HP USB Docking Station Review

The HP USB Docking Station lets users quickly connect to desktop gear without the need to connect bundles of cables to their notebook or netbook. For the average user who might use the same computer at work or home this means they can quickly start their day with a single cable connection. In this review we find out how easy it is to set up this docking station and if it really simplifies our day-to-day activities.

HP USB Docking Station Specifications:

• Universal USB connectivity that enables attach to HP and other notebooks
• Higher resolution VGA (1600x1200) and DVI (1680x1050)
• Plug and Play - Onboard flash memory module with installation software
• XP compatibility and Vista compatibility up to Vista 64
• Headphone and Microphone Jacks
• Size: 1.1 x 8.66 x 3.2
• Weight: 11.32 oz
• Price: $139

Build and Design
The HP USB Docking Station is about the size of two notebook power adapters with a glossy black body. The design isn’t as polished as other docking stations I have seen and style wise is lacking compared to most HP notebooks. Using the Imprint finish would have improved things drastically since the glossy plastic finish was plagued with fine scratches and swirl marks within a day of use and transportation.

The docking station has average build quality with solid connections on the back and a weighted feel that adds to its durability. It has thin rubber feet which helps keep it in one spot on your desk instead of being dragged around, as long as the desk surface doesn’t have any dust that might hinder traction.

Ease of Use
I really have the praise HP for the way they handled drivers on this USB docking station. While most manufacturers use a driver disc or suggest you visit their website, HP included 128MB of flash storage inside which contains the drivers and installation utility. After you plug it in an external drive pops up with the software and about 100MB of extra space. While you could technically use it to store the occasional document, I would probably reserve it for future driver storage.

The installation utility installs the drivers for all parts of the docking station, including the network connection, audio jacks, and display adapter. Whenever you have the docking station plugged into your system a application sits in the system tray that gives you quick access to the display options to change the resolution and other attributes.

Performance
Display performance from the docking station was very reasonable as long as you didn’t plan on watching Divx or Xvid encoded movies on a screen attached to it. All media players dragged from my primary notebook display onto the external screen would freeze or stutter immediately. Flash inside a web browser fared better, including embedded video sites such as YouTube or Hulu. Playing in its regular size the videos played smoothly, as long as you didn’t try to view it in full screen. I was not able to view any video in full screen without freezing the display and trying to minimize the video while viewing the static image.

Since everything including video is sharing the same USB bus for data, file transfers were drastically slowed to other external devices. File transfers to my USB memory stick which usually go at 30MB/s were slowed by 67%, down to about 8-10MB/s. The HDTune benchmark images below show the drive normally, going through the docking station with video enabled, and again with video disabled. If you normally attach an external drive for regular backups, using this docking station would lengthen the time required to copy files over.

Kingston 8GB w/ docking station and video enabled	Kingston 8GB USB normal conditions
Kingston 8GB w/ docking station and video disabled

In terms of thermal performance, this docking station put off a surprising amount of heat during use; reaching external temperatures of up to 125 degrees Fahrenheit while using it with an external display. This could probably go down as the hottest USB accessory we have ever reviewed.

Conclusion
The HP USB Docking Station is a decent accessory to look at if you share your computer between home and work, and need to connect multiple devices at both locations. With a single USB connection you can connect external speakers, an additional display, network cable, and four USB devices. Pushing all of this data through a single USB connection does have its downsides, with limited video playback support and much slower USB transfer speeds. A true docking connector with pass-through connections is always the best option for connecting external devices, but if you don’t have that option this is your next best bet.

Pros:

• Connect multiple devices through a single USB connection
• Support for DVI (which not all notebooks or netbooks have)
• Handy onboard flash to store drivers (no lost installation disc!)

Cons:

• Gets very hot under normal use
• USB file transfer speeds are acceptable, but not great
• Not as stylish as most HP products

Availability and More Information
The HP USB Docking Station ($139) is available from the HP website as well as many online and retail stores.

 

Thanks for the review. I sometimes get tempted by one of these but am worried that they are too much of a compromise to perform very well. Your review confirms this.

Another pro?: good for keeping the coffee mug warm.

John

 

Video, Sound and Networking over one USB Connection? I cannot believe this works well. I prefer regular dockingstations or at least a PCe Card based solution.
The embedded Driver is nice, but nothing new.

 

Nice review and good to see a review about such a device at all. Such reviews are rare, sadly, and sadly most people think that they can watch videos with it.
Maybe you could add a few sentences about CPU usage with different resolutions and different applications running on it.

Still I wouldn't buy such a thing, it looks nice, but you can't do a lot with it. Much more interesting look the products from Villagetronic
- ViDock for ExpressCard (300-500USD)
- VTBook for PC Card (150-250USD)
Sadly, as you can see, they are much more expensive, therefore seem to work "better".

 

off topic, Frank, what tablet pc is that in your avatar?

 

Fujitsu Lifebook T2010

 

nice review!

I have to say that it is quite decent for its price!

 

If you try to drive 1600x1200 or 1680x1050 (supported by this dock) via a USB port...

I don't even want to think about that. USB docking stations should have gone the way of the dinosaur a log time ago.

For those who own HP notebooks, you do NOT want to buy this dock. HP has a dock built for their consumer notebooks that uses (I think) PCIe and it powers the notebook and provides connections to ports that would actually work at full speed.

 

Few USB video solutions are amazing, although I saw a demo by Samsung at CES that was, frankly, astonishing. You can also get better performance for these, esp SD video, by taking the display down to 16-bit from 24 or 32. I honestly don't think we'll see widespread adoption of these things until the USB3.0 standard hits. When it finally does, though, the applications you'll be able to manage are going to be pretty incredible.

 

Quoted for truth, though I thought that the "Expansion port 4" that the current Pavilions use was a proprietary interface, though I could be wrong.

I have an HP Compaq business notebook, and I use the matching dedicated HP Docking Station (The standard model) with my notebook all the time. I use the DVI, Parallel, PS/2, and the extra USB ports on it generally. Aside from an odd glitch where the PS/2 won't work when the lid is closed sometimes, the dock works flawlessly without generating very much heat at all.

Bottom line: If you're looking for a docking solution for your notebook, ALWAYS get the dedicated dock specifically for your notebook (unless your notebook doesn't support a dedicated docking connector). I know all HP notebooks have dedicated docking connectors (even the Pavilions), so I'm really surprised that HP would come out with a generic USB solution like this. The extreme temps of the dock, combined with the slow USB transfers and below-average video output are all reasons why you shouldn't go for USB docks in general (those flaws aren't limited to this particular dock).