Stuff - UK (2021-08)

KEY SPECS

O 13.5in 2256x1504 IPS touchscreen

O Intel Pentium Gold/i3/i5/i7 O 4/8GB

RAM O 64/128/256GB O Chrome OS

O HDMI, USB 3, 2x USB-C O Up to 10hrs

O 301x235x16.8mm, 1.45kg

STUFF SAYS +++++

Polished and portable, the Spin 713

is an impressive, affordable package

ACER

SPIN 713

from £500 / stuff.tv/Spin713

THE STUDENT

There’s only so much snakebite and green hair-dye you can get with a government

loan, so save vital pounds by going for this economical but effective working setup

44

GET MORE DONE

ou can get cheaper Chromebooks

than Acer’s Spin 713 – but when

it comes to something that won’t

embarrass you during Freshers’ Week, it’s

hard to see past this 13.5in workhorse.

For the uninitiated, Chromebooks are

almost entirely browser-based, so you’ll

have to rely on web apps, but with Google’s

Docs et al (or Microsoft’s equivalents) for

work, Spotify for music and Snapseed for

tarting up photos, there’s little day-to-day

stuff you can’t do on one these days. And

if you’ve got an Android phone, everything

integrates very nicely too.

Cores and effect

Powered by a 10th-gen Intel processor

(options vary from a dual-core Pentium

Gold to a quad-core i7) and 4 or 8GB of

RAM, the Spin 713 has that little bit more

oomph than Chromebooks that cost less,

which means it’ll be able to cope with

having more tabs open at once, plus it’s

better-specified all round. Unless you opt

for the most expensive model you’ll only

get 64 or 128GB of storage – but as we’ve

already said, almost everything you do with

a Chromebook is web-based, so storage

isn’t really a factor.

The brushed aluminium finish gives it a

classy feel, the touchscreen swivels to turn

it into a rudimentary tablet or streaming

TV, and there’s an HDMI port for hooking

it up to a bigger monitor if you need more

screen space. The 2256x1504 display

itself is more than adequate, though: bright,

vivid and pin-sharp, with a 3:2 aspect ratio

to fit more of the good stuff in.

NOW

APP

THESE

REFME

If you’re writing

essays you’ll

need to know

how to cite your

references;

RefMe makes

it much easier.

Just scan a

book’s barcode

or paste in a URL.

£free /

Android, iOS

EVERNOTE

Evernote is a bit

like an online

scrapbook: use

it as a place to

jot down ideas,

re co rd vo i ce

notes or keep

clippings from

websites.

from £free /

Android, iOS,

Chrome

GOOGLE DRIVE

Anyone with a

Gmail account

gets 15GB of

cloud storage for

nowt, so you’d

be a fool not to

get the Drive

app to make the

most of it.

from £free /

Android, iOS,

Chrome

Y

SAMSUNG

M70A SMART

MONITOR

A computer monitor

is basically just a TV

with all the fun stuff

taken out, but the 32in

M70A Smart Monitor

puts it back in. During

the day you can plug

your laptop in, but

when all the work’s

done it includes all the

catch-up apps you’d

get with a Samsung

telly, plus a set of

built-in speakers.

It even supports 4K.

£329 / samsung.com

JOHN LEWIS

ANYDAY

HINTON

This John Lewis chair

does a fine impression

of a much more pricey

buttock-plinth. It’s

height-adjustable and

there’s built-in lumbar

support to encourage

you to sit up straight.

OK, it’s not designed

for all-nighters (they

recommend only

using it for up to 4hrs

a day), but perhaps

that’ll encourage you

to work quicker.

£139 / johnlewis.com

PAPER HIVE

POP UP

STANDING

DESK

Fancy trying one of

those standing desks

but don’t have much

to spend? This one is

made of honeycomb

paper board and can

be built or dismantled

in the same time it

takes to say “My back

hurts”. Just beware,

all that blank space

is sure to attract

juvenile graffiti artists.

£60 /

thepaperhive.co.uk

NOW ADD THESE

AIR UP

Finding time to drink

isn’t usually an issue

for students, but it’s

not usually done in

the name of hydration.

If you need a bit of

encouragement, Air

Up bottles include

special aroma pods

that trick your brain

into thinking you’re

drinking more than

just water. The pods

come in all kinds of

scents, from pink

grapefruit to iced

coffee or cola.

£30 / uk.air-up.com

AMAZON

ECHO DOT

The Dot might be the

most wallet-friendly

Echo, but its titchy

dimensions don’t

mean weedy sound:

even if it’s not going

to drown out that hi-fi,

for desk-based tunes

it does a decent job.

And the four-mic

array means you

can yell at it all day,

whether you want

the weather forecast

or a reminder of your

lecture schedule.

£50 / amazon.co.uk

TP-LINK

DECO P9

Like champagne,

caviar and clean

bedding, mesh

networks aren’t

a common sight in

student houses, but

TP-Link’s Deco P9

system is at the more

affordable end of the

market. What sets

it apart is that it also

uses powerline tech

to give you wired

options when Wi-Fi

won’t do. Nifty.

from £145 /

tp-link.com