I love to be able to take my 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro with me when I hit the road, but when I'm in the office, I prefer to have it connected to other devices like an external display, Time Machine backup, speakers, and other peripherals. Connecting all those cables produces a lot of sideways sprawl and cable ugliness. Infiniwing's LandingZone Dock for MacBook Pro cleans all that up and provides a secure place to keep it, besides.

The Dock is made of white polycarbonate and clamps in place on either side of the MacBook Pro, giving it a bit of rise on the back end - about three quarters of an inch. It's nice to get a bit of lift for laptop's display. It's very similar to a product that they've already produced for the MacBook Air — the MacBook Pro version just became available in January (the 15-inch model is available now; the 13-inch model is coming this month).

As you close a handle on the back of the Dock it snaps in place on either side of the MacBook Pro - you need to align it carefully with the HDMI and USB port on the right side of your laptop, the MagSafe 2 port and Thunderbolt port on the left (you thread the MagSafe 2 adapter itself through a guide in the side. (Too far out of alignment and you'll know it, as you won't be able to close the clamp.) Once the Dock is clamped you'll see a bright white LED pop up on the right side to let you know that everything's working. Because it clamps in place, this dock won't work if you keep your MacBook Pro in a hard shell case.

On the backplane of the Dock you'll find an HDMI port, three USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet jack, a headphone jack, and a passthrough Thunderbolt port (so it'll operate at Thunderbolt speeds on original 15-inch MacBook Pros and Thunderbolt 2 speeds on late 2013 models). All the ports face the back while your MacBook is in use, enabling you to get cables out of the way while you're working. So this more than just moves ports to the back for cleaner cable arrangements - it provides you with expansion capabilities you don't already have, like Gigabit Ethernet and additional USB ports.

What's more, the ports that aren't blocked by the interface - the second Thunderbolt port and left-side USB 3.0 port, the headphone jack and the SDXC card slot - all remain accessible, so you can attach additional devices if you wish.

An included power adapter powers the USB hub, so you can connect multiple devices to your Dock that might require on-board power, such as some hard drives. Two recesses in the top of the Dock fit the rubber feet on bottom of your MacBook Pro, and rubber feet on the bottom of the Dock offer some additional desktop grip to keep your MacBook Pro from sliding around when it's in place.

If you're concerned about your MacBook Pro growing feet and wandering off, fear not. LandingZone has installed a Kensington lock on the left-hand side, which keeps the Dock securely in place (you can't unlock it and free the MacBook Pro with that lock engaged).

The Dock is designed to work with any 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display (Model A1398).

The good

Adds more USB ports and a Gigabit Ethernet jack
Kensington lock offers added security
Adds a bit of lift in the back

The bad

Won't allow you to use a hard shell protective case
MacBook Pro needs to rest just so to clamp in place

The bottom line

Anything that reduces clutter on my desk is welcome, and it's a lot easier to put my MacBook Pro in a LandingZone Dock than it is it connect all the cables and cords I use to connect my monitor and other peripherals to my laptop. At $199, it's a premium-priced laptop dock, but if you're looking for something to reduce cable clutter and improve security for your MacBook Pro, I'd strongly recommend giving this a look.