Once you go second screen, you can’t go back—this is one of the most painful and important lessons I’ve learned since we got back into the office from the WFH life (a whole two years ago, but hey, the heart misses what it misses). Unlike at home, office desk space is so limited, and my desk has gotten so messy over the past year that I simply can’t fit a proper second monitor on it without sacrificing my knick-knacks.
Therefore, when CrowView offered their clamping monitor to us for a review, I took it up gladly—and after a few weeks of use, here’s what I think of it!
Editor
Jennifer chevron_right
Table of Contents
CrowView 14” Mechanical Clamping Display Specifications
- Screen Size: 14 inch
- Resolution: 1920×1080
- Refresh Rate: 60Hz
- Response Time: 20ms
- Brightness: 400nit
- Panel Type: IPS Panel
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Dimensions: 13.98”x8.54”x0.83” (Screen Thickness: 0.39”)
- Weight: 1.76lbs (0.8kg)
- Material: ABS+PC
Build & Design
The first thing I thought when I got the monitor out of the box is “this thing is light” and not in a good way. The plastic casing feels delicate, with a build quality that doesn’t really inspire a lot of confidence, though I guess the weight adds points to the portability.
All of the ports are situated on the left of the monitor. It has two USB-C ports that support both video input and power, a mini-HDMI port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. On the same side, at the back of the display, are the control buttons.
Having all-in-one Type-C ports means that the monitor is capable of a clean, single-cable setup, provided your laptop has a Type-C DisplayPort as well. As it stands, my laptop (a HUAWEI MateBook 14) only has one of those, so during the times when I have to charge my laptop, I have to hook the monitor up with two cables, one USB-C to USB-C connected to a power brick for power and one USB-C to mini-HDMI connected to the laptop for display output. It’s not an ideal setup for working in a cafe, per se, but if your laptop has more than one Type-C port, then it’s all good.
All of the cables mentioned above are included in the box, which is a nice touch. Basically, you get everything you need out of the box for the next step: setup.
Setup & Performance
Attaching the CrowView to my laptop was surprisingly easy, thanks to its mechanical clamping mechanism. The telescopic snap fits laptops from 13 to 16.5 inches, and you can position it on either side of your laptop screen.
Like the rest of the monitor, the plastic clamps felt a little fragile. They’re padded, so there’s no need to worry about scratching up your laptop.
The 14” screen size is just nice for my 14” laptop. However, even though the monitor itself feels lightweight in hand, it still made my laptop rather top-heavy, so it leaned back when opened a little too far. You probably won’t want to move your laptop around while it’s clipped on, especially if you have one of those lightweight ultrabooks.
That said, you don’t have to clip it onto your laptop for it to work. The CrowView 14” Display can stand on its own too. In fact, it can stand on its own in two orientations, landscape and vertical, so there are plenty of setup options you can choose from.
In terms of performance, the CrowView's IPS panel offers decent image quality. Now, it’s not the best—you really cannot expect 4K or even 2K quality on an LCD display, but for work purposes and casual YouTube browsing, it’s good enough. If you're into image or video editing, you’ll definitely find it lacking in detail and colour accuracy.
Final Verdict
Is the CrowView 14” Camping Display pretty? No. Does it do the job? Yes. One thing’s for sure: whip this out in a coffee shop, and you’ll certainly attract all the stares, and then more.
All in all, the Elecrow CrowView 14-inch monitor is a handy device for anyone who needs an extra screen while travelling or just doesn’t have the extra space for a full-size monitor. While it may not be the best for high-resolution tasks like professional editing, it's more than adequate for general use and multitasking.
You can find the CrowView 14” Mechanical Clamping Display here.