NexDock is probably a new name to a lot of our readers. The company’s first product was a crowd-funded $120 device that made a 14″ laptop-of-sorts out of pretty much anything with an HDMI output. Now the company is back with a second revision that can also turn one of Intel’s recently-announced Compute Cards into a hybrid tablet-laptop device with a touchscreen.
The device is shaped like a conventional tablet with a bulge in the chassis, where the Compute Card is inserted. The company cleverly calls this bulge an ergonomic hand grip. Instead of the old Micro HDMI plug, the second-generation NexDock uses a USB Type-C port that allows a connected device to provide brains for the screen while simultaneously being charged.
The potential of a device like this is easy enough to recognize. The NexDock offers easy-to-understand functionality for the average user. A particularly active person who is tough on hinges and screens could keep a couple NexDocks on hand and easily swap his computer or smartphone from chassis to chassis. Frequent upgraders can easily reuse the docking unit as they move to newer devices, too.
NexDock says a crowdfunding campaign for the new docking unit with Intel Compute Card compatibility will begin in mid-2017.<\/p>\n