With two of us in the house working from home, I needed to think about a 2nd desk setup. A big part of my desk setup is a monitor, and although I can just about get away with just my laptop screen, it’s not good long-term.
I was after something compact and portable, which is when I came across the ASUS Zenscreen monitor. It tick all the boxes for me, and although it is not the cheapest monitor for a 2nd setup, I went ahead and ordered it. So after using this for about three weeks now, these are the things that I want to touch on.
- Display
- Features
- Portability
Display
This was a key factor when choosing this monitor. The space that I needed to fit in was relatively small, so it needed to be small but still big enough for me to get the benefits of a larger screen for work. This was perfect at 24in, with 23.8 of that screen being viewable, so it is considered frameless.
I wanted to get a monitor that had a really good quality display as I spend most of the day at a desk looking at one. The display is Full HD (1920×1080) and has an anti-glare coating which is great for hours spent looking at it. As well as this anti glare the Zenscreen Monitor also has the ASUS Blue Light filter. This filter can be set through the onscreen display menu, where you can set your preferred filter level.
Features
This little monitor comes packed with a number of features that make it a great 2nd set-up monitor.
USB-C Connectivity
I love this on a monitor, and it was one of the main reasons that I bought my LG Widescreen Monitor, which is on my main setup. The Zenscreen Monitor comes with USB-C connectivity and power delivery, which means that you can connect your laptop using USB-C, delivering 60-watt charging capability to charge your laptop via the same cable. The reason this is so useful is that you only need one cable, so it keeps cable management nice and simple.
USB-C is not the only connectivity method you have with this monitor, you can also connect your laptop using an HDMI cable. And the other thing you get for good measure is a headphone jack.
Embed Speakers
The other monitors I have had have not come with two 1-watt embedded speakers, so this was a pleasant addition. On my other monitors, I would generally have to have my headphones connected to my laptop or listen to the call etc., over the laptop speakers.
I always found the quality of the audio that comes out of the laptop to be not that great, but the sounds from the Zenscreen Monitor are really decent to the point that I am happy to sit on conference calls with no headphones.
C-Clamp Arm
In the box, you get a C-clamp arm. The arm can be attached (clamped) desks rather than a convention stand, which provides more space on your desk. It also allows you to be able to tilt and pan the monitor at your preferred viewing angle.
The monitor can also be turned 90 degrees so it can be used vertically as well as horizontally. It’s nice and easy to adjust the arm up and down to get the right height so it’s at the right eye level for you. Unlike other monitors, it has a quick-release mechanism, so you can easily mount and remove the monitor when you want to move around.
It also comes with a partition mount which allows the monitor to be mounted on desk dividers to save on desk space. This is something that would be good if you were to take the Zenscreen Monitor into the office.
Portability
The Zenscreen Monitors are classed as portable, and the MB249C has a bigger screen than most others. Although its screen is larger, it is still super easy to carry around, with it being only 2.8kg. The monitor has a built-in carry handle which doubles up as a kickstand so you can stand your monitor up anywhere you like, for instance, on a desk or kitchen table.
This portability makes it great not only for when you want to get some work done but also for when you want to stream a movie or game. I love the fact that I am not restricted to where I can take this monitor, as it just fits all scenarios.
Final Thought
Although I bought this a 2nd setup monitor, I think that even if you are looking for a monitor for your main setup, this is well worth a look. In terms of price, it’s not the cheapest and will set you back around £380, which is more expensive than some UltraWide monitors out there.
However, I think that the features and portability does mean that this is a really good option for those who don’t want to take up lots of space with a monitor. Being able to take this from room to room also makes it available for all the family to use for their specific use case, e.g. gaming.
So to conclude, although on the expensive side, it is well worth a look at if you are in the market for a small and portable monitor.