Bookendz - Mac docking station

[MaddieBrad]

I am thinking of getting one of these for a 17" MBP. Anyone actually seen one of these in person, or better yet own one that can attest to their quality?

I would love to see some photos of a setup using one of these.

B

 

[kuebby]

If you ask me it seems kind of unneccesary/expensive; at $320 it's practically Sony expensive, considering it doesn't do much.

Here's the link.

 

[MacPossum]

If you ask me it seems kind of unneccesary/expensive; at $320 it's practically Sony expensive, considering it doesn't do much.

Here's the link.

I'd have to agree, it's really not worth the $320 price tag. What would you be using it for anyways? Is there something you'd like to connect to your MBP that you can't already do using the inputs it current has?

 

[portent]

I'd have to agree, it's really not worth the $320 price tag. What would you be using it for anyways? Is there something you'd like to connect to your MBP that you can't already do using the inputs it current has?

The idea behind a docking station is to allow for "quick disconnect." You remove one device, instead of individually plugging and unplugging a half-dozen connectors each time you come home. It also saves wear and tear on the connectors and cables.

It's about twice what I'd be willing to pay for that, though.

 

[techlover828]

ya, these things are a nice idea, I was thinking they would be a good idea and saw them in a magazine, they are way too expensive though!

I think that you could probably make a nice one.

 

[Sesshi]

I was put off buying them due to comments about them from users who seemed to have good knowledge of the product. It certainly seems a bit of a rudimentary approach, although given Apple's lack of expansion functionality it would be impossible to do any other way. I'd like to know if these have been improved at all. I have no idea why Sony, HP, Lenovo and Dell can roll out good docking stations / port replicators for their machines but Apple apparently refuses to allow it. I think it's a pretty important feature of any laptop worth a damn. Oh all right, so I don't think the MBP is worth a damn but it is still something I would like to see.

 

[techlover828]

I was put off buying them due to comments about them from users who seemed to have good knowledge of the product. It certainly seems a bit of a rudimentary approach, although given Apple's lack of expansion functionality it would be impossible to do any other way. I'd like to know if these have been improved at all. I have no idea why Sony, HP, Lenovo and Dell can roll out good docking stations / port replicators for their machines but Apple apparently refuses to allow it. I think it's a pretty important feature of any laptop worth a damn. Oh all right, so I don't think the MBP is worth a damn but it is still something I would like to see.

You don't like the MBP??!!

 

[vicious7]

ya, these things are a nice idea, I was thinking they would be a good idea and saw them in a magazine, they are way too expensive though!

I think that you could probably make a nice one.

I was thinking the same thing. It wouldn't be too difficult to machine the frame and give it an Elevator/Docking Station look. And the wiring should be rudimentary, right?

 

[Sesshi]

I was thinking the same thing. It wouldn't be too difficult to machine the frame and give it an Elevator/Docking Station look. And the wiring should be rudimentary, right?

It wouldn't be too difficult to machine whatever you needed to, but the ability to adapt to slightly different port positions while getting a clean docking / undocking action will be the order of the day. That is quite difficult to achieve bearing in mind the connectors involved.

The problem, and you can search for who posted in my thread a long time ago regarding this, seems to be the fit of the ports and the longevity of the lever fit arrangement. Thing is of course, on a machine like the MBP which is built to roughly Dell standards of quality, ports can vary very slightly in their position.

I'm sure a jiggle here and there and a few re-dockings every time will solve the issue. But if the posts are anything to go by, it would be just as quick to re-attach all the cables manually once some play develops in the Bookendz mechanism.

With the Dells, Lenovos, HP's and Sony laptops I've had / have, I just push it into the dock. It's frankly silly to be levering stuff around and making sure I have the laptop sat just so.

The asking price is a little over the top, especially as the $300 Dell D/Dock has a second optical drive port, dual monitor output, a half-length PCI slot and docks/undocks in one clean movement, but come on, it's an Apple related product.

 

[vicious7]

The levering would be the most difficult aspect of a project like this. I didn't have it in mind to build this en masse, though. It was just going to be for me (the selfish little bastard that I am ).

 

[Sesshi]

You don't like the MBP??!!

I would probably like it better if I was more easily taken in by the way things look, or if I didn't own better machines which cost the same/less.

I guess I could 'take one for the team' and pick up a couple of these once all my MBP's are updated to SR to see if these are really problematic.