Custom PC - UK (2020-06)

SABRENT16PORTUSB3.0

DATA H U B /£49.99incVAT

SUPPLIERamazon.co.uk

Custom kit

Phil Hartup checks out the latest gadgets, gizmos and geek toys

REVIEWS / CUSTOM KIT

6AMLIFESTYLE ADJUSTABLE DUAL

HEADPHONEHANGER/£14.99incVAT

SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk

TheKirobois a smallspeakerthatcanworkeither via Bluetooth

asa phonespeakercapableofhandlingcalls,or through a line-in

connection.It alsohasa microSDcardslot,soyou can cram a stack

ofmusicontoa cardandplayit. However,good luck navigating a

substantialmusiclibrarywithjusttheNextTrack and Previous Track

buttons,andnovisibleinterface.

Visually,theKirobolooksneat.Thecut-out,mostly spherical shape

givesit a Magic8-Ballvibe,whilethecolourfullighting and shifting

nslookrelativelyunderstated,creatinga kindofnightlighteffect.

alityis fineforlow-levelnois d b t ’ll t

r musicabovea lowambien

o geta decentbatterylifeofar

s onstandby,andsixhoursfor

k. However,it’snotthemost

e speakertotakeoutandabout.

t waterprooftoanystandard,and

e it’stechnically portable,itsbuild

ityisn’tparticularlysolideither.

ghtmare Nightlight

KIROBOWIRELESS

SPEAKER/£15.99 inc VAT

SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk

There seem to be two approaches to attaching under-desk headphone
hangers – double-sided tape and clamps. The 6amLifestyle Dual
Headphone Hanger uses the latter. The clamp itself is small but strong,
with padded grips, so you won’t mark your furniture if you attach it tightly.
The arm screws onto the clamp using a hex key, which is a little fiddly
but doable. The clamp is expected to hold up to 5kg, which is plenty for
even massive headsets. Still, that surplus strength is appreciated if you
knock into it. Using a clamp means you have to place the hanger near the
edge of your desk, and there’s a small surface profile, which you don’t
get with a taped stand. The trade-off is that the 6amLifestyle hanger is
reusable, and not a write-off if it gets detached by accident. There are no
frills, but it’s a solid headphone hanger – you can’t ask for much more.

The Sabrent USB Hub is perhaps the most aggressive attempt to cram
USB sockets into a device we’ve seen. There are 16 USB 3 ports, and
while some USB hubs with lots of ports limit the use of some of the
sockets, each one of the Sabrent’s ports is good for recharging, data
transfer or plugging in other devices.
The hub is powered with a mains adaptor, and each individual socket
has its own power switch. The benefits of this approach become
clear as the hub starts to fill up - it’s a tight squeeze for standar
connectors, and devices with large plugs, or dongles, canend
up taking up more than one space. That means switching
devices in and out gets tricky, but the power switch enables
you to power off devices without having to remove them.
The Sabrent is also supplied with a bracket you canscrew
into place, and then slot the 16-port hub in and out of it.Tha
a handy touch, as with 16 potential USB cables, as wellast
power cable and USB host cable, the Sabrent couldeasily
into the heart of a USB cable rat king. It’s not cheap, butth
solid and versatile approach to a many-port USB hub.

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