PiDOCK 400--Raspberry Pi 400 Compatible Dock & Display

Works well, but some mechanical issues

I was happy to order this update to the Pi 400, and the functionality worked well. My major concern is the fit of the Pi 400 in the opening. The mechanical insertion and seating is just not a great match. It seems that mechanical dimensions of the plastic case faces tolerance issues when the Pi 400 is inserted. The magnets in the PiDock case are probably meant to hold the Pi 400 in, but do not seem able to overcome the weak mechanical fit, so the Pi 400 "wiggles" in the PiDock case as the used types on the keyboard. Screen and power are very nice, and the 12vdc input is good for portable applications. My 2 cents!

Great idea, but needs some work

I got this at a sale price over the Christmas holidays and I had high expectations. My expectation was that this would become my Pi400 laptop. It has definitely filled the bill. I can take a Pi 400 anywhere and have a nice monitor with a keyboard and a trackpad for a mouse. The monitor is very clear and renders colors well. I like having a portable Pi that doesn't require me to have a separate monitor and keyboard/mouse. Pretty nice. That said, this is not the best that it could be. So, what do I feel could've been done better. 1. The case could've been made to be stiffer. It seems to be a extruded or molded and is generally pretty flimsy. As others have pointed out, the Pi 400 doesn't sit flush and will move around a bit when in use. The magnets on the inside bottom of the case don't do anything because there is no metal in the bottom of the Pi 400. 2. This really needs to be a docking station. You have to connect the Pi 400 with cables that are provided. Janky. The cable connections poke through the back of the case under the hinge. It would have been very simple to include a port extension hub at the base of the hinge and have connectors that can mate to the ports on the Pi 400. Other companies do this with the Pi Zero, so, why not this? Really, there is no excuse for having to cob together the provided cables and have them stick out of the back of the case. I think the maker could have provided more USB connectors as well as external monitor connections if they created a port extender. This design feature was not well considered in my opinion. 3. The trackpad is pretty awful. It works, but it is very sensitive to any hand or wrist skin that gets close to it. Since, you can tap the trackpad to select, I have had some serious aggravation when having to reselect, retype, or uncommit a trackpad click. It can be very hard to select text with the trackpad. So, I now have a wireless mouse dongle in the back and I use a mouse; hence, the need for more USB ports. 4. The last thing is the lack of a battery. I might be wrong, but I don't think any of the power bank batteries will work because they don't provide 12V. The power supply that is included is 12V-3A. I haven't tried a 5 V supply, but I wonder if 5V will drive the monitor. Something tells that it won't. I would really like to see someone come up with a Pi 5 case that has a dedicated keyboard and monitor. Maybe something that you could just drop the Pi 5 into without the fuss of the Pi 400 keyboard.

Not as good as hoped but great customer service.

I was really hoping that this would be the product of the year. Sadly, I was disappointed. CONS: 1. The case is a bit flimsy. 2. The raspberry pi 400 unit does not seem to fit very well because of the way the cables are designed. They are far too long and cause excessive looping outside of the casing. This interferes with the lid opening and closing. 3. Additionally, I purchased the battery so as to have true portability. There is no place in the case to put this battery pack. There’s all kinds of space, but it’s occupied in such a way that it’s not usable. Had the battery pack, perhaps been a long cylinder, or somehow made very flat and spread over a given area, perhaps could have fit inside of the case, but literally the spare battery to go outside the case. This external battery pack requires me to carry more stuff. 4. Then there is the external charger. I love the fact that I can plug-in and charge and when I want to go, but I can not put it into the carrying bag that came with it, the charger does not fit in that carrying bag at all. As a result, the new laptop case goes into the carrier, and then the charging block goes in my backpack. Either I carry the spare battery with me or I carry the battery pack with me. Either way, it’s another external device that has to tag along because it was not integrated. Honestly, for the money, I was hoping this would be a better product. 5. The screen has a stuck pixel that is turned on to white. 6. When closing the lid, it does not put the raspberry pie into sleep. It just keeps running. 7. When closing the lid, there is no divider nor cushion to protect the screen from hitting the raspberry pie which flops around loose in there. Yes, I made certain the cables were in their little track, so as to lay flat, but I think that the case is actually worked because the raspberry pi rocks in there, no matter how well I try to seat it. 8. For the money I spent, it would’ve been nice if the screen had been a touch screen. 9. During power on, when the raspberry pi initialize the screen, the screen has some sort of Chinese firmware that flashes onto the screen before it loads the pi 0S PROS: 1. It gives the raspberry pie a better chance at being portable. 2. The screen is nice and big. 3. It comes with some sort of laptop carrying satchel. 4. Tech support or after sales support was very responsive. I purchased the battery pack, but it did not come with, and so a shipment was had to supplement the missing battery. I did ask for directions as to how to install the battery, but I was not provided with the instructions. as it turns out the instructions, are you plug the battery in and let it hang loose externally because there’s no place inside the case 5. You have your choice of any color as long as it is white. Fortunately, white goes well with the raspberry pi 400. Suggestions to improve: 1. Offer a place for the battery pack. 2. Offer a place for some sort of external USB drive that stays inside of the case attached to a small cable. 3. Give us a touch screen for this price. 4. Change the carrying satchel to accommodate the external charger. 5. Provide for a place for either the user to install speakers into the case or include some nice speakers, so one can hear what is going on without requiring one to insert a earphone Jack, or use Bluetooth or whatever it may be.