There are many applications that aim to mirror your phone's screen on your computer, or let you control your phone from your computer, or even cast/mirror your phone to a display and connect a keyboard and mouse to control it. But none of these seems as simple as this latest idea from Lenovo.

The LINK is a 32GB USB flash drive, but not only can it be plugged into your Windows (7, 8, 8.1, and 10) computer, it also has another USB 3.0 port on the other side where you plug in your phone's cable. First, this lets you use a flash drive and charge your phone simultaneously, saving you one USB port on your computer. Second, if you've installed the corresponding app on your Windows machine and your phone, you'll be able to see your screen on the computer as a "picture in picture" window. You'll have control over your whole phone, moving files and media, copying text, controlling applications, opening videos, and more from your larger screen. And third, you can keep the phone's screen (or better yet, in this use case, the tablet's screen) on the device, but use the computer's keyboard and mouse to control it, essentially turning your Android device into another screen that's managed from the comfort of the same peripherals.

Think of this as a modern iteration of the ASUS Transformer line or Motorola ATRIX, or a Miracast alternative that works with the screen and accessories that you already have, or even a much more advanced Pushbullet/AirDroid combo. It can be handy for those of us who work at a desk the entire day and don't want to keep jumping between two screens and devices to handle different communications and notifications.

The best part is the price. The 32GB LINK is only $39.99, which puts it firmly in the affordable category. It's about 3x more than regular 32GB flash drives, but given the added benefit and pass-through charging, I think it's worth the price hike. Expect it to be available in March of 2016.