The InFocus Kangaroo Mobile Desktop Pro ($199.99) is a small-form-factor (SFF) PC that's the follow-up to the Kangaroo Mobile Desktop we reviewed earlier this year. It still has the internal battery that makes it truly mobile, and lets you use an Apple iPad or iPhone as a display. It also has more ports, such as for VGA and Ethernet, along with a slot for a 2.5-inch hard drive, so you're less limited by the default internal 32GB of storage. The problem is that the processor and RAM have not been updated since the earlier model, so performance is the same, plus the whole unit is considerably larger and heavier, making it less pocketable—and it costs $100 more. The original Kangaroo Mobile Desktop, priced at $100, is a better overall choice for a mini PC that you can carry anywhere. If you're looking for a SFF PC that you can hook up to any monitor, our top choice is still the Shuttle XPC Nano, which has a more powerful processor, room to upgrade RAM.
Design and FeaturesThe Kangaroo Mobile Pro comprises two black aluminum modules. One is the computing module, which houses the components and internal battery; the other is the Dock Pro, which contains all of the I/O ports. The computing module is the same as the one you get with the Kangaroo Mobile Desktop, measuring 4.9 by 3.2 by 0.5 inches (HWD) and weighing 5.76 ounces. The new Dock Pro measures 6.73 by 3.36 by 1.26 inches and weighs 8.32 ounces, making the whole unit three-quarters of an inch thicker and nearly 3 ounces heavier than the first Kangaroo Mobile. There's a 40-pin connector flanked by two metal prongs on the dock that easily slides into a slot on the bottom of the computing module. (They fit together snugly; the module didn't come loose or jiggle during testing.) Assembled, the whole unit measures 6.73 by 3.36 by 1.76 inches and weighs 14 ounces—just bulky enough that it won't quite fit into a back pocket. It's much larger than the flash-drive-like Intel Compute Stick (0.47 by 1.5 by 4.5 inches), which fits neatly into a front pocket with room to spare.
An LED indicator on the top left of the computing module tells you whether the Kangaroo Mobile Pro is on (blue) or charging (red). On the right side are a fingerprint reader, the Power button, and an action switch, which will be explained a little later. On the left side of the computing module is a micro USB port for charging the device (but not transferring data). There's also a microSD slot, which supports cards up to 128GB.
On the bottom of the dock are a VGA connector, an HDMI port, an Ethernet jack, two USB 2.0 ports, a headphone jack (a particularly welcome addition from the Mobile Desktop), and the power port. The connection to the AC adapter on the docking station doesn't seem as flimsy as the original's, and you can use the Kangaroo Pro while charging with the AC adapter. On the left edge is a single USB 3.0 port, and on the back is the removable door for adding a 2.5-inch hard drive. There's also a microSD card slot and charging micro USB port on the main body of the system. The port setup on the Dock Pro is among the best we've seen on an SFF PC, comparable to the selection on the XPC Nano, which also has Mini DisplayPort, Ethernet, HDMI, and serial ports (one each); four USB ports (two 2.0, two 3.0); a headset jack, an SD card reader, and a free 2.5-inch hard drive bay. The XPC Nano costs $79 more than the Kangaroo Pro, however, likely due to its fast PCI Express (PCIe)–based SSD, and its shape is squarer and less pocketable. The original Kangaroo's docking station only had an HDMI port, a USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0 port, and the AC adapter, so the added VGA port lets you connect to more monitors, and the Ethernet port gives you access to faster Internet. For wireless connectivity, the Kangaroo Mobile Pro uses 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Currently, the new Dock Pro is not available to purchase separately to use with an existing Kangaroo Mobile Desktop.
There's 32GB of flash storage in the computing module, the same as the Intel Compute Stick, but both the Kangaroo Pro and the XPC Nano have expandable storage by way of the aforementioned 2.5-inch hard drive bays and microSD slots. The Mobile Desktop Pro runs a full 64-bit version of Windows 10, so it should support most Windows-compatible apps. InFocus covers the system with a one-year limited warranty.
Setup, Action Switch, and iOS CompatibilityIf you want to use the Kangaroo Mobile Pro with a monitor or HDTV, all you have to do is connect via VGA or HDMI cable (neither of which is bundled with the system). You can then hook up a keyboard and mouse via USB or Bluetooth and go on from there.
But since this is semiportable system, there are other options. Notably, you can use a portable Android, iOS, or Windows device as a monitor (with keyboard and mouse control using the touch screen). You won't necessarily want to run it this way all the time, but it's handy if you're administering a headless PC that's sitting around gathering data sans LCD display, or if you need to set up a PC in a retail kiosk.
To use the system with an iPad or iPhone, You'll need to download the OSLinx Server for Windows software and install it on the Kangaroo Mobile Pro. Then, download the free OSLinx Windows Monitor app from the App Store on your iPad or iPhone and connect the Kangaroo Mobile Pro to your iOS device via a Lightning-to-USB cable. Start the app, wait for it to detect the Kangaroo Mobile Pro and the InFocus server, and the iPad will then display the Windows 10 system graphics from the Kangaroo on the screen, letting you control the PC via touch on your tablet or phone.
