3 out of 5 stars
Introduction
Everybody loves innovation when it comes to tech (well apart from AI of course). At 3dtotal we get to see this often when we review pen display tablets rammed with new features and boosted spec. It’s always nice to see something a bit different though, hence my excitement when we were contacted by Mobile Pixels (www.mobilepixels.us) and invited to try out their latest bit of innovative design in the form of their Geminos T stacked monitor.
The Geminos boxed up and itching to be opened
The Geminos aims to take the benefits of having dual monitor displays, and instead of having them as two separate side by side devices, there is one device to connect to your PC, but consisting of 2 separate displays which can be positioned easily and conveniently. This is an exciting concept, so read on if you want to know what we think.
The Geminos in all its glory
First Impressions
So at this point I’m going to focus on the stuff you will notice before you’ve even plugged in the monitors. The device was well boxed and the instructions are all super clear which is a nice start. You may feel the monitor has a bit of a plastic feel, although it is solid in your hands. It is very heavy and large with 24 inch monitors which will feel very tall once you’ve removed them from their packaging.
I’ll talk about some of the benefits of the height later, but because the monitors are so tall the base is sizeable. This is important as it means the monitors are very sturdy on the desk (which is a good thing), but it’s worth mentioning as you will need a good amount of space place the monitor behind a keyboard. As you’ll see in the images I have a fairly shallow desk, making it hard to fit on the monitors. If you have an average depth desk however this should not be a problem.
The Geminos has a large and heavy base which makes it solid on your desk.
There is one thing that did bother me about this before I had plugged it in. Like many screen devices it has stickers on it to demonstrate how to use it and connect it up etc. That is fine and normal. However, the stickers all left a sticky residue on the device. You’ll see in the video below that the integral webcam took some scrubbing with cleaning wipes to make it useable. I found this very frustrating - however since mentioning this to Mobile Pixels they have assured me that the stickers have been updated and no longer leave sticky marks - which is a good thing.
The sticky residue from the stickers was frustrating but I’ve been assured this has been updated.
Connection
This is a big bonus. You’ll have this up and running in minutes. A simple USB here, HDMI there, plug in the power and bobs your uncle (not sure if that phrase works internationally - but basically you’re good to go).
If you don’t have a desk top PC and use a laptop, but want to be able to add big screens easily to work on large scale digital paintings or 3d projects, this is convenient and a lot less effort than attaching two individual monitors to a laptop. That doesn’t mean that I think these monitors are portable, but if you want to move around your house or office and work on a laptop you can set up easily anywhere. Also, because the monitors are stacked vertically, you won’t need a long space.
Touch Screen
The bottom monitor has touch screen functionality, something we’ve been familiar with on laptops for a long time, but not so much on desktop size monitors. If you’re working on a 3d sculpt or digital painting this allows you to organise your screen really effectively. You can place all your tools, settings etc on the bottom monitor and purely focus the top monitor on painting/sculpt you are working on. If you use 2 screens (like I do), I’m sure you’ve already been doing this for a long time.
The benefit however of this is that you can move aside your mouse and keyboard and use your tablet and touch screen to navigate your brushes etc. This is convenient and became intuitive for me very quickly.
Dual monitors allow you to organize tools across displays
For selecting brushes etc the touch screen is perfectly sufficient. You may however be thinking - “OOOOOHHH - I could get rid of my keyboard and use the touch screen keyboard on the lower screen”. That is 100% doable, but the touch screen seems to lack the responsiveness of an iPad or other touch screens you may have used before. I would describe myself as an average speed typist, but the screen could not keep up with me.
The touch screen is not suitable for any sort of faster typing.
Convenience
So this is the big question really. Everyone knows you can operate a PC with one monitor perfectly and 2 monitors is not a necessity for digital art. The reason you might be considering this device is because you want to organise you screen space more effectively and improve your practical work flow.
Adding a second monitor definitely helps you do that. I have been working with 2 side by side monitors for at least 15 years and it does have practical benefits to both digital art workflows and my everyday work at 3dtotal.
So what is better, side by side or stacked? I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer to this. It will entirely come down to individual preference. By simply looking at these images I think you’ll be able to decide if a stacked monitor could work well for you, based on your working space, your height, the way you like to work and the devices you intend to work with. The one major benefit with the Geminos device is the ease of connectivity, but if you work in a static location that is probably of less concern.
The stacked monitor may suit your space if you don’t have much room.
Interesting extras
Screens
I just want to draw your attention to a few other features of this device. After years of looking at RGB% etc I think we understand the technical information about monitors and the details regarding the technical spec are in the image below. But the screens are nice to work with and the colour and detail is preserved very well.
The screen specification
Web Camera
There is an integral web camera. I’ve included an image below to demonstrate what you might expect from this in regards to quality. It isn’t great quality, but if you do infrequent Zoom calls etc it is convenient to have no additional devices to plug in.
Speakers
This features build in speakers to the base of the monitor. I wouldn’t recommend them for listening to music or watching TV, as the quality isn’t really suitable for that. However, if you are doing Zoom calls or talking with people online it is a convenient and very useable addition.
Connectivity
We’re used to this now on all screens, pen displays etc. The screen comes with multiple additional USB ports. This is of course handy and helps you organise your space easily.
I love lots of connections!
Height
I actually think this is a really important one. I work at a PC for about 8 - 9 hours a day. If you’re looking down at a monitor for long periods - particularly something sat on a desk like a laptop, it can cause significant neck and back problems. If you’re early 20’s reading this you’ll think - don’t be silly that isn’t true. Well I turn 40 this year and used to be just like you. Having a monitor raised to eye level is so important.
I’m 5ft 11inches, which isn’t that tall but I still find myself looking down a bit when my monitor is on a riser. This monitor can really lift the viewing space to make it level with my eyes which I appreciate greatly.
The taller monitor is really nice to use as a taller person.
Conclusion
This monitor is currently priced at £619 on Amazon in the UK and comparable prices around the world. When shopping for monitors you should remember that this price should be compared to buying two monitors rather than just one, and with that in mind I think it is OK value for money.
I’ve been using this for about 3 weeks and feel that the quality is not perfect, but I’m confident it will work well for many years to come.
Is this for you? Well it will depend on your space and working scenario. I would suggest it isn’t better than working with two side by side monitors with my desktop PC set up. However, if I had a narrower space and spent a lot of time on a laptop that I connected to monitors I could really see the benefit of this display.