Unboxing the Crowd Funded NexDock

It is hard to believe that it has been just six months since we first learned about the NexDock crowd funding campaign. It is just as impressive to realize they suffered a major setback in late June with a fire in the manufacturing facility that was building the NexDock units but have started delivering the devices to backers just 6 weeks later.

The idea behind the NexDock was to give users a laptop style clamshell device with screen, keyboard and trackpad that could be hooked up to small form factor computers and expand their portability.

NexDock was a very attractive option for users of Microsoft's Lumia 950 and 950 XL handsets running Windows 10 because of their built in support for Continuum Mode. The keyboard and trackpad are connected by Bluetooth while the phone itself uses a USB Type C to HDMI adapter to feed video to the NexDock.

The folks at NexComputer, they are behind the development of the NexDock, explained to me in San Francisco earlier this year when I had a chance to go hands on with a prototype that adding a Type C port would have significantly increased their manufacturing cost.

However, with the right adapter cable it is easy enough to hook up your Lumia 950/950 XL to the NexDock and use your device in Continuum Mode. Plus, for those of you who purchased/received the Microsoft Display Dock with your phone, you can easily use the NexDock for Continuum Mode using the included Mini-HDMI to HDMI cable.

For those of you without the Display Dock there are a few options for grabbing a compatible adapter cable to go from HDMI to USB Type C.

As you can see the prices of these adapter cables are consistent and I can testify that the cheap adapters you can find all over Amazon have been useless for connecting my Lumia 950 to the NexDock.

The NexDock itself does come with the following cables and adapters:

One other additional use I am planning for the NexDock is its capability as a secondary screen when I am traveling for Surface Book. Actually, NexDock can become a secondary screen for any device with a HDMI or DisplayPort option.

I tested this when I received the NexDock this week alongside of Surface Book and it worked perfectly as a mirroring of my main screen or as a secondary screen to Surface Book. I was using this  AmazonBasics Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter which was just $8.99.

Check out the gallery to see the unboxing but I also have images of Surface Book and Nexdock alongside of each other as a mirrored and extended screen.