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Displays that connect to your PC or laptop via USB have been around for several years (using DisplayLink technology), but this little 7in screen from Korean company Nanovision caught our attention. It has a widescreen resolution of 800×480, and requires only a single USB cable for power and data. This means you can attach it to just about any computer, regardless of whether the graphics card has a spare monitor output or not. It’s intended for instant messaging (IM) conversations, webcam chats or use as a photo frame, but you can use it for just about any application. The only limitation is that it won’t work with any program that needs hardware acceleration, such as games and certain video playback applications. The hardware is basic: the screen has only power and brightness controls. You can mount it horizontally or vertically, altering the orientation of the image via software. Once the drivers are installed, it’s simply a matter of enabling it in Windows’ Display Settings and ticking the ‘Extend the desktop on to this monitor’ box. Despite the price, image quality isn’t great. Detail levels are acceptable, but colours appear muted. Fortunately, text is sharp, and we found ourselves mainly using the screen in portrait mode for instant messaging.
Though £84 isn’t expensive compared to other USB monitors, it’s hard to see the UM-710 as anything other than an unnecessary luxury. If you’re short on desk space, or don’t have a spare video output, this is an easy way to get some extra desktop pixels. But most of us would be far better off buying a proper second display for just a few pounds more.