This control method is not perfect: Performance can lag, especially when trying to load any sort of video (it crashed on us a couple of times). Touch commands can often take several seconds to register. Although the app is free for the iPad, it costs $4.99 for the iPhone. In-app purchases for Wi-Fi connectivity ($3.99 for both iPhone and iPad) and keyboard control ($3.99 on iPad only) can add functionality, but are also an unwanted burden to your wallet. Remote control on the iPhone's 4-to-5.5-inch screen is a little unwieldy, but it's a handy way to quickly check and edit a PowerPoint presentation on the Kangaroo Mobile Pro while on a plane. Unfortunately, there isn't a version of the OSLinx app for Android. If you need to use Android or other mobile devices, you'll need to use a generic tool, like Virtual Network Computing (VNC).
The sliding Action Switch enables Wi-Fi Direct mode, which establishes a local Wi-Fi network you can use to securely connect your laptop, phone, or tablet to the Kangaroo Mobile Pro. You can then control your Kangaroo remotely over the network with other devices running software like VNC packages or Remote Mouse. With either, you'll need to download and install a server utility on the Kangaroo from the InFocus website, but once everything is set up, you can use Android, iOS, or Windows Phone devices to run programs on the PC. Note: This Wi-Fi Direct mode is designed for when you're away from your home network or public hotspots, because the Kangaroo Mobile Pro can't use its internal network and an external Wi-Fi connection simultaneously. (Ethernet could presumably continue to provide Internet connectivity, but any instance where you have Ethernet connectivity but lack a keyboard or mouse would be rare indeed.)
PerformanceLike its predecessor, the Kangaroo Mobile Pro has a 1.44GHz Intel Atom x5-Z8500 processor and 2GB of RAM, so performance results are similar. On PCMark 8 Work Conventional test, which assesses a system's ability to do day-to-day computing tasks, the Kangaroo Mobile Pro scored 1,284. That's quicker than the earlier model (1,082) and in line with the latest Intel Compute Stick (1,324), but behind other, more expensive SFF PCs, particularly the $279 Shuttle XPC Nano (2,052). We noticed some other performance issues while using the Mobile Desktop Pro: When it was connected to a monitor through an HDMI cable, we experienced little to no lag in testing until we loaded Word, Excel, Edge, and Settings at the same time, but it was fine if we waited for each to finish loading before starting the next. We could also stream a video seamlessly as long as we weren't doing anything else on the computer, such as browsing a webpage.
On multimedia tasks, the Mobile Desktop Pro lagged behind much of the competition. It needed 14 minutes, 41 seconds, to finish our Handbrake video encoding test, much longer than it took the Kangaroo Mobile (7:52) and the Shuttle XPC Nano (7:06). Its Photoshop CS6 test time was even worse: 23 minutes, 25 seconds, again well behind the earlier model (16:33) and the Zotac Zbox CI320 nano Plus Windows 8.1 With Bing (17:16). The Kangaroo even froze a couple times during the test. The exterior of the Kangaroo Mobile Pro did reach upwards of 112° F while we were running the Handbrake and Photoshop tests, so it's likely that the system's CPU clocked down to protect itself, leading to the slower performance numbers. It's hard to justify paying double for Kangaroo Mobile Pro over the Kangaroo Mobile when you're getting slower performance.
Graphics performance on the Kangaroo Mobile Pro isn't great, either, though you'd expect that from a $200 pocket-size PC. The system scored 1,183 on the 3DMark Cloud Gate test, and crashed while trying to run Fire Strike Extreme. Almost all SFF PCs also crashed on that test, but the Intel Compute Stick fared better on Cloud Gate, with a score of 1,606, as did the Zbox CI320 (1,418).
InFocus claims the non-removable battery in the Kangaroo Mobile Pro's computing module should last up to 4 hours with occasional use. On our rundown test, which has the system playing an MPEG-4 video on a continuous loop until the battery dies, the Kangaroo Mobile Pro lasted 2 hours, 40 minutes, about the same as the original Kangaroo Mobile (2:31). Even though this is one of the only SFF desktops we've tested with a battery pack, we wouldn't recommend operating it on battery power full-time. (For one thing, you'll still need to provide separate power to a display, whether that's an HDTV or iPad.) It could help you get your work done away from your desk for a short period of time (with the help of an iPad or iPhone), but we think the battery backup is more useful in case the power goes out for a few minutes, like for a cash register terminal at a booth in a street fair (when someone trips over the power strip), or in a food truck (when you're refilling the portable generator with gas).
ConclusionsThe InFocus Kangaroo Mobile Desktop Pro is an SFF PC with a very strong port selection, a slot for a hard drive, and an internal battery for computing wherever, whenever—even on an iPad or iPhone—but it lacks some of the original Kangaroo Mobile Desktop's portability. And because the computing module has not been upgraded, you're effectively paying an extra $100 for a bulkier system with better ports. If those extra connection options are important to you or your business, then the Kangaroo Mobile Pro is a solid choice, along with the XPC Nano, which has a similar port selection, but better overall performance, for $279. Otherwise, the original Kangaroo Mobile is still the best pocketable desktop you can get. It has the same performance capabilities as the Kangaroo Mobile Pro, but a smaller form factor, and comes at half the price.
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Source: InFocus Kangaroo Mobile Desktop Pro
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