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- Remember that commercial Apple released a couple of years ago with the young girl

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living her epic life with an iPad? At the end, while typing away on her smart keyboard,

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her neighbor asks what she's doing on her computer, to which she responds,

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"What's a computer?" Urgh! (relaxed upbeat music)

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Oh, that's still hurts today. Man, how we hated that line.

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It's interesting now because since then, Apple's been working very hard

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to make the iPad more computer-like, with things like a USB-C port

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and trackpad and mouse support. It leads us to this, the Kensington StudioDock.

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It's the first accessory of its kind, and it asks the question,

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"What if iPad was a desktop?" So, does it earn its $379 price tag?

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And if it does, can the iPad even keep up? (upbeat music)

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The Kensington StudioDock is one of the most comprehensive iPad docks out there.

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It's designed for the ultimate Apple user. Compatible with the latest gen flat-edged USB type C iPads,

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sporting two wireless charging pads, perfect for your iPhone and AirPods,

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and supporting the Apple Watch, with this optional charging adapter too.

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(soft upbeat music)

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It plants your iPad firmly on the desk through a built-in hub that sports gigabit Ethernet,

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four USB-3 ports, SD card reader,

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headset jack, and an HDMI 2.0 output.

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Design-wise it's all nicely integrated. I do love the fabric mat on the wireless chargers,

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and how the iPad sits on the dock with minimal intrusion,

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unlike other stands with their massive grabby grips on either side.

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It rotates 90 degrees. This feels great.

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And it tilts beyond 90. This feels okay.

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There's no swivel or height adjust, but I didn't really miss that.

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(relaxed upbeat music) But that doesn't mean I don't have gripes.

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Firstly, it's nowhere near Apple standards of build quality.

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The back is black plastic that creaks if you grab it,

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and the placement of this power button is going to kill me.

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Why isn't it in the center? The other sticking point is that

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it's not that easy to place the iPad in here. It's supposed to slide into this USB-C plug

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and stay secure with magnets, but there's also this grippy rubber pad and guardrails

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which are great at holding things together once docked, but all these components are fighting each other

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on the way in, to the extent that the experience

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is just finicky rather than easy. You have to slide it in at a slight angle like this

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and then just kind of mush it in. It's just not satisfying.

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But, once it's in,

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your iPad really well and truly does become a computer,

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rotating between portrait for focused writing sessions

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and landscape for multitasking. And if you do hook it up into an external monitor

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with a mouse and keyboard, it really starts to feel like a desktop.

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Well, almost. Here's the problem.

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iPad OS really isn't a desktop operating system. External display support from the HDMI output

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is only a mirror of the iPad interface, unless you're viewing photos or video.

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Oh, and 4K resolution only works with the pros. This iPad Air maxes out at 1080p.

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Regardless of resolution, you're going to get pillar boxing. And though the iPad on paper

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is a four by three aspect ratio, don't expect it to fill those old monitors completely.

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Now, how about going in the other direction and bringing your Mac screen to the iPad with Sidecar?

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You can do that, but only wirelessly, so it's not the most responsive experience.

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And unfortunately this USB-C port won't pass through.

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That being said, I used the iPad and this dock for a whole week and it is remarkably capable.

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I could easily write scripts, edit photos with Lightroom,

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and when I was web browsing, I'd even forget I was on an iPad.

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But the problem is that there are some times where it's very clearly not capable enough,

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like when it needed to add a hyperlink to an email or multitask while on a video call

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without having my camera turn off.

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So then who is the StudioDock for?

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This was the cause of much discussion in the office as we puzzled over this. (soft upbeat music)

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The product bumpf shows a photographer person doing something with photos, but that's not enough.

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So, here's the list I came up with.

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Is it for realtors? Asked mine, said no.

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Salesperson? Asked one I know, also said no.

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Artists? Don't ask.

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Point of sale? Spoiled children?

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Writer? People with tiny desks?

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(upbeat harp music) Yeah, people with tiny desks.

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Especially considering how much new apartments have been shrinking these days.

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So should you buy the Kensington StudioDock? At $379 for the small and 399 for the large model,

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it's certainly a steep price. But the iPad has come a long way

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since the days of half-baked accessibility mouse support and a lack of file server connectivity.

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And if you buy all the elements of the StudioDock separately:

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the hub, the wireless chargers, the stand, you'd be saving at least $115.

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So that certainly would be a less expensive route, but it won't be as clean on your tiny baby hands desk.

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(relaxed upbeat music)

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If you like what the StudioDock offers, it's really the only game in town.

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Those who are really committed to what the iPad has to offer and use it for everything

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will find this quite perfect. But while I personally may feel the iPad is best

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as a comfortable computer for the bed, living room and bathroom,

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I can't help it feel that what Kensington is saying with the StudioDock is,

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"Your move, Apple. You know what a computer is." It lays bare the iPad's capabilities and limitations.

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Clearly Kensington thinks the iPad is ready to sit, elevated at the desk, ready for business or whatever.

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Thank you for popping into this "Mac Address". I'm really curious who you think this iPad dock is for,

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so please explain in the comments. There's something about the iPad conceptually

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that gets people passionate for or against it. This StudioDock, eh, won't help that discussion.

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(relaxed upbeat music)