About the mini-dock

Hey guys,

I ordered a ThinkPad Mini Dock Plus Series 3 with my T410. Is it truly useful, or more like a slightly expensive gadget?

I'll be using my thinkpad as my main computer, so I thought that a dock might save me from the hassle of unplugging/plugging each time I want to move my computer, but the dock is slightly expensive for the task.

Also, are there any known bugs/troubles related to the dock?

Thanks

 

Perhaps you should have asked that before you ordered? Whaddya think? As for the dock, I think it is useful if you want use it at a desk with a monitor and other peripherals, which it seems you do, it can be very useful because you don't have hook everything up. Just pop it in and you're ready to go. I've never had a problem with a dock, but I would presume it's under warranty should something happen.

 

This is the whole rationale of having the docks, which is to prevent the hassle of unplugging and replugging the different wires, which also decreases the wear and tear on some of the ports, which may get damaged through repeated plugging/unplugging sessions.

Also, you can output to two displayport monitors simultaneously, which is important to many people whom use laptops as desktop connected to 24 inch+ LCDs.

 

Part of the expense is that they ship with a 90W adapter, which you may or may not want.

 

i love my mini dock
come home at the end of the day and throw the thinkpad on it
have my big dual monitors, speakers, keyboard, mouse, external drives...
awesome!

 

I love my dock(s) also. I have one at home and one at the office. At the office, I lock my computer. Instead of having to hassle with the kensington lock cable, I just slip the computer on the dock and turn the key to lock it (the dock is secured to the desk by the kensington lock). I have speakers, trackball, external drives, iphone dock, etc., all plugged into the dock. So connecting is much much easier than having to deal with all of those. I also don't have usb plugs and the kensington lock sticking out of the side of the computer!
.

 

Yeah I do have a lot of peripherals (monitor, mouse, keyboard, printer, scanner, speaker, mp3 player, external drive, etc.) so I thought about getting myself a dock. The price however was a bit higher than what I expected so I was not sure whether it was worth it or not.

But yeah, now I think I made the right choice , thanks guys

Yeah, I should.

 

A dock is one of those things that made me cringe when I made the purchase, but eventually I always end up patting myself on the back for making such a wise investment.

Many people underestimate the value of a small convenience on something you do day-in and day-out over the years. But if you use your laptop both as a mobile computer and as a desktop replacement, then a dock is definitely worth the price.

 

All business-grade laptops have docks that don't use some ghetto USB option. I honestly can't imagine using one without a dock. It's less of an issue now because the T410 has a digital option, but in my opinion if you use an external monitor often, the dock is definitely worth it.

You could always wait a little bit before they start showing up on your favorite auction site at a surplus price (though considering the 3 series just came out, that could take a while, vs the T400 reusing the 2 series which had been out for at least 2 prior generations)..