Review on PEPPER JOBS Portable Touchscreen Monitor with HDMI Compatibility by Luis Vargas

After extensive research for a portable monitor for my Nintendo Switch, I finally settled on this product. I found the internal battery to be an attractive feature compared to other portable monitors I've had. Especially considering how thin the device itself is. Impressive packaging presentation of a very high and professional quality with all the cables you will ever need. This brings me to the first problem with the device. After trying many USB-C to USB-C cables, I've found that the only cable that seems to work is the shorter cable that came with the device. This is disappointing. The clarity and quality of the matte screen itself is fantastic. The included flip cover has a magnetic connection and multiple viewing angles. Colors are bright and vibrant with many adjustable settings. This brings me to the next and probably most serious problem with the device. To bring up the settings menu and access various display and sound options, you must first press and hold the brightness button on the side of the screen for 3 seconds. Once the menu is open you have to use the volume keys to switch between them and make your choice. It's unnecessarily confusing, and what's even more frustrating is the fact that the menu seems to automatically turn itself off after a few seconds if you haven't made a choice. This could easily be remedied by including a simple remote control in the package. In terms of performance, most of the games I've tested run at full speed with no issues. I say "most" because theoretically all games should work as expected in docked mode. Animal Crossing New Horizons in particular is one such exception. When using this screen, the game runs at almost half speed. I'm not sure why this is happening with this game specifically, but it's certainly annoying and after tweaking a few settings I still can't get it to work properly. If this changes I will update my review. I have not personally tested the performance of this display as a secondary PC monitor or when connected to other gaming consoles, so I cannot comment on the touchscreen functionality. However, all necessary connections and cables are included in the scope of delivery. The built-in stereo speakers aren't the loudest, but they're decent enough. However, there is no headphone jack. All in all, this is a great device with great value for money. Especially if you plan to connect it to your Nintendo Switch without a dock like I did. However, considering the careful packaging, it's a damn shame for the money that no remote control was included or that simple menu buttons weren't added to the device. Edited for comparison: May 2022. I recently bought another one of these. after my old one broke. First off, I was disappointed to see that the packaging of the device appeared to have changed. Unfortunately, what was once an impressive box is now a much simpler cardboard box of significantly lower quality. The box also appears to have fewer branded accessories. Just like normal cables. I can't say anything about their quality yet. You seem correct. One of my biggest issues with the previous device was a noticeable drop in performance with some Nintendo Switch games like Animal Crossing running slowly. I was pleasantly surprised to see that this is no longer a problem. I'm not sure if this is due to the OLED switch itself or if PJ has updated the monitor's internals. Battery life was fantastic even with the most demanding Switch games. My only real complaints remain the unit's dated design and lack of a remote control to navigate the frustrating menu system. So my rating stays at 4 out of 5 stars. I still recommend this device to anyone interested in a battery powered portable monitor, especially for using the Nintendo Switch on a big screen without the need for a dock. Update V3: November 2022 Having purchased the latest version of this monitor I thought I would update my previous review to reflect the improvements and to address some of my very few criticisms. First, the packaging experience has been greatly improved. While the presentation isn't as premium as the original model, the new box and included accessories are of a much higher quality than the previous model. The patented one-piece charging cable/power bank is also nice to see. Looks pretty solid but I don't know how it will hold up over time. The USB-C cable appears to be more durable than the one that was included last time. The new display glass is now glossy instead of matt, for better or for worse. A big improvement over the previous model is the introduction of a touchscreen settings menu. PJ clearly listens to customer feedback. Gone is the frustration of awkwardly pressing and holding buttons to access and navigate the settings menu. It's better, but far from a smooth touch. I had to tap and swipe the screen multiple times to register input and use the physical buttons for fine-tuning. For the price, I expect a smooth and fluid touch experience. This new touch menu also has fewer options than the previous model. For example, I don't see options for screen aspect ratio or panel uniformity settings. It doesn't matter as it's still easy to adjust color and brightness settings like gamma, contrast, saturation, sharpness and even HDR. It would be nice if these settings were explained (which is missing in both the supplied instructions and the product website). I was disappointed to see that the four speakers were replaced with noticeably quieter (by comparison) dual speakers. This time, however, they have included a headphone jack. The new model has a few extra ports and a full-size HDMI port (no longer mini), which is nice to see, but since I mainly use this monitor specifically for my Nintendo Switch, I won't go into too much detail about them . Here. My biggest issue with the new model isn't the monitor itself, but the magnetic stand cover that it comes with. The new cover has fewer grooves, making it difficult to support the monitor (except on a very narrow corner). That wouldn't be a problem if I could use a case from my v2 model, but it doesn't fit v3. In summary, there are definitely better (and probably cheaper) monitors out there, but what sets the PJ apart is that it packs a large built-in battery for a truly unbeatable portable experience, especially with the Nintendo Switch. With each new version of this monitor they have gotten closer to perfection but as they have not yet reached that level my rating remains at the 4 star level. However, highly recommended.