Every day, people all over the world share some laughs over videos and memes. I’ve lost count of the number of times my wife has texted me an Instagram reel or shown me a clip of her latest performance in the dog-sports arena. The fact that everyone is carrying a smartphone means we have a film production studio at our fingertips all the time. But recently, I had an experience that made me think about how we lack a good movie theater to match it.
This summer, I was lucky enough to score an invitation to a beachfront house in Maine for a week. The house was big enough for the eight adults in our party, and we couldn’t have had a better vacation. The days were cool and breezy, the sun was shining, and the evenings were perfect for campfire hangouts filled with music, conversation, and laughter. Every time someone remembered one of their favorite TikTok videos or sketch-comedy bits, we found ourselves huddled around that person’s phone to enjoy the content.
More and more people are sharing videos in social settings
I have to be honest — this happened far more often than I expected. As a Gen-Xer, I’ve definitely shared memes and video clips with friends or coworkers. It’s a great way to make a point, share some laughs, or just pass the time. But the twenty- and thirty-something millennials in our group took things to a whole new level. They showed videos on the beach, at the firepit, on a mountaintop, at the seashore, and even in a lobster shack during lunch. They held their phones in their hands, propped them on a chair, or handed them over to me.
Thanks to our Bluetooth speaker, we did have decent sound quality for watching videos together on this trip. But I kept being confronted with just how terrible the six- or seven-inch screen of a smartphone is for watching videos in a group setting. When I hunched forward to get a view of the action, I found my shoulders and neck cramping, but when I sat back I had to squint. Besides the physical discomfort, I felt self-conscious, too, in those moments when someone leaned too far into my personal space. Something told me that we could do better.
Portable monitors make videos more comfortable for groups
As soon as I started writing about the booming popularity of portable monitors, I found the solution staring me in the face. A battery-powered portable monitor from the ZenScreen Touch or ZenScreen Go lineup would have eased my shoulder pain and kept our personal spaces intact during that week in Maine. A good example is the ASUS ZenScreen Touch MB16AMTR, whose built-in 7800 mAh battery would have given our campfire-and-whiskey-fueled evenings up to four hours of screentime. And the ZenScreen Touch’s generous 15.6-inch viewable screen would have dwarfed the onscreen real estate afforded by a typical smartphone.
With that much screen space on hand, everyone in our group could have sat back comfortably in their chairs any time someone wanted to share a standup comedy bit or a favorite clip. A simple USB-C cable would have connected any of our smartphones to the ASUS ZenScreen Touch MB16AMTR. Its kickstand would have made propping it up on a camp chair easier than it was to prop up the smartphone, which had to be nestled carefully on a precisely folded towel while everyone waited for the show to begin. And the ZenScreen Touch’s 10-point touch functionality would have made starting, pausing, and jumping between videos effortless.
I have no doubt that the videos would have looked better on the ZenScreen Touch, too. Its 16:9 aspect ratio is perfect for most content, and its IPS panel would have given everyone in the group a smooth, glare-free, color-accurate view of the show with no distortions resulting from sharp viewing angle. The image quality would have beaten or rivaled even the best smartphones, thanks to the 1920×1080 resolution and the 60Hz flicker-free refresh rate. The ZenScreen Touch’s built-in speaker would even make a nice backup if our Bluetooth beast got low on battery or out of range.
When it came time to head down to the beach or off to the lobster shack, I bet we would have brought the ZenScreen along for the ride. Portable monitors of this size are designed for easy carry. The ZenScreen Touch MB16AMTR is less than half an inch thick and weighs under three pounds. That’s the thing about technology like this—once you get used to having it, you find it hard to live without the convenience it affords.
Of course, the ZenScreen Touch MB16AMTR is not the only mobile monitor that would have upgraded our vacation to Maine. Plenty of portable displays in the ZenScreen Go lineup would have done the job just as well. They’d add a trick or two of their own, too. An option like the ASUS ZenScreen Go MB16AWP offers wireless mirroring, allowing users to display their smartphone’s screen without the need for a USB-C cable. Its battery and screen provide the same functionality and quality as the ZenScreen Touch MB16AMTR, too. We could have even equipped ourselves for a big-screen experience through a portable projector.
There are lower-cost portable monitors on the market. They make a perfect complement to laptop computers, providing their users with a mobile multi-monitor workspace. But my experience in Maine showed me that spending a little more money on a battery-powered, smartphone-compatible option gives you a mobile movie theater, too.
Not just for vacation hangouts
After returning home from this vacation, I’ve been more self-aware about the screens that I ask people to look at when I want to share a video. I don’t mind using my smartphone to share content with my wife, but when I’m hanging out with friends in larger gatherings, I keep thinking about how I felt around that campfire in Maine.
I keep running across scenarios where I wish I had a portable monitor on hand, and I know that many of my friends would get even more use out of one. Several of the people on my trip to Maine were Army soldiers who had deployed overseas for many months at a time. They got used to spending long hours with other soldiers in transport planes, camp barracks, and mess halls. When you’re around the same people every day for weeks at a time, like in a college dormitory or high-density housing, it’s natural to rely on videos and pictures to entertain each other and keep the conversation going.
A smartphone will work when you want to share a video in these circumstances. But a portable monitor will offer you so much more. So spare your friends the indignity of a stiff neck and the need to squint at a small display. Upgrade your travel bag with a portable monitor instead.