The ThinkVision is yet another DisplayLink product, in other words a monitor that runs off USB. This one is 14 inches in size, can be propped up on its own kickstand (although it can’t tilt backwards enough for our liking) and comes with a cable that splits into two USB terminators.
Only the thicker cable will be required in most circumstances; however, if you have a USB port that doesn’t supply enough power, you’ll need to plug the second one in. It isn’t entirely a case of plug and play, though, as you’ll need to install the supplied driver to get things working.
Once up and running, the ThinkVision appears to Windows as a normal monitor, with a resolution of 1366×768. There’s only one set of physical buttons behind the monitor, which adjust brightness. It’s definitely a cheap TN panel, with quite shallow viewing angles and only capable of displaying 262,000 colours.
While you are able to run video fine on it, it seems as though it has issues with Windows 7’s Aero scheme. That is, anything involving transparency seems to flicker and lose resolution whenever the mouse passes over it. Scrolling text also seems to be a bit much for the ThinkVision, creating a garbled mess before righting itself less than a second later. The ThinkVision is an acceptable accessory if you need extra screen real estate on the go. Just don’t expect flawless imagery.