Ejgame Portable TV Docking Station

Hardware Type: Dock

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Review:

(Note: Review product provided by the kind folks at Antank.)

(Note: I have heard that a recent Nintendo Switch 2 update has caused problem with third-party docks. I should note that this review was written before this update was released. Returning to this review, I can confirm that an updated Nintendo Switch 2 WILL NOT work with this dock. I will update this review if anything changes, but for now I do not recommend getting this dock if you want to use it with a Nintendo Switch 2.)

When Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch 2, players eager to play Nintendo’s hardware were both delighted and concerned. One reason for this concern was the price tag that would come attached to Nintendo Switch 2 products, especially the games and accessories. The Nintendo Switch 2 Dock, necessary for the “switching” part of the Nintendo Switch 2, is emblematic of this problem: at $120, it costs over 25% of the price of the console itself (which comes with the dock). What’s more, it’s pretty large, even more than the original Nintendo Switch Dock, making it less than ideal for something to take with you when you want to bring your portable system on the go.

With all of this in mind, it was surely only a matter of time before third-party manufacturers filled the gap left by Nintendo to try and address one or both of the major issues Nintendo’s official dock has. One such manufacturer, Ejgame, has produced a dock that they hope will do just that. Let’s have a look.

The first thing you should know about the Ejgame Portable TV Docking Station is that it comes bare-bones. There’s no Nintendo Switch 2 AC adapter, no HDMI cable, or any other sorts of cables. It’s just the dock itself with attached carrying strap and a small instruction manual. This means that you’ll need to provide your own AC adapter and cables to use it. The good news is, if you got a Nintendo Switch 2, you already have all of this – it came in the box with the console. However, if you’re looking at this as a secondary dock, you’ll have to pay extra. Just for Nintendo’s AC Adapter alone, that means adding an extra $35 to the price tag. However, even adding on this price still leaves Ejgame’s dock well under the price of Nintendo’s dock.

On the back of the Ejgame Portable TV Docking Station, on the back in the center you’ll find an HDMI port and a USB-C port to plug in the Nintendo Switch 2 AC adapter. On either side you’ll find a USB 2.0 port for plugging in additional controllers and accessories. And on the left side, you’ll see an ethernet port. And of course in addition to these, you also have access to the USB-C port at the top of the Nintendo Switch 2, which remains unobstructed when docked in the Ejgame dock.

While plugged in, the Ejgame Portable TV Docking Station has bright lights on its backside that you can change via a touch-sensitive button on the device’s front side. These lights glow in one of four colors, or can be set to gradually fade from one to the next, or you can long-press on the touch-sensitive button to shut them off completely, no doubt a relief to anyone who has their Nintendo Switch 2 docked in their bedroom and doesn’t want a light show while they’re trying to sleep.

Sliding the Nintendo Switch 2 into the dock, I found I had to be careful it was properly centered, but otherwise it was easy to insert and remove. Once plugged in, I found it functioned properly, allowing it to charge and play just fine (but more on this in a moment). It seemed fairly stable too, and didn’t seem likely to tip in any direction.

On the back of the dock on the very top is a button that allows players to switch between on-TV play and play using the Nintendo Switch 2’s screen, which is convenient and lets this double as a simple charger if you want to play your Nintendo Switch 2 in tabletop mode. I feel like this is a decent tradeoff for the fact that this dock doesn’t encase the screen the way that Nintendo’s dock does, and as such won’t be as protective. That said, I do think the location of this button could have been more convenient, as it currently requires you to reach up and over the Nintendo Switch 2 to press it.

When it comes to the quality of the image, it overall looks good, though it advertises only going up to 4K/60Hz, so it may not support 120FPS framerates. To be honest, I have a difficult time distinguishing between 60FPS and 120FPS, so I can’t say with certainty whether or not this is true.

Ejgame also claims that the open design of its dock allows for better cooling than Nintendo’s official dock. Again, I don’t have the equipment to judge this, nor have I made use of this dock over the extended period of time it would take to see how this dock performs in the long-run. But in my time using the Ejgame Portable TV Docking Station, my Nintendo Switch 2 did not seem to get particularly hot at all, so I’m not terribly concerned about overheating.

Finally, the Ejgame Portable TV Docking Station purports to feature Supports up to 60W fast charging to power the Nintendo Switch 2 quickly even while it is in use. While I’m not able to properly chart this, I will say this fits my experience with the dock, which charged my Nintendo Switch 2 just fine as I used it for play.

Finally, I want to note that the Ejgame Portable TV Docking Station is only for use with the Nintendo Switch 2 – out of curiosity I tried both my Nintendo Switch OLED model and my Android phone to see if either would work with the dock, and neither could physically fit (and Ejgame specifically states on the Amazon page that this dock is only for use with Nintendo Switch 2 anyway).

All of this is to say that in pretty much every area, I found the Ejgame Portable TV Docking Station to be superior to Nintendo’s own dock for the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s less expensive, smaller and more portable, more versatile with its ability to change back and forth between TV play and tabletop mode at the press of a button, and it doesn’t seem to be lacking anything Nintendo’s dock has, apart from the encompassing design that protects the screen and the lack of an AC adapter included with the dock. It also doesn’t have any extra bells and whistles you might look for in a dock, such as compatibility with other platforms.

However, as a replacement for Nintendo’s dock, or a secondary dock that works well for travel, any complaints I have about the Ejgame Portable TV Docking Station are minimal – this is a fine choice for Nintendo Switch 2 owners looking for third-party dock alternatives for Nintendo Switch 2.

tl;dr – The Ejgame Portable TV Docking Station is a Dock for Nintendo Switch 2 that’s better than Nintendo’s own dock in just about every way, it’s less expensive, smaller and more portable, and does everything Nintendo’s dock does and just as well (if not better). It doesn’t have any fancy features and it doesn’t come with the necessary AC adapter and HDMI cable, but otherwise this is an excellent dock that’s well worth getting if you’re looking for a replacement for Nintendo’s own dock, or a second dock (particularly for travel).

Grade: B+ (N/A)

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