I use a Surface Pro 2 tablet as my regular laptop. With its up to 8 hour battery life, the tab stores enough juice to last an average work day. However, at home, its limitations become very apparent.
For reasons best known to only Microsoft, this device comes with only a single port – a USB 3.0 port. While I could extend its screen, wirelessly, using a WDTV Live Player I picked up a while back as a conduit, to a bigger 42-inch screen using Miracast Technology, my expansion options were still very limited.
Unfortunately, the Surface Pro 3, the latest iteration of this tablet, also suffer the same dearth of ports. These tablets are not cheap and it is a little disheartening that so much was paid for so little.
Browsing through Amazon, I stumbled on a docking station that compensated for about all the ports that the Surface Pro lacked. It is a universal dock – it extends the capabilities of just about any tablet or laptop, unlike the dedicated proprietary one Microsoft is offering, which you would have to throw out with the Surface Pro whenever you are done with it.
The Plugable UD-3900 docking station connects to the single USB 3.0 port on the Surface Pro, compensating it with the following additional ports;
- Dual Video Outputs (HDMI up to 2560×1440* and DVI / VGA to 2048×1152 / 1920×1200
- Gigabit Ethernet (One)
- USB 3.0 Ports (Two)
- USB 2.0 Ports (Four)
- 3.5mm Audio Jack (One)
- 3.5mm Microphone Jack (One)
Like another reviewer noted, the Plugable UD-3900 and Surface Pro 2 do really go great together. Indeed, it is a good buy.
