If you work in a corporate environment and use a laptop for your work, you already know how hard it sometimes is to dock your laptop to a company provided docking station, which in turn connects to a monitor. How about connecting your laptop to the monitor using the USB port? There are quite a few USB monitor models available on the market including Lenovo’s L2230x, Samsung’s Syncmaster LD220 and AOC’s E2251Fwu.

Now, Philips makes it happen with the new Brilliance 231P4UPES 23-inch monitor. The 231P4UPES   is one of the first monitors to accompany a USB 3.0 interface which, in theory, should allow users to enjoy a lag-free experience thanks to the extra bandwidth. USB 3.0 is capable of transferring up to 4.8Gbps, that’s ten times what USB 2.0 can achieve. The data transfer rate is around 3Gbps.

In addition, everything from video, audio to Ethernet and any USB device has been thought of and the proper ports – all powered by DisplayLink – are included in the unit. The monitor comes with a large 23-inch 19200-by-1080 panel, which provides you with a nice screen real-estate upgrade. The Philips 231P4UPES monitor is W-LED backlit and hence it does boast a much wider colour gamut and fidelity than that typically found in other DisplayLink USB monitors.

The monitor came to us well packed without any protective film and the stand detached from the actual monitor. Setting up the monitor is a piece of cake, thanks to the tool-less clip-and-go mechanism. The monitor also came with three cables – USB 3.0, power and D-SUB – a quick guide brochure and an installation disc. Once connected to the laptop through the USB 3.0 port, the monitor was quickly recognized and everything appeared to be running smoothly.

The Philips 231P4UPES also requires additional power via a free wall outlet as it consumes around 25 watts all by itself. The monitor also comes with PowerSensor, which means you’d never have to worry about wasting power as the display will reduce its brightness when you step away from the desk. This according to Philips saves up to 80 percent energy cost and prolongs the monitor life.

Connectivity wise, the Philips 231P4UPES has two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port. There’s also a 10/100Mb Ethernet connector, audio in, audio out and a D-Sub connector. However, no HDMI or DVI-D ports are included, which is a slight disappointment. The monitor’s stand also offers only a 130 mm of height adjustment, 130 degrees of swivel and just 25 degrees of tilt.

When it comes to display quality, the Philips 231P4UPES fares well, thanks partly to white LEDs being used which according to Philips allows for “full, consistent brightness”. There are a number of pre-set viewing modes (photo, gaming, office, and so on) as part of the SmartImage feature. All in all, the Philips 231P4UPES is a very decent monitor. If you are on the market for an affordable two-display setup, then it is definitely worth a look.

Price: $249

Specifications:
Device Type: LED-backlit LCD monitor
Display Size: 23-inches
Built-in Devices: USB Hub, 2.0 megapixel camera
Panel Type: IPS
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen – 16:9
Native Resolution: Full HD 1920-by-1080 at 60-Hz
Brightness: 250 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 / 20000000:1 (dynamic)
Response Time: 7 ms (grey-to-grey)
Colour Support: 16.7 million colours
Input Connectors: DVI-D, VGA, DisplayPort
Speakers: Integrated
Weight: 5.23-kgs