TRIO — Triple Your Laptop Screen While Working On the Go

News

by Olaf von VossJune 26^th, 2019

About a year ago we reported about DUO, a laptop accessory for doubling the screen real estate while working away from that multi-screen workstation. In 2019 DUO (which changed its name to DUEX shortly after the successful Kickstarter campaign) gives place to its successor: TRIO.

TRIO is still about adding one extra screen to your existing laptop screen. so why is it called TRIO you might ask? Well, this new model is designed in a way that you can stack two TRIOs on top of each other, resulting in, you guessed it, a trio of screens.

Mobile Pixels TRIO

There are two models: the ´normal´ TRIO which sports a 12.5“ screen and a TRIO pro one which comes with a 14“ screen. Watch the Kickstarter campaign video below for a quick roundup:

The TRIO is the result of user feedback of the original DUEX (aka DUO). The team has managed to make the TRIO 40% more energy efficient, lighter, more compact and they implemented the ability to adjust the brightness right into the unit. If you choose to get two TRIOs you now can clip both units together and extend your existing screen to the left and to the right. Or you can mount one of the TRIOs in portrait mode (hi there, geeky coders!) using the new and improved kickstand.

When using two TRIO screens you now can rotate both screens to the back so they form a triangle, pretty neat for roundtable presentations!
Just like the former DUEX, TRIO attaches to your laptop via four magnets. These magnets will hold the extra screen(s) in place but they won‘t safe your laptop screen from tipping over to the back and that‘s why the base of TRIO actually sits on the table so the units weight won‘t stress your laptops hinge too much.

Specifications

The smaller TRIO tips the scale at 1.5 lbs and it comes with a 12.5“ screen which fits most 13“ – 14“ laptops. The bigger 14“ TRIO pro weighs 1.8 lbs and it´s good for most 15“ – 15.6“ laptops. Both units draw less than 4.5W of power over USB (both USB type C and type A cables are provided) and both models sport a 1080p LCD IPS screen with a maximum brightness of 300 nits (cd/m2).

The same USB connection is being used for transmitting the video feed from your laptop, that’s why you‘ll need to install a custom USB to eDP (Display Port) driver on your laptop of choice. If you‘re running a linux machine a custom DisplayLink driver is needed.

Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Android, Linux and Chrome OS are being supported.

Pricing and Availability

The TRIO Kickstarter campaign is alive and kicking as we speak, it runs until August 3rd and there are several tiers you can back: The TRIO in its super-early-bird appearance is $179, the early-bird tier is $199. the bigger pro version starts at $199 (super-early-bird), the early-bird tier is $219. All versions come with a sleeve, a kickstand, the aforementioned USB cables plus some magnets.

TRIO is scheduled for a Jan 2020 delivery but please keep in mind that we‘re talking about a Kickstarter campaign here. Things can go smoothly or not. You never know, just know that it‘s not a shop you‘re buying stuff in, it‘s a crowdfunding platform with all the risks and benefits.

While the last campaign was super successful, Mobile Pixels just had to announce a delay of delivery for the second batch of DUEX units on their Indiegogo campaign. This was due to an IC chip that became obsolete during production so they had to re-source another chip and redesign the circuit board. Not a major issue but just be aware that these things can happen during such a campaign.

Alternatives

If you are a Mac guy or girls and you own both, a MacBook plus an iPad, you also can use that very iPad as a second screen for extending your screen real estate. The popular Duet app syncs or extends your Desktop to the iPad in high quality and with zero delay. With the upcoming iOS 13 the same feature is build right into the OS — under the name sidecar.

Links: Mobile Pixels | Kickstarter

What do you think of this device? Do you have any experiences with the DUEX (DUO)? Share your thoughts in the comments below!