Chromecast Lapdock

After getting my Motorola Lapdock last fall, I haven't had time to play with it much. Today, I figure I would couple it with a Google Chromecast HDMI dongle.

The result. Amazingly cool. See for yourself.

The install was straightforward if you have the micro HDMI adapters. The Lapdock's USB port powers the Chromecast. Booting is pretty instantaneous.  The Lapdock had no issues recognizing the HDMI video feed from the Chromecast.

Volia, a portable 11" streaming video monitor with 10 hour battery life. I now have something to put in my shed and garage when I need to watch Youtube video tutorials!

Google Chromecast + Motorola Lapdock = Geeky cool!

Wait, I just had a revelation. This would make a cool,portable, low-power Plex media player now that Plex supports the Chromecast.

Gadgets that are worth a second buy

You know a product is good is when you go out and buy it again. If I like something, I'll go out and get a second copy. One for the office and one for the home.

The two things I like right now is the Motorola Atrix LapDock (my review here) and Logitech 811/810 keyboard (review here).

I couldn't resist. The Atrix 4G Lapdock is a must have accessory for the tinkering gadget guy like myself. It is also cheap if you know where to look. They won't last long and I figure by next year, the inventory will dry up on these.  Here, I have three monitors connected to my laptop. Two of those external monitors are the Lapdocks using a simple HDMI converter. I know for a fact I'll find continual use for these.

I liked the feel of my new Logitech bluetooth K811 that I ended up getting another. This time, I got the Windows version, the K810. The difference is the darker grey finish and Windows keyboard layout instead of the mac layout on the K811. Both are identical in features.

Cheap portable HDMI monitor for your laptop. The original Atrix LapDock

What you see above is a 11.6" Lapdock being used as a secondary, portable extended display for my 15" Macbook Pro Retina.

A few months back, I reviewed a cool gadget, a 15" MHL HDMI portable monitor from GeChic which can be read here. Yes, it was a cool gadget but a bit bulky and pretty pricey for something that may not be used on regular occasions. I then turned my attention to the Motorola LapDocks because they have been great in the gadget scene. First, I got myself a newer LapDock 100 and that didn't turn out so well. The newer docks have been made more difficult to use as a dummy monitor. Well, after a few weeks, I ended up with the original Motorola Atrix Lap Dock. And I have to say, I am very pleased. These are still selling for $60-80 which, in my book, is a STEAL of a bargain!

To use this as a portable HDMI monitor, all you need are some cables, couplers and adapters. The device has two ports: Micro-USB male and Micro HDMI-D male for video. To use as video, you need to get a female Micro HDMI-D coupler. Then you connect to anything that can use HDMI which includes displayport, mini-displayport, and Thunderbolt.

LapDock 100 update

A few weeks ago, I  got a Motorola LapDock 100 in the hopes of using it as an external HDMI monitor like the original Atrix lapdock. Apparently, the newer ones (100 & 500) have some electronic authentication that Motorola implemented. The older Atrix docks were great as dumb monitors.

These new ones are a bit more complicated.

After getting a bunch of cables and adapters, I came to same conclusion a few people had. The unit only powers up for 8 seconds and shuts down. 

Pictured here below, I was able to get a signal from the HDMI output of my Macbook Pro. Then it shuts off.

Fortunately, I was able to sell mine on craigslist and found a willing buyer very quickly. Good luck to those who want to use the LapDock 100 for their hacking causes.

I'll be getting an original Atrix LapDock.

Motorola Lapdock 100 just in.

I just got a Motorola LapDock 100 in. These were discontinued and I didn't do my research too well. Apparently, the original Atrix Lapdock is the one to get with the larger screen and ease-of-hack to convert them into portable monitors. There is very little documentation and mix-messages on the newer Lapdock 100.

Well, I'll find out in a few days if the LapDock 100 is as easy to improvise as the original Atrix Lapdock.

If you are not tuned-in on what these do, let me explain. A few years ago Motorola made these expensive (think $500) add-on phone accessories that turned their Atrix phones into netbooks. It was way ahead of its time and flopped and these have been in the discount bins. They have micro-usb and micro-hdmi connectors. And with the original Atrix lapdock, you can buy some adapter cables and turned them into dummy portable monitors with attached keyboard/trackpads. Many people have connected Android sticks and Raspberry PIs into pseudo ARM laptops. I just want to use them as a portable extra monitor with keyboard/mouse for the bench.

Unlike the original Atrix dock, the Lapdock 100 has a universal cable with Micro USB male and Micro HDMI-D male. There are some confusion whether or not they are locked to newer Motorola phones with some sort of authentication. I will find out shortly once my adapter converter cables come in.

Here are some you tube videos to illustrate what can be done with the original lapdock (and potentially the newer one).

and

Update: Here is my updated report.