For those of us that take a notebook/laptop computer from one place to another on a regular basis have discovered that a docking station at the second location makes a lot of sense as you don’t need to carry the extra mouse, keyboard, monitor back and forth and all you need to do is to simply plug the computer into the docking station and are good to go. If you have a Lenovo notebook, you probably already know about the terrific docking stations that are available for it. But I needed something more portable and easier for traveling especially when it comes to traveling with USB Memory sticks and digital camera memory cards.

One that I saw from the recent Pepcom virtual show is from OWC, also known as Other World Computing, and they have a very nice a portable unit called the USB-C Travel Doc. It is three inches square and one inch high with rubber feet so it stays where you put it. Its connecting cable is only six inches long with a USB-C end so it needs very little room next to the computer. 

From there you have two USB3.1 Gen1 Type A ports for all that older computer equipment like your keyboard/mouse/printer. An HDMI to connect to a 4K display, projector, or television. An SD Card reader for media cards and if you get yourself one of those SD Card adapter, then you can also read those microSD cards that are so popular with smartphones. And finally, a USB Type-C Auxiliary Power Port that will pass up to 100W of power to a connected device like smartphones, earbuds, tablets and the like. 

It is fully compatible with Thunderbolt 3 equipped Macs and PCs as well as iOS, Android, and Chrome OS devices. Another terrific feature if like me, you often have several USB Memory sticks plugged into the unit at the same time, is a way to quickly disconnect the Travel Doc from the computer and everything attached at one time. It is the OWC Dock Ejector software that does the trick. Simply download it and with one click, disconnects everything at the same time as it makes sure all data is written to the drives before disconnecting.

This little guy is perfect for traveling with.  Compact and as I mentioned, the cord folds up on the back of the unit and so is easily gets out of the way.  Once you have it packed, there is a finger hole on the back for easily getting the cable back out. You can buy it from the Macsales website for just $55.

Robert Sanborn

August 2021