Interesting accessory for Tablet PCs – LX Notebook Arm

I was browsing www.CDW.com for some pricing info on a Toshiba M4 Tablet PC for a customer of mine, when I happened upon this accessory by Ergotron . It is a Desk Mount Notebook Arm. Now, nothing too intriguing there, but then a couple of things hit me as I started reading more and then thinking about this little accessory.

The first thing I noticed was that the Lenovo X41T tablet pc was being demoed on it. Pretty cool. The I noticed that in the description that it is designed to work for notebooks and convertible tablet pcs. Not too much of a stretch to make that happen, but still cool to see a company even acknowledge the Tablet PC and suggest benefits for using it with a tablet pc. Then my mind started cranking .

I started thinking about the implications and real world benefits of such an accessory for Tablet PC users. Set your tablet pc in slate landscape mode in this device and raise the arm up so that it is eye level to you — you’ve got a monitor. Your external keyboard and mouse are also available to you. Now, here is the best part — with that same configuration, you can now write on the monitor with it directly in front of you, similar to what some docking stations give you, but much more ergonomical and much cheaper. In addition, if you set another monitor next to it in extended mode and you’ve got extended monitor display with the benefit of being able to write on one of them with them sitting side by side (click here to see some good pics).  Notice that the arm has cable management, so you could set your tablet in its’ docking station for even simpler grab and go convenience.

I think I’m going to buy one of these and give it a whirl. On CDW, it appears to have a 2 week shipping time, so I don’t know when I’ll actually get it. When I do get it, I’ll post a review. Pricing on www.cdw.com is listed at $139.95.