Six months later: Sibolan S1 secondary monitor

Unnecessary accessory

 

Last October, I described the 13" S1 secondary monitor from Sibolan ($200). You plug in an HDMI cable (for video and audio) and a USB cable (for power), and so have a second monitor for a laptop computer. See my original review here: http://www.worldcadaccess.com/blog/2017/10/a-second-monitor-for-your-laptop.html 

It's been nearly a half-year since, and so I thought I'd follow up. 

In brief, I don't use it much. For me, it is useful only when typesetting with InDesign on my laptop, because I have an entire screenfull of palettes that need to occupy a second screen. And typesetting does not happen very often with my 13" laptop; a desktop computer with 23" and 18" monitors is preferable.

So, the S1 spends most of its time in its neoprene carrying case. On my most recent trip to Europe, I took it along and didn't use it once.

Afterwards, I noticed that it suffered from two largish reddish areas, which I think is where it might have been bumped during travel. If I were to take it along in the future, I would cut a thin sheet of plywood to size, to protect the screen from further damage.

A computer reseller did write to let me know that this monitor was the kind his customer was looking for.

 

 

 

Comments

[Nick B.]

Hi Ralph,
I purchased a ASUS MB169B+ Portable monitor - 15.6" FHD (1920x1080), USB-powered, IPS, Ultra-slim about a year ago. (https://www.asus.com/ca-en/Monitors/MB169BPlus/).

It complements my ASUS ROG G750JX 17" laptop (https://www.asus.com/ROG-Republic-Of-Gamers/ROG-G750JX/) that I use for programming and for my CAD work. I work away from the office a lot and I've found that this combination works pretty well for me. (I've loaded up the laptop with 32 gigs of memory and two 1-TeraByte solid state drives in order to squeeze out all the performance I can from it).

What I use the USB powered auxiliary monitor for, is for displaying documentation, specifications, screen captures and occasionally drawings while I'm doing my real work on the laptop screen. The sharpness of the auxiliary monitor is nowhere near that of the laptop, so it limits what I can use it for. However, I do find it useful enough that I always take it with me and do use it quite a bit. It's pretty slim and light and fits into my computer backpack.

Would I buy it today if I was looking for 2nd monitor for my laptop? Not sure. I'm fairly happy with it, but would look into the possibility of using a high-end Microsoft Surface with the hopes that it would have a sharper screen resolution and because it could also be used as a tablet in its own right.

Maybe some day, instead of using monitors, we'll just don virtual reality head-gear and have "monitors" with an unlimited "screen" size.

[Ralph Grabowski]

Thanks for the comments and your experience.

I choose the 13" to match the 13" size of my laptop. The
resolution is the same on both (HD) so no blurriness. Have you tried
setting the resolution independently on both monitors?

(Right-click the desktop, Screen Resolution, and then choose the
Display to adjust.)

[Nick B.]

Hi Ralph,

Both the main display and the aux display are set to the same values: 1920 x 1080

That's what it was set to when I first used it and I left it that way, thinking that if they are matched, it would give me the best result.

I'll try some independent settings for the aux. display to see if there is any improvement and let you know.

Note: aux. display isn't really bad and it's not blurry - just not as sharp and vibrant as my laptop's screen.