If you work for a professional organization, it's likely your IT guy can get you one. When I leave at night, my laptop is fully charged. I can instantly pop my laptop off to join a meeting or respond to a call in the factory. I've found docking stations to be very helpful as an engineer in a factory. The benefit is that you can instantly snap the PC in and out of this arrangement. Yes, docking stations charge the laptop.ĭocking stations allow you to keep a traditional desk with a large monitor, ergonomic keyboard, laptop charger, optical mouse, LAN, etc. Not all laptops have docking station connectors. Your docking station must be compatible with your laptop. Having everything plugged into a central device can provide more flexibility, however, especially if the laptop is often used on the go. In each of these cases, it's usually possible for the user to plug the monitor or the keyboard directly into the laptop. Sometimes, a larger keyboard is also easier to type on. Most newer laptops have more than enough USB or Firewire® ports for casual use, although some users find that they want to access a desktop monitor while using the laptop. This can be especially helpful if the laptop has a minimal number of USB or Firewire® ports.ĭocking stations, which can be built into computers or added as attachments, allow additional devices to be plugged into a computer. All of these peripherals can be plugged into the dock, and then, when the user connects the laptop, he can gain access to all of those peripherals without having to plug each one into the computer. It's a device into which a person can plug a laptop in order to gain extra functionality, such as access to printers, mice, scanners, full-sized monitors and keyboards, and external hard drives. A docking station is a bridge to the past for many newer computers, but users might find that they need one even if they have the latest model.

Plug keyboard into laptop