying one. It’d be nice to watch some larger screen movies off of my iPhone in certain situations.

    I’m also surprised that portable USB monitors haven’t gone mainstream. It seems like it’s just a matter of time until someone makes a great quality one that is priced at around $79. Until then it will remain a product with only niche appeal.

  2. This is a great option for school and work. Like had I had this in college, I could have multi tasked a lot better. As I mentioned in another article post, I love using dual screens. I am used to it. And it was never really an option for laptops before. This may incline me to upgrade my laptop just to have dual screens on the go! $250 is a great price too for something ASUS branded. Most of their stuff is solid too.

    1. We’ve always been able to use dual screens on laptops, it was just hard has hell to setup. By making the setup as easy and fluid as possible they are opening up their products to a wider range of customers.

    2. Asus has a great reputation for their portable monitors. There laptops however are hit and miss. The upper echelon of Asus laptops tend to perform adequately, but the entry-level and mid-tier machines are awful.

      1. Are you sure you’re not thinking of Acer? What you just described fits ACER laptops perfectly. Many people get Acer and Asus mixed-up. Acer has had some really poor quality budget laptops in the past. I’d never buy another Acer, but I would consider buying an Asus laptop.

        1. No, I think Bryan is pretty accurate here. Next time you’re a computer store like Best Buy, take a look at their low end laptops. They usually have them in an aisle over from the main ‘pad’ of laptops. Unfortunately, even Asus has started making low end laptops now and I don’t care who you are – 1 or 2GB of Ram is simply not going to do the job. I think those laptops just set people up for disappointment. These ones are nothing like you or I know to be a true Asus laptop. Their “gaming” laptops are still completely kick ass and definitely recommend. But yea I totally agree with you about Acer. It’s the typical Wal-Mart / holiday only low quality craptop. I got one in college because it was the cheapest laptop I could get while on my broke Ramen Noodle diet and it died within the year.

          1. I agree, regardless of brand, these low level entry-level computers with low RAM should be outlawed. I use to use these out of necessity too, but a high-end computer will not only perform much better, but will also last much longer. It is truly a better bargain and cheaper in the long run to buy a higher-end computer. I also understand that when you are broke and need a computer that $1,000 for a good computer is simply not a possibility. That’s why I am a huge fan of ChromeBooks for students and low-income people who need a computer.

        2. I too am a big fan of Chromebooks! I actually just bought one for my niece. She’s only 12, but needed something to do her homework on and it works really well. I actually think she likes it more than her mom’s laptop just because it is so similar to her phone. I certainly didn’t want to get her a $1,000 laptop because well she’s 12 and accidents happen way more often with 12 year olds. She’s been good with the Chromebook so far (surprisingly!) but I can see something get spilled or it getting dropped and I rather it not be with something so expensive. I think it has been a good practice of responsibility so far. By the time she goes to college I won’t have to worry about getting her something more expensive. She’s really going to need that $1,000 laptop then, she already knows she wants to go to school for computer science.

          1. The ChromeBooks also perform so much faster and better than a similarly specced Windows computer. You often hear people with a grip such as “I can’t edit videos on a Chromebook.” In reality you can adequately edit and render video on a low-end Windows computer either. Many tech blogs laughed and mocked Google when they released the first Chromebooks, but they have definitely found their niche.

  3. I honestly never thought of having a second screen before while I am on business trips. I do have a second and actually a third screen at my desk at work, but I just do my work while I am away without it. I admit it does get really frustrating at times. I’ve never thought to seek out a solution for my great annoyance though. I think I am going to suggest the Asus ZenScreen to our IT department. I would really like to get some of these for our department. I bet if my team had these while we were on our trips, productivity would skyrocket! I know mine certainly would. I could get so much more of my work done and be in a better mood about it. I really like that the Asus ZenScreen comes with a protective case too, so it’ll stay relatively safe on the plane rides and back and forth from the hotel room.

  4. If only the Asus ZenScreen came out while I was still in college! It would have been very useful back then. Even now I’d really love to have a second screen while I am away from the office, but how long does the battery last? I love to get out of the office and work at our local coffee shop or even just working out on my back deck. I would be very frustrated if the battery didn’t last very long and cut off while I was in the middle of work. Is there some sort of dock it can be plugged into? I have one for my laptop and stationary second screen now, it would be very nice to have one for this as well. I do like that this comes with a sturdy case and its thin enough so it’ll fit into the laptop bag I already have.

    1. LMAO. The coffeeshop is the only place I have never used a dual-monitor or even seen on being used. If I seen someone with a dual-monitor setup working away inside of my coffeeshop I would instantly want to be friends with that person.

      That would be a great grassroots advertisement to help increase the popularity of these. Pay people to use them in public and when people ask about it give them a flyer with info on it and show them how easy it is to use.

      1. The best way to get these more popular is to keep the quality high like this one but sell them at a lower price. The Asus ZenScreen is definitely worth the money, but many casual consumers won’t ever consider buying one when they are priced like they are.

        Part of the cost of this though is the high quality, both in design and components. The Asus ZenScreen uses the TÜV Rheinland-certified flicker-free technology. Once you go flicker-free you WILL notice a difference.

Comments are closed.