Should You Buy a Samsung Dex Station for the Galaxy S8 or Note 8? An Unboxing & Review
38In this video we unbox, go through the initial setup and review the Samsung DeX Station designed for the Galaxy S8, S8+ and the Galaxy Note 8.
No-one can deny that Samsung smartphones have been some of the most successful handsets on the market. In addition to creating great phones Samsung also creates some truly unique accessories. One such accessory is the DeX Station, designed to allow you to turn your phone into a pseudo desktop computer running Android. The last company to try this on a broad scale was Motorola with their Atrix with their lapdock accessory. This was a, rather expensive, all-in-one solution which basically turned your smartphone into a laptop. Great concept, poor execution. The DeX station is considerablly less expensive (I got mine from Amazon for about $100), can be used on any HDMI-equipped TV or monitor, USB accessories such as thumb drives, keyboards and mice and can even be connected to your network via LAN cable. Pretty cool.
From the box the DeX Station includes the dock itself, an AC Adapter and a USB-C cable. You’ll need to pick up a keyboard and mouse to be able to use the system, and for this application I used a Logitech combo. You’ll also need an HDMI cable but be aware, you cannot use an HDMI-to-VGA adapter to connect to a monitor if you monitor does not have an HDMI port. That was a bummer to learn, I’ll tell you that much.
Overall this is a really neat system that does a lot. You can access and use Microsoft Office apps, Google Docs (I’m actually typing this copy as the video renders on Docs!) and other apps too. The inclusion of the games functionality expands the possible market for the Dex Station for those who want to play Android Games on their television.
For the average web/email/Facebook/Twitter User Samsung DeX is an amazing solution and can totally be a desktop replacement. Even enterprise users can find a lot to love here thanks to the compatibility with Office and other productivity programs and apps. Facebook, web browsing, email all worked great too. Everything I experimented with kept impressing me, although it was not without fault.
Not all apps work with the DeX Station, which was unfortunate. The Disney World Experience app I tried to load in the video was the most notable for not working. If the app doesn’t work or isn’t compatible you get a notification in the bottom of the screen to indicate the issue and you are returned to the main screen. While disappointing at least it doesn’t leave you questioning for long.
Why it RoX:
Adds even more value to the Samsung Galaxy lineup of phones
Reasonably priced for what it offers
Hardwired network connection
Convenient size
Works with games/has a game hub!
Compatible with Microsoft Office Suite and Google Docs
Looks really good on-screen
Great multitasking
No lag or slowdown
Built-in speaker
Charges your phone while docked
You can leave your phone in a case
What could be improved
Not compatible with all apps
Not compatible with VGA monitors via HDMI-to-VGA Adapter
Not compatible with my Google Pixel XL (Ok, I’m splitting hairs and just jealous right now)
It would be great if this was included at launch with the phones
Would we recommend it?
Uh, yeah! The only major downside we found was the monitor compatibility issue, beyond that the Dex Station is an amazingly simple and functional piece of hardware. If you’re not a power PC User, and by that I mean if you don’t need to run video editing software, After Effects, Photoshop, etc there’s little you won’t be able to run on this. I’m very impressed with the DeX Station thus far and cannot recommend it highly enough.
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The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107