Viewing Angles and Picture Quality
Not surprisingly, the viewing angles on the Mimo UMN-710 aren’t exactly top of the line, but given the high level of adjustability, this isn’t really an issue. Just tilt and rotate as needed. As for picture quality, again, think secondary monitor and you’ll be quite happy. That’s what your main display is for after all and the Mimo does a great job of allowing you to preserve that screen real estate for more important tasks.
A Manageable Screen Resolution
Even though the screen measures a paltry seven inches across the diagonal, I found it very usable for secondary functions. Squeezing MSN Messenger or other similar applications on the WVGA display wasn’t painful at all.
It was a little tougher when I used a larger application like TweetDeck. I was only able to see the first three or four tweets in landscape mode. This is still usable, I suppose, but not exactly ideal. As you may recall, the first generation Asus Eee PC only had a seven-inch screen and it had the same resolution as the Mimo UM-710. There are bigger Eee PCs now, but this really puts things in perspective.
Luckily, it seems that Nanovision and other manufacturers like Samsung have seen the light when it comes to these peripheral displays and already have larger versions on the market. What’s even better is that you’ll be able to hook up more than one of these monitors so you can have a couple Mimo’s on your desktop if you wish.
Final Thoughts
It’s partly in the interest of saving space, but I’m one of those people who doesn’t have a full-time desktop computer anymore. My laptop is my main machine and I do everything from there, even when I’m at my home office.
Realistically, my notebook has become just as robust as a traditional desktop. I can use the Ergotron Neo-Flex Life Stand to easily handle a traditional LCD monitor and now the Nanovision Mimo UM-710 can act as a terrific secondary monitor for IM, Twitter, email, music, and so on. Also supported is the ability to run more than one of these monitors, preserving your monitor for those tasks that require the quality of your main display.
The only downside to this device is its rather limited support of Apple computers. Although the Mimo does work as a secondary display for Mac OSX, the limitations of the still in Beta driver won’t let it be useful for anything but throwing iTunes or an IM client onto. Graphics acceleration limitations put a damper on your use of it for video editing which requires this in full. That means no iMovie for you if this is plugged in at the same time. Hopefully a new driver will rectify this in the future.
It doesn’t get much more convenient than the Mimo UM-710 when it comes to adding a second screen to your laptop, netbook, or even desktop. There’s just a single USB cable and you get a fairly workable WVGA resolution. Better still, this handy gadget is currently listed at just $130. That’s a small price to pay for this small upgrade to your daily computing.
Pros
- Very simple single USB connection
- Simplified three button control scheme
- Attractive and adjustable
- Adequate WVGA resolution for secondary apps
Cons
- Awkward placement of USB port blocked by base
- Base design almost looks like it is pointing backward
- No ability to adjust contrast, color saturation, etc.
Overall Rating: 8.5 / 10.0
Discuss This Review in the Futurelooks Community Forums