Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Zendock removes cord clutter, gives MacBook owners organized bliss

By
zendock-pro_dt
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The irony of the MacBook Pro’s sharp, clean aluminum lines is that the instant you plug an external hard drive, wireless mouse dongle, extra monitor, and headphones into your machine, it looks like a tangled mess. Never mind that when you’re ready to head out with your laptop, you have to unplug all of those cords one by one. Sure, there are docking stations available for Macs, but most of them aren’t very pretty and take up a fair amount of desk space. A husband and wife entrepreneurial duo have come up with the Zendock by Zenboxx. It’s a new dock that not only looks nice when attached to your MacBook, but also controls cord clutter on your desk. 

It’s a unique design for a dock that hardly looks like a dock at all. A small brushed aluminum piece with receivers for the power port, gigabit Ethernet port, Firewire 800 port, mini DisplayPort, and one USB port plug into one side of the MacBook Pro. That piece is connected to a discrete cord that is attached to the dock base, a wall-mountable box that replicates the laptop’s ports and adds a few others. The idea is that you only have to line up one plug when you’re ready to sit down at a desk with your MacBook, but it also eliminates a rat’s nest of cords that either sit on your desk or fall behind your desk the instant you try to grab one. Seriously, if we had a dime every time our power cord slipped between the wall and the desk, we could afford a new Retina MacBook Pro. 

zendock2_dt
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Speaking of Retina MacBook Pros, the Zenboxx will launch with a model to accomodate the newer Retina model as well as older MacBook Pros. The Retina model includes a Thunderbolt pass-through port on the laptop end of the dock so that there’s minimal loss of data transfer speeds. The dock base on the Zendock Retina model features three USB 3.0 ports, Mini DisplayPort, an optional gigabit Ethernet adaptor, and headphone and mic jacks. The Zendock Power model includes all of the above, but switches out the optional Ethernet adaptor for a permanent one and adds Firewire 800 to mimic the ports on the older MacBook Pro models.

Recommended Videos

Zenboxx plans on launching and shipping the Zendock as soon as possible, with an expected retail price of $179. However, the company has just started a Kickstarter campaign for the Zendock Power and the Zendock Retina with an early bird price of $99 for backers.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Meghan McDonough
Meghan McDonough
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Meghan J. McDonough is a Chicago-based purveyor of consumer technology and music. She previously wrote for LAPTOP Magazine…
Here’s everything we know about the M4 MacBook Pro so far
An open MacBook Pro on a table.

With the launch of the M4 iPad Pro, you might be wondering what’s in the cards for the MacBook Pro. Is it following hot on the heels of Apple’s flagship iPad, or will we have a significant wait before Apple’s laptop gets an upgrade?

We’ve scoured the rumor mill to find the answer, as well as worked out what sort of performance, features and designs we can expect. If you’re interested in learning more about the upcoming M4 MacBook Pro, you’re in the right place.
Price and release date

Read more
This 13-inch MacBook Air deal cuts the price by $150
The screen of the MacBook Air M2.

For those who are on the hunt for MacBook deals, you may want to check out Best Buy's bargain for the 13.6-inch Apple MacBook Air M2. The model with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM is down to $849, following a $150 discount on its original price of $999. We don't think this offer will last long though, so if you want to take advantage of it, there should be no hesitation on your end -- add it to your cart and proceed with the checkout process as soon as you can.

Why you should buy the 13.6-inch Apple MacBook Air M2
The 13.6-inch Apple MacBook Air M2 isn't the latest model of the laptop, but it's still featured in our list of the best MacBooks as the MacBook for everyone. That's because with its reduced price -- which is even lower with Best Buy's discount -- the machine is a relatively budget-friendly option for those who are planning to switch to a MacBook or to upgrade from an older model to enjoy Apple's own silicon. The Apple M2 processor, combined with an eight-core CPU, eight-core GPU, and 8GB of RAM, provides incredible performance that will be able to handle even the most demanding tasks for work or school.

Read more
The new iPad Pro would be perfect, if only it were a Mac
A person gaming on the M4 iPad Pro and playing Diablo Immortal.

It’s no secret that I’ve been cheering on Apple’s gaming advances over the last year or so. Long-suffering Mac gamers have gone from being the forgotten also-rans of Apple’s ecosystem to feeling on top of the world, all in a very short period of time. But there’s one vital piece missing from the puzzle, and Apple’s new M4 iPad Pros have made it incredibly obvious.

I’ll admit, Mac gamers have been treated well in recent times. Not only have we had phenomenal hardware advancements in the form of the M3 Max chip -- which is a genuine gaming chip so cool and quiet that you’d be fooled into thinking it’s not -- but there’s also been a slate of top-tier games arriving on Apple’s platform, including my beloved Baldur’s Gate 3. It’s a good time to be a Mac gamer.

Read more