Portable General Use Monitor

[SethAten]

I'm in the market again for a very portable monitor for use with the Raspberry and other computers.
I had a Motorola Lapdock, which fit the bill perfectly, but recently shorted out or something and I've come to realize that just getting another on eBay is not a maintainable solution what with it not being made anymore. So I need a new plan for a portable universally usable screen.

Now one would think that it should be as simple as carrying around a cheap or extra regular monitor, right? Maybe at best get some kind of bag for it? Anyone who has actually done that a lot would know that nothing could be further from the truth. Regular monitors always seem to be so heavy or bulky or odd to carry, many even have steel frames inside! After the Lapdock has proved to me that they can be lighter than a laptop and just as easy to tote around, it's just not something I can do.

I've tried to do my own searching, but unfortunately the Lapdock seems to be a rather unique device, and anything marketed as a portable monitor seems to be entirely USB or insanely expensive. I can't do the USB options due to the RPi,and other, potentially failing systems I would need to troubleshoot. And insanely expensive is just, insane. I'd rather get another lapdock for $50 ebay and hope it lasts longer.

And portability. While I don't need a simulated laptop like the Lapdock was, I am looking for something that I can fit in my tech backpack, that stores flat and I don't have to worry about some ungainly stand. Battery is a bonus but, to be honest, there's always an outlet or extension cord where a non-laptop computer is, right?

As for some DIY solution, which I certainly think will come up considering the RPi market, I've considered the idea of building a solution from a laptop screen and controller, but alas with me if a laptop fails it does so epically, in a big fireball or down a long staircase, so there generally is nothing left, leaving me with no parts on hand for such a project.

TL;DR So does anyone know if a lightweight, portable monitor using regular VGA/HDMI input, with or without battery and less than $100?

[mattmiller]

Unless you need to do Minecraft (or anything else that write directly the display) then I'd suggest a old laptop and use VNC to control the Pi

Lots of us do nothing else and never use a dedicated screen/kbd/mouse
Matthew

[sdjf]

I personally am using an expensive DoubleSight USB monitor, but don't need to carry it around.

You might check out the screens and monitors offered by neosecsolutions for the Pi, not sure if they would meet your specs but they are under $100 with cases, some under $50 although I think those need some sort of case.

[buja]

What about the NexDock, a successor to the Lapdock:
On this forum: viewtopic.php?f=63&t=136574
Direct link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nexd ... -laptop--2#/

[tinylcd]

Hello

are you looking for similar portable monitors

http://www.neosecsolutions.com//product ... 1&cPath=21

regards
tinylcd

[SethAten]

Unless you need to do Minecraft (or anything else that write directly the display) then I'd suggest a old laptop and use VNC to control the Pi

Lots of us do nothing else and never use a dedicated screen/kbd/mouse
Matthew

I hear you. I'm all console so if things are working I never use anything but SSH. But things often go wrong, and that is when physical KVM is needed. And a generic HDMI/VGA solution can also be used on other failing devices. Or just as a second screen on the go.

I personally am using an expensive DoubleSight USB monitor, but don't need to carry it around.

You might check out the screens and monitors offered by neosecsolutions for the Pi, not sure if they would meet your specs but they are under $100 with cases, some under $50 although I think those need some sort of case.

Hello

are you looking for similar portable monitors

http://www.neosecsolutions.com//product ... 1&cPath=21

regards
tinylcd

Yeah, but those displays are a mere 7", so not really what I'm looking for, especially for that PPI. Sorry.

What about the NexDock, a successor to the Lapdock:
On this forum: viewtopic.php?f=63&t=136574
Direct link: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/nexd ... -laptop--2#/

I really like this option, it's most like Lapdock, and though it's just over-budget I would love to see where this goes. Sadly, It's not going to help me anytime soon and that's if it meets goal, which, having run a crowdfund before, I'm not optimistic seeing as they are only just halfway and had to get an extension.


I will be starting another thread viewtopic.php?f=61&t=139981 as I have realized that the lapdock screen is nothing unusual, so I may be able to find a display controller for it and just get a separate KB.

[joemeng967]

I think a great Portable monitor is the GeChic 1303i, its a bit expensive but its definetely worth it. It has IPS and a 14ms response time. Here is actually a table of portable monitors. It has alot of different choices of portable monitors and its definitely worth a look. http://pandatechie.com/portable-monitor

[John Mc]

I've seen a lot of people take the screen out of a defunct laptop, order an interface board for that screen, and make themselves a very inexpensive HDMI monitor out of it. Someone had a youtube video of their project, but I can't find the link right now.

[JayBeyond]

The Gechic On-Lap 1503H is a great option!

This is the monitor we use to work with our Pi's - they support a few inputs including HDMI and VGA - It's just so nice having a full HD monitor I can use with literally anything including my Pi!

Yes, fair enough the cost is a little high.. but for the multi-functional purposes it offers with being able to use it with my PS4, Laptop and my Pi justifies the cost!

[mattmiller]

Yes, fair enough the cost is a little high.

ROTFLOL

"little high".............................

[spich]

Another option would be the pi-topCeed*. It's a 1366x768 display, a decent enclosure, a nice soft-switch power supply (that will run off 12v in a car) and encloses the Pi. Price isn't bad either not much more than a raw LCD and controller off ebay but in addition you get an enclosure and a power supply. BTW, if you are not just starting out programming you can pitch the pi-top software and just run Raspbian.

Regards,
-Spich

* I'm not affiliated with pi-top, but I am a moderately satisfied customer.

[Ronaldlees]

I personally am using an expensive DoubleSight USB monitor, but don't need to carry it around.

You might check out the screens and monitors offered by neosecsolutions for the Pi, not sure if they would meet your specs but they are under $100 with cases, some under $50 although I think those need some sort of case.

Is that a DisplayLink compatible monitor? Have been considering another (cheap) DisplayLink compatible monitor, but want it to work with the Pi stuff. It's big advantage is LED backlight, and low power consumption (even tho it is a 16 inch screen). Also lighter.