[Review] Lilliput Mini USB Monitor

An extra monitor can always come in handy. You can set other windows or folders to the extra monitor, you can use it for your media player, or just generally get rid of the clutter on your main monitor. ThinkGeek has been selling Lilliput Mini USB Monitors, but do they serve their purpose well or not?

Lilliput Electronics Co., Ltd is the bestselling Chinese brand of mini LCD application in Europe, North America and Southeast Asia and other areas. With branches all over the world, Lilliput has relations with multiple educational institutions. In 2001, Lilliput Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd was set up as an independent scientific research institution specializing in LCD display, embedded computer systems, among other things, as well as development of relevant software applications.

I received the Lilliput UM-70/C/T USB Touch Screen Monitor, which comes with the monitor itself, the power cord, the manual, and a driver CD for Windows 98 users. Everything is fairly straight-forward. You plug the power cord into the monitor then plug it into your computer via USB and install the drivers, which you can conveniently get at ThinkGeek. The power cord unfortunately consumes 2 USB ports, one for the display itself, and the other for power.

The monitor is 7”, is a little thicker than a regular CD jewel case, and has a move-able leg so you can stand it up. It can also be orientated in Portrait (vertical) and Landscape (horizontal) mode, each allowing for more but different screen size, although the resolution is locked at 480×800 and 800×480 respectively. You can also adjust the brightness. Unfortunately, I’m unable to use the Touch functionally because it isn’t supported by my operating system (Windows 7 64-bit) yet.

However, that does not take away from the monitor’s main use: being an extra monitor. It extends your main monitor so you have more space. Right now, I’m using it for my instant messages. My computer, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3 are all hooked into my TV. With the Lilliput, I can watch TV or play games and still see my IMs. I leave my IM window as the active window so I can type without switching TV modes. Before I had to switch back and forth to see my messages. It’s awesome!

Also, because it registers as a small monitor, you can set it up to extend any part of your main monitor that you’d like — Top, middle, bottom, or in-between. That is an interesting option. You have to set it up via your computer’s Control Panel, but I like it. However, I’m having trouble with my web browser extending past the Lilliput’s screen, even when maximized. The side-to-side scroll bar doesn’t show up. It is due to this fact that I do not use the Lilliput for my web browser.

All in all, even with the OS incompatibility issue, the Lilliput Mini USB Monitor is an amazing product. It has come in handy on a number of occasions. I have shown people stuff while still gaming, and because I use it for IMs, I can still see and talk to my girlfriend. Would I recommend this product? Oh, absolutely! At the writing of this review, the Lilliput Mini USB Monitor retails on ThinkGeek for $99.99 USD. The price isn’t bad for a portable monitor.

ThinkGeek specializes in geek products, such as mini USB monitors, roll-up keyboards, and humping-dog USB flash drives. In addition, they have a “Security & Spy Stuff” section that has stuff like video-watches and hidden flash drives. They even carry t-shirts and edible stuff like wasabi gumballs(?! o.o) and energy drinks. They gave me this product for review, and I would like to sincerely thank them for doing so.