Full Product Review of the 7" LCD Mimo Monitor (Blog Edition)

Here I’m going to be reviewing the UM-710 7” LCD Mimo Monitor. This monitor features a 7” LCD display with an 800 x 480 WVGA resolution. It also sports a 400 – 1 contrast ratio and only weighs 1.3 pounds.

When you first look at the monitor, you will notice its very clean appearance. The device only has 3 buttons on its right side. The top button is for power, and the bottom two buttons increase and decrease brightness. When you view the display from the right side, you will notice the thinness of the display, as well as the 3 buttons we discussed earlier. (The left side is plain) On the back of the device, you will see a silver knob that is used to hold the display in place. And on the bottom, you can see the USB Mini 5-pin B type connector that powers the monitor, as well as the rubber feet on the stand that are used to prevent sliding.

The total setup time for this monitor was about 5 minutes. The setup of this monitor was very easy. If you have a Windows PC, just put the included CD in your computer, select the device you bought, and then the software will install the correct drivers for you. If you have a Mac, you have to download the drivers from the Mimo Monitors website. Once you download your drivers, plug in the monitors USB cable and the display should turn on. The last thing you have to do is go to your display options and select the correct location of your monitor.

This display is great for side applications that end up wasting space on your main displays. Therefore, it’s handy during large workloads where you have many windows open and are limited on desktop space. This allows you do your work on your main displays, while also allowing you to run a number of applications without taking up valuable screen real estate.

I am currently use this monitor for iTunes, Twitter, and an instant messaging application called Google Talk. (And Skype as well on some occasions) I also always run sidebar applications (Vista) such as a clock, CPU + RAM Usage tools. They basically display the current load of my CPU and the current % of RAM being used. This is helpful because my computer isn't the best... so its nice to know how everything is doing. Also, I have a program called MultiMon Taskbar (Video to come later) that allows me to extend my windows taskbar to my other external displays. This display can be literally be used for an infinite amount of programs and applications. Such applications include Photoshop tools, iTunes, Skype, Email clients, instant messaging, as well as Twitter.

I’ve been using this monitor for about a week now and I have been very impressed with it. It allows me to do all of my main tasks on my main displays, while allowing me to run all of my side applications on a screen that doesn’t take up much space on my desk. It’s convenient and low profile design makes this monitor a great fit for any desk, and since it’s powered by a single USB 2.0 cable, you don’t need to worry about plugging anything into a power source. I was specifically impressed with the monitor’s easy setup, good screen resolution, contrast ratio, brightness, and overall picture quality. All are exceptional for a device of this size. I also liked how there was virtually no lag while using this monitor. The only thing that I noticed was that the mouse curser does not move as fluidly as it would on a standard display. However, this isn’t a big issue, and wouldn’t be an issue to you either if you were to buy one of these displays. Overall, I would rate this display a 4.5 out of 5. If you use a lot of different apps, but find desktop space limited, I would highly suggest you get this monitor.

This model is one of two models currently available from Mimo Monitors. The model that I reviewed is the UM-710 model and is available for $129.99. The second model is the 740. That model includes a touch screen, audio in and out ports, an integrated webcam, as well as an integrated microphone. The 740 model is available for $199.99. Both of these monitors can be bought from www.mimomonitors.com.

Pictures of this display are posted on my Flickr page as well. Just go to http://www.flickr.com/huskermania.