Custom PC - UK (2019-12)

SPEEDLINKORIOS

RGB GAMING

MOUSEPAD

/ £40.93incVAT

SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk

The Orios is an RGBmousepadthatmanagestofeelworkmanlike,
which is strangefora surfaceembeddedwithanarrayofsoftware-
controlled LEDscapableofproducingninedifferentpatternsand
16.7 million colours.Howdoyoumakea productfeellikea no-frills
affair when, to allintentsandpurposes,it’sbasicallyonebigfrill?
The Orios hasanorthodoxroundedrectangleshape,measuring
350 x 250 x 4.3mm,withtheUSBconnectiongoingintothetop,
while the lights goaroundtheedge,andalsoilluminatethenameand
manufacturer logo.Thesurfaceis lightlytexturedandbothrespons
and comfortabletouse.Thelightingisn’tdazzlinglybright,butit’s
responsive – thepatternsavailablecovertheusualbasesofbreathi
and wave effects,andwhilethesoftwareis perfunctory,it works.It’s
all fine, but that’sreallyallthereis toit, andwhenyou’respendingov
£40 inc VAT foranRGBmousepad,it allfeelsa bitunderwhelming.

Frills Thrills

Custom Kit

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

REVIEWS / CUSTOM KIT

ANKER POWERPORT WIRELESS CHARGER

/£25.99incVAT

SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk

This simple-looking device is spectacularly useful,

if a little hard to define. The Anker is billed as a

wireless charger, because it charges compatible

smartphones wirelessly. However, while it

charges your phone wirelessly, it needs a USB

connection to get its own power. Once it’s plugged

in, though, It makes for an easy charging setup

that doesn’t involve having to faff around with

cables whenever you want to charge your phone.

The charger is compatible with most recent

iPhones and Samsung phones,andit also

works reliably through a phonecase,ineither

portrait or landscape position, so you can put your

phone on charge whether you’re watching videos

or checking social media. There’s an optional

mains adaptor that can increase the charging

speed, but unless you let your phone run close

to empty and then need it to be suddenly full,

it’s largely unnecessary. It’s a vast improvement

over messing around with charging cables, and

being shaped into a stand makes it much more

useful than a simple flat charging surface.

PowerPoint Powerport

TheKlearlookCoolingStationis a curioushybridofa laptop

coolerwithanadjustabletablet/phonestand.Thecooling

comesfroma long,paddle-stylecentrifugalfan,whichpushes

outa reasonableamountofairwhilemakinga reasonableamount

ofnoisetoo,althoughit thankfullyhasa three-stepspeedcontrol.

Thecoolersitsonyourdeskandyouaimit asbestyoucaninto

yourlaptoptoassistthecooling,maybeatthebackortheside,

orproppeduponthebrackets– whicheverworksbest.

Therearetwoadjustablebracketsthatfoldout,twistoverandthen

slidealong,soyoucanusethemtoholdphonesortablets.They’re

prettyclever– allowingyoutopropupalmostanysortoftablet-style

blingyoutoanglethecooling

vealltheirhotcomponentsin

It’soverkillforyouraverage

hone,butit workswellif you

avea high-poweredtablet.

ooling Cooling

KLEARLOOK COOLING

STAT I O N /£22.99 inc VAT

SUPPLIER amazon.co.uk

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