14 DAY TRIAL // If anyone was wondering, Samsung has a monitor/docking station hybrid almost ready to start shipping, not just ultrabooks and netbooks for kids.
Being involved in so many different IT industry segments, Samsung often launches things in a set instead of releasing items one by one.
In this instance, the company has several things in store for its customers, not the least of which is the Series 7 Smart Station monitor.
We already saw the NC110-Pororo netbooks for children, as well as the Series 5 ULTRA line of ultrabooks.
It so happens that there is a monitor on the way as well, known as the Samsung Series 7 Smart Station.
The display is called a Smart Station and not a SMART monitor because its feature set is quite uncommon.
Quite simply, rather than being a display, it is more of a hybrid between a monitor and a wireless docking station.
Though it has everything it needs to link up to PCs, it also boasts a means to connect to peripherals, AV devices (audio/video), the network and even mobile devices like phones and tablets.
To elaborate, the 27-inch monitor can sustain an Android Mobile High Definition Link (MHL), so that video can be streamed from a smartphone (provided said phone also supports MHL).
The rest of the features are quite predictable (HDMI input, audio output), though the two USB 3.0 ports and the lone USB 2.0 connector may still draw some extra attention.
Finally, the native resolution is most likely 1,920 x 1,080 pixels (Full HD), as Samsung would probably not waste all the above on a “mere” HD panel.
Unfortunately, unlike the aforementioned Ultrabooks that are scheduled to start shipping this month, the Samsung Series 7 Smart Station will take longer to arrive: it will debut in March, for an unspecified price.