I thought my 14‑inch notebook and I had achieved peak codependency—until the RICOH Portable Monitor 150 swaggered into my carry‑on like an impossibly thin stowaway. At a hair over a pound, including its kickstand, it weighs less than the emergency chocolate bar I pretend I only keep “for friends.” Yet the 15.6-inch OLED panel still manages a bezel so thin that it makes fashion runways look indulgent.
Screen candy (with a catch)
The OLED is, predictably, jaw‑dropping: in a dim Amtrak car, the colors look like they’re auditioning for a Pixar sequel, and blacks are deep enough to lose small hopes in. RICOH even shaved off 62 percent of the blue light, so my late‑night doom‑scrolling feels marginally less self‑destructive.
But before you start composing sonnets, remember that resolution tops out at 1080p. Sitting next to my 4K laptop, the pixels look a bit chunky—like someone zoomed in on the Mona Lisa and left the gridlines showing. I can live with it, but my inner pixel‑snob sulked audibly.
Touch me, maybe
Both flavors—the tethered 150 and its battery-wielding sibling, the 150BW—include a 10-point touch. In wired mode, tapping and scribbling with an optional stylus feels smooth enough that I sketched ideas instead of taking screenshots of other people’s. Wireless mode, however, is where the relationship gets… complicated. On my Windows ultrabook, Miracast piped a flawless feed. On my MacBook, the same feature delivered a slide‑show impressionist piece with the occasional psychedelic artifact. Yes, the monitor is platform‑agnostic; no, it doesn’t love all platforms equally.
Connectivity karma
RICOH provides you with two center-mounted USB-C ports, which means I can flip the cable whichever way fate (or the café outlet) demands. The 150BW’s Wi‑Fi casting can juggle two devices and even multicast to five monitors—useful when you’re trying to look collaborative while checking Slack under the table. Be prepared to install RICOH’s software and negotiate with the office network like a diplomat under a deadline.
Sound and (minimal) fury
Twin one‑watt speakers live in the chassis. They’re fine for surprise Teams pings and the occasional cat‑video soundtrack, but anyone claiming “cinematic” audio is watching experimental silent films. I paired my earbuds after three minutes, two minutes longer than I expected.
Real‑world road test
I hauled the 150 through three airports, a commuter rail, and one chaotic hotel lobby. The integrated stand survived every tray‑table angle I threw at it, though I did spend a poetic moment fishing the USB‑C cable out from its well‑meaning but shallow rear groove. Battery life hovered around five hours of mixed use—roughly two conference calls, one spreadsheet, and one ill‑advised episode of prestige TV. When juice finally died, I plugged the monitor into my laptop’s power brick; the pass‑through kept everything alive, and I only tripped on the cable once. Progress.
The price of portability
Here’s where the sarcasm gets real: at roughly $800, the 150BW costs more than the bargain laptop my cousin proudly bought last month. If you primarily want a nice secondary screen for Netflix, more affordable USB-C panels are available. What you’re paying for is OLED sparkle, sub‑plastic‑water‑bottle weight, and the fantasy of writing on a glass canvas wherever inspiration (or the TSA) strikes.
Verdict
After two weeks together, the RICOH Portable Monitor has become my favorite frenemy. Wired, it’s a near‑perfect travel buddy that folds flatter than my motivation before coffee. Wireless, it’s a charismatic diva who sometimes forgets her lines. If you’re a Windows user craving ultraportable OLED glory—and your wallet can take the hit—this screen will spoil you rotten. Mac users and casual streamers might want to audition a few cheaper understudies first. Either way, keep that emergency chocolate bar handy; the extra ounce won’t matter next to a monitor that finally makes dual‑screening feel genuinely light.