Which docking station for my 2010 MacBook Pro?

JoeyR,

I read your comment and do you not think that it is a good thing that people out there are at least trying to fill these gaps in the market. I absolutly love apple and there products but I think they could have done a lot better if the started to focus on the business sector where I think sort of thing would be used, and in turn have more money to invest in further R&D to give us better products.

Just my thoughts.

Thanks

I can suggest the following:

www.byte-dock.com

www.hengedocks.com

There is another one called bookendz but not to sure about that.

Hope this help ya out.

DO NOT BUY HENGEDOCK.

This damm thing has cause me nothing but hassle since I got it. The plastic snapped after a time. It cost a lot more than I expected once I added my time the cables the construction time and everything else into it. It is not an out of the box solution. Plus in there video they do not even move it from one room to another the screen in the living room is running off the imac in the TV stand I read some where. Does that not make you wonder?

I do not know abou the others. The Bookendz i have seen only on webpages, and the Byte-dock looks cool but as it not out yet I would reserve judgement.

Hope this helps

Keep in mind that there is no "drop in" solution. The MacBook Pro was never designed for a docking station. Most business machines have an actual port (usually on the bottom) of the machine that connects directly to system board and allows the dock to access video, USB, audio, etc. All of the docks made for MacBook Pros basically connect to the existing ports. They're not particularly elegant solutions. They're really not any easier to connect/disconnect and you are adding some width as the systems connect to your existing ports. Personally, I don't think they offer much in benefits... which is likely why there are so few decent options out there.

This all depends on what you are looking for ina docking solution. If you want to keep desk space availbe then I would say go for the on end solution such as Byte-dock or Hengedock. However if you want to run multipule screens as in the macbook screen and the external monitor this will not be possible with an on end dock as the macbook will have to remain closed. So you only option would be a bookendz dock that I can see.

I have read a bit about these Byte-docks but I cannot pass judgement yet as they are not out for a little while yet (according to the website).

Henge on the other hand have been around for a while now. I think at least 18 months, and I have some good and some bad points about them. Good point generally go on cost and easy of use. However I also read that the plastic in the bottom of the dock (while the plugs come through) snaps causing loose connections and because of this poor video output etc to occur, and while they advertise that the dock is cheap by the time you add everything else on like the cables, delivery, construction time it all adds up to a headache, and works out around the $200 mark.

Bookendz have been around for years and are still going strong that should tell you something, but it all comes down to you and what you define your requirements as.

Hope I have enlightened you to your options some more with this comment..

I'm looking for a MacBook Pro docking solution that supports dual monitor output. I know there's many PC docks that will do this but haven't been able to find any solutions that support Macs. Has anyone ever heard or seen one that does?

I got a Byte-dock and the guys there recommended to me a great little solution to run dual monitors from it.

Here is a link:

http://sewelldirect.com/Sewell-HD-Deck-USB-to-HDMI.asp

The guys at Byte-dock told me that this is the best and cheapest solution they found to run in HDMI and full 1080p. HOwever if anyone else out there know of a better way I am all ears as I can always send the grpahics card back. Got to say though on a side note I cannot fult my Byte-dock been very good for me.

Cheers

Shredder

I would reccommend a BookEndz dock. They're kind of expensive but they seem like a lot better value than the Byte-Dock. The Byte-Dock is around $230 USD and you still need to buy an external monitor. Thats about the same price as the BookEndz docks here:

http://www.justdockit.com/bookendz-docking-station-for-15-inch-macbook-pro/

@vapourick you're looking for something that uses DisplayLink drivers. However these drivers are buggy under Lion and wouldn't recomend it.

@topic: This is why I want to get a newer MBP with thunderbolt support because the thunderbolt display will act as a one plug dock. There are also belkin docks coming out (which does everything that the TB Display does but without the extra display and isight). To say the MBP wasn't meant to be docked is kinda silly.

there is newer tech that answers our needs. We're just stuck a year behind. Luckily the technology is so new it can only get cheaper and better as time goes on.

all these docks either take away optical audio or a display to use. not worth it for me. I do undesrtand your pain as I have all but the optical in filled up on my MBP late 08.

@TheSmokeMonster

Thanks for the advise. I recently readup on the TB port and display technology and it seems like the way to go. The displays are a little pricy right now and I'd like to see more then one TB display on the market. I do have the recent MBP but forking out another 2k for both monitors isn't possible for me right now.....

but Christmas is just around the corner 😀

Targus has a universal doc (ACP70USZ) that takes advantage of the USB3 port. It has 2 video out (dvi/hdmi) as well as a nic, audio, and a ton of USB ports. 1 usb3 cable to unplug and you are mobile again.

The video will flash when you are trying to watch videos but its fine for normal computer use.

So far this is way better than the bookendz.

Hengedocks has these coming out Q3 2013.

http://www.hengedocks.com/order_horizontal_dock.php

Lenovo makes a port replicator that has USB3, 2 DVI, NIC and Audio. While they do not have apple supported drivers, it SEEMS to be working with the Mac drivers for the Targus Universial (still testing this). This is the first port replicator I have seens with 2 DVI ports, nice to connect monitors with out bulky adapters.

Incorrectly they are calling it a Dock:

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/itemdetails/0A33970/460/EB6CE8241B8A47E18EBAF06F872 6DA3E