Vilva Portable Laptop Monitor

Vilva Portable Laptop Monitor Review

The Vilva Portable Monitor Boosts Your Productivity At Home and Away ~ MJ Logan

TL;DR The price and the quality meet to provide an excellent product that boosts my productivity when I’m working away from my home office. It’s been an invaluable addition to my work life. I give it 5 thumbs up.

Not so many years ago, I had one monitor on my desk. It didn’t use up much space and for typing an article, blog post, or even my first novel, it got the job done. Then I got a look at how someone else was using two monitors. They didn’t switch from one window to another to view research, check numbers in a spreadsheet, or use different browser tabs. On my next desktop upgrade, I kept the old monitor and added 22-inch display.

And just like that, my writing life changed.

The productivity increase when I went from one monitor to two was incredible, and it wasn’t long before I added a third. Often, I have two windows tiled on each side monitor and the app I’m working on in the center. After that, I bought a 22-inch monitor in a handy box with a handle that made it easier to travel with. I brought it along to work in hotels. And honestly, it’s not that difficult, but it takes four minutes to set up and the box for it is quite large.

That said, it’s one more thing to lug inside, set up, take down, pack up, and haul down to the van, taxi, uber, whatever. Definitely not convenient for travel, but it gets the job done. Can’t/won’t take it on an airplane for obvious reasons. The box just isn’t made for checked baggage.

A More Efficient More Productive Way of Working

Recently, I had to start working in odd places an hour or two away from home. And it meant carrying my work out to the car and then into wherever I was going. The large 22-inch monitor just isn’t made for that kind of portability, even in a box with a handle.

Enter my new Vilva Portable Laptop Monitor. WOW! Now I have my laptop display plus the Vilva and even though it’s not a 22-inch display, it makes a huge difference productivity wise.

The monitor comes with everything you need. It has a stand that attaches magnetically, all the cables you could need with a charging block to go with them.

Incredibly, this monitor is compatible with almost everything including my smartphone. Connect your tablet, laptop, desktop, PC or MAC, PS3, PS4, or PS5 or Xbox.

If you have a USB-C port on your laptop that supports a display, you only need the USB-C to USB-C connection. OR you can connect with the mini-HDMI to HDMI cable and power it with a USB-A to USB-C and the USB-A charger block. The USB-A to USB C Cable will also power the monitor from a laptop USB 3.0 port with the HDMI cable for video/sound.

It has stereo speakers that don’t sound too bad, although I still use my bluetooth buds, especially in public places.

The display itself is a 15.6-inch 1080P Full High Definition IPS with 1920×1080 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. 16.78 million colors, 72% sRGB, 60 Hz refresh.

The 178 degree viewing angle is great. The picture doesn’t disappear just because you don’t look at it straight on. Works in both landscape (wider than it is tall) and portrait (taller than it is wide) mode. Connected, it works to extend your display or duplicate it.

And you’ll hardly notice it in your backpack or case because it only weighs 1.88 pounds.

Okay. It adds a whole eleven seconds to setup when you sit down to work. I keep the Vilva monitor in my backpack in the same compartment with the laptop. I pull them out together, plug the USB-C cable into my laptop, open the laptop and push the laptop power button.

That’s it. I’ve got two monitors and work on go has never been easier or more productive in cafeterias, lobbies, cafes, or hotels. Because it sets up so easy, you’re more likely to use it even when you don’t plan to work for extended periods.

Tip: Be sure to set your Windows or Mac display for extended or duplicate.

Notables

Using it with an iPhone requires a Lightning to HDMI adapter (not included). Contact Vilvo for a free adapter. Power the adapter with the included charger.

Use with Android is easier. Power the monitor with the charger and USB-C to USB-A cable, then plug the USB-C to USB-C cable into your phone and the monitor. (Not all Androids support video output.)

On Screen Display Settings for Brightness, Contrast, Image Modes, Sharpness, and Dynamic Contrast Ratio plus multiple other settings too numerous to mention.

It is returnable to Amazon within 30 days. Comes with a 2-Year Warranty and lifetime support. Free accessories.

Ports

• USB-C (2)
• Mini HDMI
• 3.5mm Headphone Jack
• OTG for Hardware Connections (Mouse, Keyboard, etc)

Downsides

Okay. No review would be complete without a few drawbacks.

It’s not huge, which could be either a blessing or a curse. The actual size is 14.48 X 8.85 x 0.3 inches thick. I sometimes find myself hitting the zoom key (Ctrl +) a few times on a browser tab.

Power is the biggest drawback that I found. I rarely start with a full battery and that could be part of the issue. If one is available, I plug into an outlet and the laptop still charges when I use the Vilva monitor. Not plugged in, I think the battery goes down a little faster. So far, it hasn’t been an issue for me. If you plan to work for hours on a regular basis, I’d suggest investing in a power station or find a place to plug in. According to the user manual, it consumes 6 watts of power.

This monitor cannot store its own settings. Annoying because you might want to push up the brightness each time you use it.

Eventually, the magnetic stand which doubles as a protective cover when not in use, will fail. I foresee a day when I open the cover and stand it up and the monitor falls flat on its back because the stand finally bent one too many times and simply broke off. It just doesn’t seem sturdy enough for long-term, repeated use.

Pictures on Amazon show off beautiful colors on a very bright display. Vilva claims 1000:1 contrast and 6500K Color and I won’t deny that it can display bright colors. You’ll have to crank the brightness way up to even come close to their images.

Finally, it is not a touch screen, which I rarely, but occasionally sometimes use on my laptop.

Bottom Line

For me, the price and the quality meet to provide an excellent product that boosts my productivity when I’m working on the go. It’s been an invaluable addition to my work life. I give it 5 thumbs up.