Add-on USB Monitor Handy on the Go
By Erik Miller
The Mimo 740 is the equavalent of an expansion pack for your current monitor. Easy to install, this $199 mini display is perfect for VOIP with camera, email, task lists, chat screens, widgets, and miscellaneous application tool sets — essentially, it’s great for all those items you would like to move off your main monitor.
It’s easy to install, too — a single USB-only connection gets you an instant 7-inch touch screen external monitor with an 800 x 480 resolution. Sure, it’s small, but that’s the point. The contrast ratio comes in at 400:1, and it has audio in and audio out. The integrated web cam includes a microphone. Since newer MacBooks already include cameras and mics, it’s a bit redundant, but Mimo is also positioning it for the lean-and-mean netbook market. For those who don’t need the touchscreen or camera, Mimo offers a 710 model for $130.
Mac Compatible With Driver
There is a third-party touchscreen driver for Mac OS X (Intel only) machines. The standard Mac driver for the Mimo 740 does not support touchscreen capabilities, so Mac users will have to shell out an extra $30, which might push this add-on just slightly out of a decent cost-to-fun ratio — $230 is a bit spendy when you can snag a much larger (albeit less portable) monitor for the same price.
The 740 is backordered until March, while 710 models are available now.
The closest competitor is the D-Link SideStage, which isn’t shipping . . . but will sometime this year.
About the Author: Erik Miller is a contributing writer for 
You know, what’s really handy about these mini monitors is the portability. Whenever I’ve got to travel for any extended period time, my productivity takes a dive, and I start crying for my not-so-portable external monitor. The Mimo 740 and the upcoming D-Link options are just small enough to think about tossing them in with the luggage. (But the 710’s $130 price point is a lot easier to swallow than the 740’s, that’s for sure.)