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Targus laptop docking station is gateway to peripheral pleasures

A single USB port lets you connect quickly to peripherals, a network, and external display.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
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Joshua Goldman

On lower-priced laptops and Netbooks, something typically sacrificed is the ability to link up with an external display through anything but a VGA output. With the Targus USB 2.0 Docking Station with Video (aka the ACP51US) it doesn't even matter what, if any, display output your notebook or Netbook has, though.

Compatible with Windows XP, Vista, and 7 systems, the wedge-shaped dock uses DisplayLink technology to connect to an external monitor up to a resolution of 2,048x1,152 pixels. A single USB 2.0 port on your laptop is all that's needed to add an external monitor, up to four USB devices, Ethernet, speakers, and a mic. Two of the four USB ports are powered, too, in case you need an always-on option for charging a couple USB devices like your cell phone or MP3 player.

This kind of connectivity doesn't come cheaply, however. The docking station will set you back roughly $160.