Formerly known as the “Vital”, the Sidetrak Select is a 1080p HD resolution, 23.8” desktop monitor featuring an ultra slim, edgeless design with the intent of enhancing productivity and expanding your workspace at home or in the office. It can act as a standalone monitor, and it features an HDMI port as well as a VGA port. It also features a Kensington Security Slot for theft protection.
The Select monitor is compatible with Windows, Mac, and Chrome OS for maximum ease of integration into your current setup. It comes out of the box with a power cord and wall adapter as well as an included HDMI cable, so you can be sure that you will have everything needed for full functionality.
The power button/joystick is a unique quirk, but it took me far too long to figure out the joystick part, which allows for adjusting brightness and switching between input channels.
The full dimensions of the display are 21 x 15.5 x 0.32 inches, weighing in at 7lbs. For those seeking technical details, the color depth is 8 bit, featuring 16.7 million colors with a 50% color gamut. Of course, next to my OLED laptop monitor it doesn’t seem to be anything special, especially in the darker range; if you aren’t using it as a home theater, I find the color output to be perfectly reasonable for a monitor of this class.
With a brightness of 250 Cd/m2, a contrast ratio of 3000:1, a resolution of 1920 x 1080, and a refresh rate of 60-75 Hz, the Select is not exactly a powerhouse product, but it can absolutely do the job as a supporting peripheral.
Features & Setup
Of course, there isn’t too much depth to discuss here, but I’d like to touch on the simplicity of setup with this monitor. All I needed to do was connect the HDMI cable, the power cord, and press the power button. The monitor immediately booted up and detected the HDMI input automatically.
My laptop detected the new monitor connection and I was able to seamlessly extend or mirror my display to the Select monitor. Attaching the base stem and legs was equally simple, requiring only a small screwdriver (though none was specifically provided).
As the monitor is simply meant to be an extension to your desktop, rather than a primary display, it only features two possible input ports: one VGA and one HDMI. Personally, I feel that this is all that I need, but If you’re looking for one monitor to do it all, there will be better options for you.
I did notice that there is little customization as the “joystick” power button/menu navigator allows only for brightness adjustment In addition, it’s worth mentioning that this monitor does not feature built in audio output however this is pretty standard.
Regardless, the monitor did meet my expectations for all intended purposes over the few weeks that I’ve had it. I did appreciate the “matte” anti-glare finish that the monitor features, and apparently there is a subtle blue light-filtering at play to help reduce your eye strain.
I didn’t find myself struggling or straining after periods of extensive use of the monitor, so it passed that test as well. In addition, the edgeless design all but eliminates the bezel on three sides of the screen. This makes for a better looking product as well as a less noticeable transition between displays. In my opinion, this is an essential part of the external design of any desktop monitor, and SideTrak nailed it. Another pass!
Overall
The main talking point of this product, I feel, is its price. For the many people who may feel that money is, in fact an object, $179.99 is no small price to pay for a secondary display. I feel that the price tag is a bit on the high end within this class of monitors, as many other reasonable displays of similar dimensions and resolution (only 1080p, after all!) can be found for around $100-$140.
Of course, I cannot say that I was not happy with this product. The edgeless aesthetics exceed my expectations, and the matte, anti-glare, anti-blue light screen makes for an easy, calming viewing experience.
My main concern with the product is the high cost and relatively average features and lack of customizability. However, don’t get me wrong, it is most definitely not unreasonable for the quality offered by SideTrak.
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