GOING PLACES

By David EssexSpecial to GCNMost notebook computer reviews make little more than passing mention of docking stations and port replicators, the optional devices that provide a permanent desktop connection for mobile PCs. But a clear understanding of docking products can help government information technology managers save money, improve convenience for users and allocate resources with greater flexibility.Docking products are at least getting more attention from major notebook vendors. Compaq Computer Corp., IBM Corp. and Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., for example, are working to make their docks and port replicators more universal across their product lines, according to the three companies.The move will reduce the manufacturers' costs as well as simplify purchasing and maintenance for buyers. Hewlett-Packard Co. says it has already done this with what it calls the first cross-product family of docking devices for its Omnibook line.Docking products break down into fairly neat categories. Lowest in price and simplest in function are port replicators. These lightweight attachments duplicate the main ports and connectors of the notebook.They provide basic connections to desktop mainstays that cannot or should not be moved, such as the monitor, printer, and often a mouse and keyboard.Port replicators lack room for half-size PC boards but occasionally have PC Card slots that can hold a token-ring or Ethernet card for patching the notebook into the agency's network. Some port replicators include an RJ-45 jack that works with Ethernet circuitry in the notebook itself or in chips inside the replicator.Docking stations supplement port replication with more desktop PC features that notebooks typically lack, such as slots for PC Cards, bays for a second hard drive, floppy drive or optical drive, and peripheral connectors that are too big to fit on the notebook, such as SCSI ports.They typically also provide a locking mechanism that adds stability and security against theft. Docking stations also offer optional monitor stands, which let you place the display directly above the CPU for a more PC-like setup. Some also provide a place for recharging batteries that have been removed from the notebook.The main drawback of docking stations is their steep price'typically $500 to $800, which is two to three times the price of a port replicator and even approaches the cost of a low-end PC.A third type of docking device, a hybrid usually called a minidock, ministation or convenience base, may provide a more convenient, ramplike connection to replicated ports.Minidocks occasionally have room for a drive bay or half-size board, but they don't have as many of them as docking stations do, and they lack locking devices and monitor stands.They're close in price and functionality to port replicators that have added Ethernet capability.Some mininotebooks and ultraportables from vendors such as Fujitsu America Inc. of San Jose, Calif., Sony Corp. of America of Park Ridge, N.J., and Toshiba have special expansion devices that resemble port replicators.With dimensions and weight like that of a midsize flashlight, these devices are more like port prostheses than replicators. Some ultraslim notebooks are so thin that they don't have room for serial, parallel and VGA ports, so they use a small proprietary connector for the expansion bar, which is included with the systems.Not surprisingly, the broadest selections of docking stations and port replicators come from vendors with the broadest notebook lines and strong offerings in the high-end desktop-replacement segment. Compaq, IBM and Toshiba are the major players in docking and port replication. But a growing number of vendors are offering docking options, and a third-party manufacturer, Xtend Micro Products Inc., sells docking accessories for several of the Big Three's notebook lines.The vendors have been making efforts to stabilize their docking platforms to extend their useful life even after new notebook designs are introduced.'Our DeskStation V Plus is the longest-lived docking station on the market,' said Toshiba group manager Chris Abate, referring to the 4-year-old docking station for the Tecra and Portege notebook lines. IBM emphasizes the modularity of its port replicators and docking stations, though several devices work with more than one model and its SelectDock III has been around for several years, IBM worldwide product manager Rob Pace said.But the promise of universality is just that'more promise than reality. The fact is that today's docking products are a confusing hodgepodge of model-specific designs, even within vendors' own product lines, except for those of HP, which has comparatively few notebooks to support.The standardization problem centers more on the electronic rather than the physical connection between the notebook and the docking station or port replicator. An industry consortium has so far failed to define a common interface that will work across vendors' products, Abate said.When you are choosing docking stations or port replicators, take care not to buy more desktop expandability than your work force needs.The added expense of a full docking station plus optional monitor stand may be wasted on employees who depend mostly on office-type applications such as word processing and basic spreadsheets, and on e-mail and low-speed network links.Most port replicators are adequate for this level of connectivity. Less technically savvy users might best be supported by minidocks, which are somewhat easier to connect and disconnect than replicators.Docking stations are generally worth the extra money for users who need substantially more disk storage than is typically found in today's high-powered notebooks. Engineers, multimedia specialists and others who work on large projects that are stored electronically may need extra hard drives, optical drives and faster network connections to adequately manage their workloads.People who telecommute for part of the week or who travel extensively may also benefit from having a second, larger hard drive and a network connection via a docking station.They can more easily copy or mirror their desktop files to the notebook's smaller hard drive, or back up the notebook drive to the agency's network drive. Workers with small desks who must take their work off-site can benefit from a docking station with a monitor stand, which makes the notebook and desktop combo fit into a more compact, vertical space.Watch out for hidden costs. Vendors often require you to buy a special adapter to make a docking unit work with a particular notebook model, a fact not always apparent before reading the fine print.Choose the docking station or port replicator that works with the greatest number of models in your notebook fleet. Conversely, it also makes sense to consider compatibility with the docking setups you already own'or at least that the vendor will continue to offer'when buying new notebooks.Finally, don't forget to consider your users' docking requirements when pondering a volume purchase or upgrade of your notebook fleet.The real costs of docking should also figure prominently in any cost-benefit analysis of each vendor's notebook offerings.XXXSPLITXXX-