Tablets were all the rage a few years ago. They offer much more screen real estate than smartphones, making them great for media consumption. They can also be great for reading ebooks as well. But, tablets have not become quite popular in recent years and there aren’t any new ones in the market.
But, before you ditch tablets altogether because they do not have the allure they once had, there is something you can still do to repurpose them. You can actually turn tablets into secondary computer displays and it is very easy to do.
In this article, I will guide you through the process of turning your tablet into a secondary display. It is really easy and it doesn’t require any technical knowledge at all. All you really need is a computer/laptop, an Android tablet or iPad, a USB cable or a strong Wifi Connection.
How to Turn Your Tablet as a Secondary Monitor
If you have the pre-requisites ready, here are the steps you need to do in order to make your tablet as a secondary display:
1. Download and Install iDisplay on your Computer and Tablet
The first thing you need to do is download and install the iDisplay application on both your computer and your tablet. The program supports both Windows 10 and iOS operating systems. The application can be found on the Google Play Store or the Apple app store but do note that the application itself is not free. Although you have to spend some money to download the app, it is still okay since it is way cheaper than getting yourself a new display.
Installing the application is very easy. On the computer or laptop, just follow the on-screen instructions. On the tablet, just pay for the application and then press the download button. It should automatically be installed after a few minutes.
Your computer might throw in a firewall warning. If that is the case, all you need to do is make a firewall exception for the application and make sure to allow it to send and receive inbound and outbound connections.
After you’ve installed the iDisplay applications on both your computer and tablet, the next thing you need to be aware of is the connectivity options which I am going to talk about in detail in the next section.
2. Connectivity and Pairing with the Tablet
There are two ways you can pair both your computer and tablet. The first option would be to use the USB cable of your tablet. Simply connect your tablet via the USB and plug it into your computer/laptop. After that, just fire up both of the applications on your computer and tablet and you’re good to go. It might be easier to use the USB cable method but some users say that the performance is inconsistent.
There is another way to pair both your tablet and computer using iDisplay and that is through your WiFI connection. Simply put, both of your gadgets need to be on the same WiFi connection. Once you’re connected to the WiFi, fire up the application and it will ask you which computer you want to pair the tablet with. Choose your computer or laptop and after a few seconds, you’re good to go!
3. Some Optimizations
Before enjoying your tablet as a secondary display, there are still some things you might want to check out. On the settings menu on the tablet app, you can choose which resolution the tablet will be in. All I am going to say about the resolution is choose the highest one it can support. Lower resolutions may lower its battery consumption but the text and pictures are just not nice to look at.
Furthermore, your tablet and computer/laptop should have a strong WiFi connection. The stronger the connection is, the smoother the experience will be. If you want to quit using the tablet as a secondary monitor, just open the app on your computer or right-click on it on the system tray and select “quit iDisplay.”
It is important to note that when you’re watching movies on your tablet using iDisplay, the audio output will be on the speakers of your computer/laptop. I think that is much better because they provide a better audio performance compared to the tablet’s built-in speakers.
Conclusion
Tablets are still very useful despite its dwindling appeal. Utilizing the tablet as a secondary display is much cheaper than buying another monitor. Plus, it is very easy to do and requires no esoteric knowledge at all. You can do that by just downloading and installing the iDisplay software and application.
Paul says
`There is a 3rd option requiring no additional hardware or software. Simply use the tablet for email and messaging (e.g., Facebook, IM) and do your work on the laptop (i.e., songwriting and scoring). Voila. You now have both worlds at your fingertips and respective places in the universe away from crowding each others ‘space’.