CableTime’s 16-In-2 Docking Station Is A Swiss Army Knife For Laptops

The tech industry is full of entrepreneurial folk who risk everything to make the modern equivalent of a better mousetrap. A case in point is CableTimes Electronics, a brand that markets all kinds of computing accessories and is headed up by Frank Su.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, the parent company, Ningbo Alline Electronic Technology Co., Ltd, was established in 2005 and is dedicated to design, R&D, manufacturing, marketing and exporting of computing accessories, including hubs, docks, cables and adapters; in fact, anything that connects people to technology. The CableTime brand was founded in 2020 and boasts a wide product range including some seriously good-looking cables.

One of the company’s current products is the CableTime 16-in-2 Dual USB-C multiport docking station for laptops. This relatively affordable box of tricks is small enough to throw in a workbag but has enough ports to turn almost any laptop into a workstation. It’s the kind of accessory that would suit digital nomads who need to create content on the move and plug into bigger networks and use other peripherals like printers, external displays and storage devices.

Designed for Mac or Windows laptops, this docking station can take a single USB Type-C port on a laptop and extend it to a huge range of peripherals. The docking station supports 4K display video output and can simultaneously drive up to four screens with compatible Windows systems. It also allows the user to split the content into multiple streams of display devices if the host system supports the feature.

The laptop docking station has three HDMI ports plus a single DisplayPort option. One of the HDMI ports will support a resolution of up to 4K with a 60Hz refresh rate when the host side has DisplayPort v1.4.The data from the host computer is carried through a special dual USB-C plug that connects two ports to the docking station for extra bandwidth.

The ingenious 16-IN-2 USB C dock also contains a slot for an M Series SATA SSD so it can be turned into a high-speed external storage device up to 2TB capacity. In addition, there is a Gigabit Ethernet port, 100W USB C PD charging, three USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, plus a USB-C port. For content creators, there is also an SD/TF 3.0 card slot as well as a 3.5 mm audio port which works with headsets as well as headphones.

With a Windows laptop, the docking station can drive one 4K HDMI display while the other three ports will provide connectivity with up to four external monitors at resolutions up to 1080P.

For Mac users, the support for external monitors is a bit more limited as Apple doesn’t support MST and is restricted to 1080P. Only supports M1 MAX/M1 PRO chip series notebook computers. You can visit the CableTime website to see what kind of support you can expect from your MacBook, depending on the type of Apple or Intel silicon you are running. If only Apple would adopt some standards for this kind of thing.

Charging and powering a laptop is an important function and the 16-in-2 docking station supports PD charging at a maximum of 100W via a Type-C pass through a female port. The device will fully charge a 13-inch MacBook Pro in less than two hours!

For those who use removable media in cameras, video cameras and audio recorders, the CableTime docking station has two card slots for SD/Micro SD memory. The slots have a read speed of up to 104Mbps and they support simultaneous reading and writing. The slots are compatible with SD, SDHC, SDXC, MicroSD, MicroSDHC, and Micro SDXC cards with a maximum capacity of up to 2TB.

When it comes to audio, the 16-in-2 docking station provides a 3.5mm audio jack that works as an input and output. The jack can be used for a simple pair of headphones when listening to music or it can accept a TRRS headset for microphone input which makes it ideal for video meetings and telephone calls, especially if your laptop is missing an audio jack. The output is also good for driving and an external pair of powered speakers.

The shell of the docking station is made with an aluminum alloy. The anodic oxidation process used to manufacture the case provides good heat dissipation which is good if you have an SSD running in the slot on top.

Verdict: The CableTime 16-IN-2 Dual USB-C multiport docking station is a Swiss Army Knife for almost any laptop. It’s affordable and relatively lightweight, making it an ideal box for almost any hot desk where Thunderbolt connectivity isn’t required. For the money, it offers a lot of connectivity and utility and is good value for money.

Pricing & Availability: The CableTime 16-IN-2 Dual USB-C multiport docking station is available now from the CableTime website. The price is $109.

More info: cabletimetech.com

Tech Specs:

• Connectors: USB C Male to 2 × USB 3.0 5Gbps ,1 × HDMI 4K@60Hz, 1 × USB C PD100W, 1 × RJ45 1000Mbps, 1 × SD 104Mb/s, 1 × TF 104Mb/s
• Model No: CB12G/ CT-DOCK162-AG.
• Inputs: 2 × USB C Host
• Outputs: 1 × SSD NGFF 5Gbps, 3 × HDMI 4K, 1 × DP 4K, 1 × USB C 5Gbps, 3 × USB 3.0 5Gbps, 2 × USB 2.0 480Mbps, 1 × USB C PD 100W, 1 × RJ45 1000Mbps, 1 × Audio 3.5mm, 1 × SD 3.0 104Mb/s, 1 × TF 3.0 104Mb/s.
• Multi-screen: Supports MST.
• Materials: Aluminum shell + ABS.