This is likely one of those stories you might know the ending of before it starts. Perhaps, but I'd like to document it here for others contemplating similar projects.
Over the last three months, I have been buying a number of things from AliExpress in China. Mostly small things that may be useful in my office or workspace. Things I might look to Amazon to buy, but I wanted bargains. And my purchases have been mostly positive: a keyboard brush, a USB multidock for my desk. Shipping is the killer, waiting weeks for a package with sketchy tracking vs. Amazon and likely next day delivery.
The Project
With a new portable worktable I set up, I was looking at upgrading my ability to quickly set up a Raspberry Pi. The bill of materials (BOM) I settled on:
- A 15" HDMI LCD screen, light and portable
- A foldable mechanical keyboard with backlit keys and touchscreen
Coping With AliExpress Pricing
A quick side note on AliExpress pricing:
Different shops can have different prices. Prices might fluctuate day to day. There are discounts for using "AliExpress Coins" but often not much. If you log in with another account or no account you might get a different price, perhaps lower. It's the Wild West. Also note some things ship free with a $10 or higher purchase, some ship for a cost the vendor calculates.
Also, there is a chance you will not get something you ordered but get something else far less expensive as a scam. I ordered a $17 Windows laptop and I'm likely only getting a keyboard! AliExpress has a dispute process and using PayPal provides some protection also.
Shopping AliExpress
After searching AliExpress for a keyboard and screen, I chose:
- 15.6 -Inch Portable Monitor Touchscreen 1920*1080 For Laptop XBox PS4/ 5 Switch Cell Phone PC Extension Mobile Touch Mointor from Lanlipu Monitor Factory Store $77
- RK925 Kludge Foldable Mini Mechanical Keyboard, choice of key action (blue, brown, red) $38
The link to the keyboard is another store at nearly twice the price - the original is no longer for sale on the store I selected to order from.
The Keyboard
I'll start with the keyboard. I didn't do a lot of research outside AliExpress (a mistake). Reviews elsewhere were mixed but it was backlit and mechanical with choice of key action.
I bought it on September 8th and it shipped September 9th. It cleared customs September 12th, then it was listed as delivered. But the delivery was a 16KG package in Memphis, Tennessee according to FedEx. I was waiting for a 1KG package to Florida. I filed a complaint but was offered only $34 refund on a $38 purchase. Rather than fight, I took it and chalked it up as a lesson in not shopping around.
Update: I bought a white one with brown action on Amazon for $55. It works fairly well.
The Display
With the monitor, I did look around AliExpress, but I didn't look on other sites (again a mistake). I found what I thought met my criteria. I ordered it for $101 on September 8th. In watching it ship I saw that the same monitor was now listed for $78. I cancelled the first order, as it hadn't shipped, and ordered the monitor at the lower price.
The shop messaged me (on their intrasite messaging system) asking why I cancelled and I told them I ordered again at the lower price. After a couple of days I emailed asking why it hadn't shipped and the representative said they were trying to figure out a way to ship it which was economical yet wouldn't arrive broken or outright missing. They then asked about my satisfaction with their service. I might have given them a 2/5, but I wanted the product, so I said 4/5. That was enough for them to send the unit. It seems at that price they may have been breaking even (at $101 they would be doing fine). They shipped it September 17th, arrived to the US shipping company (FedEx) and to me by September 28th. Not the worst but slow.
A Review of the Monitor
The monitor was shipped in its original box, no outer box. It fared fairly well. Instructions on handling outside the box were in Chinese. Inside, the monitor was protected by foam and faired well.
My first impression was it is larger than I expected. A quick measurement confirmed it was 15.4" diagonal. Maybe I should have specified smaller unit for better portibility? It weighed 736grams with the protective plastic, on target and it felt light in my hands. Very slim too, like on the website, being thicker below for ports and very thin for the rest. The case was underneath and has an adhesive strip to attach it to the back of the screen, but the corners have no elastic like a tablet holder.
The accessories are decent. A USB plug and cable (US, EU, UK plug available at time of purchase). USB C and full size HDMI cables. An adjustable stand. And a user's manual in Chinese and English (the word portable is misspelled).
The Display's Menu System
The menu system is unintuitive and hard to use. There is one button below the power button which can also toggle up and down. This is used to navigate the menu system. The power button acts to return to the previous item in the menu system.
Start by pushing in the menu putton quickly. If the menu doesn't appear in the bottom right, try again. Once a menu pops up, use the control to jog down and up between screens.
The menus began in Chinese, therefore it was very difficult to find the language change option. It is on the Option Menu (3.3 in the instructions). Jog the menu system to get to a screen with three options with a word and the fourth a bar. Press the jog to get the gold lettering to go down and press it down once to get to the second item. Press the jog to get into that item. Then jog until English comes up. The menus should now all be in English.
Connecting a Raspberry Pi 5
The HDMI cable that comes with the monitor is a full HDMI to full HDMI, so it doesn't fit a Raspberry Pi 5 which has two micro HDMI sockets. I had thought the monitor would be micro HDMI so I bought a couple of lengths for that but it needs a micro HDMI plug to full size HDMI plug or use the included cable with a micro HDMI plug to full HDMI socket adapter. I was fortunate to have one. Plan on getting one if you look to duplicate this setup.
I originally used a no name USB keyboard + trackpad to connect. Everything booted up fine and the desktop is gorgeous.
Setup with a keyboard and trackpad
Setup with the Royal Kludge RK-F68 folding mechanical keyboard
The screen and the Pi did not handshake to use the screen's touch abilities. This is a downer, but I knew it could be a long shot. These type of screens are more for USB C to USB C connection to a laptop or phone, that is where the touchscreen works. I tested USB C to C with my Samsung S21 Ultra, which was listed in their manual as compatible. With the Samsung, can work as a DEX device with the screen or just as a monitor.
The monitor has a small speakers inside (firing out the back). It's not high fidelity. Using an amplified speaker on the headphone jack worked fine.
Overall Thoughts
The monitor works for what I wanted - a lightweight monitor for a Raspberry Pi 5. The 1920x1080 screen is beautiful and lightweight. It comes with a stand and a cover, power brick and cables - not all the cables were needed but good all the same. A 14" or even 13" screen would have probably sufficed and saved some carry space.
Changing the menu system to English was the hardest part and not being able to use the touch capability with the Pi is a downer, but I'm unsure if other products on the market will be able to either. I'd prefer built-in speakers at this point but for a lot of Raspberry Pi work, sound isn't needed. For YouTube casting , the sound can come from the phone.
Overall This was not bad for $77. But the price is now $101 which is in the same ballpark as Amazon monitors with similar capabilities (US pricing, your country may vary). I'd definitely say shop around if you're looking for a portable monitor as the price and support from name brand sources may be better than an AliExpress seller. But if you're willing to see if this vendor or another can provide you a bargain, I'd say Lanlipu's communication was above par compared to other vendors and their product is quite good.
Buying again I'd look for a 13-14" model with stereo speakers inside, light weight, thin, and a much better menu system and a lightweight stand system and/or cover.
The combination with the RK F68 keyboard is quite good. Check out the video below where I demonstrate things (I start at time 0:53):
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