ViewSonic TD1655 15.6″ Monitor
Summary
If you need an extra monitor on the road, and HD is good enough, then the ViewSonic TD1655 monitor is more than good enough. The lightweight, ease of connection, capacitive touch, built-in stand, and speakers make this an ideal travel companion for working on the road.
Back in the day, many days ago, ViewSonic monitors, with their colorful birds perched in their logo, were my go-to for color. Those monitors were giant hulking monitors that required breaking a sweat when they needed to be moved. At 2.1 lbs and measuring in at 8.8 by 14 by 0.6 inches, the ViewSonic T1655 monitor feels even lighter than its indicated weight.
What we like
I still own several old LED HD monitors that I would occasionally connect to computers on a kitchen table for video conferencing. The TD1655 pushed them aside without hesitation. The lightness and ease of connection make this 15.6 inch, 16:9 IPS screen the companion for mobile computing—if that mobility is just between rooms, or between countries. I will not hesitate to travel with the TD1655, even if that means taking one more thing out of my bag for inspection on international flights.
The TD1655 connects via USB-C or a mini-HDMI cable. Both connections drive the monitor’s 1,920 x 1,080 native resolution. iPad users will still see a smaller mirrored image unless they are watching video. The monitor’s USB circuitry acts as a hub, passing USB-C power and data through its dual ports. I prefer the USB-C connection as it also powers the display. That means no power supply needed. Using the HDMI connection requires the included 60W power supply. For presentations and media consumption, the monitor includes its own speakers and an audio out port. The audio port will prove useful to complement Bluetooth-only devices like the iPad Pro.
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This touchscreen monitor extends touch on a touch PC, or adds it, to a sans-touch system. It features 10-point capacitive touch via finger or included stylus (or any passive stylus you have sitting around). Touch proved as responsive as the built-in monitor on touch-screen notebooks. Some might think touch overkill for a complementary monitor on an already touch-enabled device. I find it absolutely necessary to create a cohesive experience that doesn’t require me to think about the capabilities of the screen I’m currently using.
If you need to reach in to configure settings, a cool min-joystick on the back right corner helps personalize the computing experience with a well-organized and responsive on-screen menu system. Configuration options include Input Select, Audio Adjust, View Mode (Office, Movie, Mac, Mono, Game, and Off), Color Adjust, Manual Image Adjust (Sharpness, Aspect Ratio, Overscan, and Blue Light Filter), and the Setup Menu (for features like sleep, language, and auto-off).
A light cover doubles as a mat for the monitor’s included fold-out stand. The stand creates a proper angle for most work.
The ViewSonic TD1655 monitor completely rewrites the mobile monitor narrative as one of appreciation that technology and design have come so far in effectively meeting the needs of mobile workers, learners, and gamers.
The ViewSonic TD1655 monitor delivers a next-generation mobile monitor experience. It not only makes the horrors of taking bulky monitors on the road fade into distant memory, it completely rewrites the narrative as one of appreciation that technology and design have come so far in effectively meeting the needs of mobile workers, learners, and gamers.
What could be improved
ViewSonic’s engineers delivered an outstanding product with very little room for complaints. That said, the monitor would benefit from a full-sized HD port. I get that this might expand the profile, and that would kick off other implications for attributes like weight, but…More than once I have left a specialty cable in the wrong bag, arriving at my destination unable to use a peripheral. The mini-HD cable is this monitor’s Achille’s Heal. For those who will used only USB-C, though, that isn’t an issue.
For the most part, though, I rely on USB-C connections, leaving the HDMI cable and the power supply behind on purpose.
ViewSonic TD1655 Monitor: The Bottom Line
ViewSonic has created an outstanding product that complements the mobile lifestyle. The ViewSonic TD1655 monitor also offers plenty of features as a secondary monitor for children or other more casual users–but it really shines as a light complement to the too often cramped worksurface of a notebook computer. Its size and weight encourage taking it along because the value far outweighs any issues that arise from yet another device in the bag. Once deployed and connected, I can image a situation where I would ever regret bringing it with me.
ViewSonic provided the TD1655 Monitor for review. Images courtesy of ViewSonic.
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