Seems like a nice system.
If you don't mind, James, a few questions and a comment.
Will this 14" monitor function with Apple's MBA (in other words, have you tried it with your MBA yet?)
And the comment.
I've had a mobile dual monitor system for over a year by using my MacBook, access to a WiFi network and my iPad. Using an available app, the iPad becomes a secondary monitor and works well except for the following caveat. Because it uses WiFi, the iPad can not display moving images without a slight time delay. But if one only uses the iPad screen to display static images than this system works wonders. I only wish I had an MBA of my own because I could also reduce my overall system weight on the road. However, the main advantage of having an iPad as a secondary monitor screen over the 14" ThinkVision monitor is the obvious one. It's an iPad and can be used an independant computer device.
Our obsession with bright, shiny objects is well documented, especially when they are as thin and light as can be. The folks at Lenovo appreciate things like this, and have produced what I believe is the most portable dual-monitor setup ever.
The Lenovo IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook is the cornerstone of this portable system, and is still the best Windows laptop I have ever used. At just half an inch thick and under three pounds it doesn’t get more portable than this, especially while packing desktop-equivalent power.
The ThinkVision portable monitor I recently reviewed is the second (and only) remaining piece of this dual-monitor configuration. At less than two pounds and about half an inch thick it is an outstanding 14-inch monitor that when attached to the 13.3-inch U300s makes for a full workstation experience.
Monitor on bottom, Ultrabook on top
Both the laptop and the second monitor run at 1366×768 resolution, which together makes for an incredible desktop. Sitting here with them both while writing this makes me feel like I am back in my office with its 23-inch display. This is fantastic as both of these devices closed for transport are only an inch thick stacked on top of each other, and they fit in the smallest gear bag.
I wish my colleague at ZDNet Jason Perlow could experience what I have here with this dynamic duo. He is currently on a whirlwind business trip, and is putting up with those nights in the hotel room hunched over a laptop, missing his mega-system at his home office. I am confident he would love this setup; of course, I have no desire to send it his way so he is on his own.
Both in the bag, ready for travel
