What is it about gadgets that makes us want to surround ourselves with them? Cover our desks with neat tricks for this, cool hacks for that and things that are just fun to fiddle with? It’s almost like scribbling — you know, when you’re on that call and the pen in front of you suddenly leaps into your hand and makes contact with the pad next to it? With you having no say in the matter, it starts scribbling spirals, birds, boxes, anything in fact while you’re concentrating on your call? Office gadgets work the same way. Without meaning to, we fiddle.
In an office environment, there’s limited space for Gadget City. Its perimeters can only extend so far, but, fortunately, the home worker has a few more options, depending on whether you have the space for a dedicated office, or you work from a desk in a sheltered corner of the living room. It can be much more productive to seclude yourself away from shared areas, allowing you the space to think about your clients, overflowing in-tray or your plans for the next conference call. It also allows Gadget City to grow and flourish.
The dictionary defines a gadget as:
small mechanical or electronic device or tool, especially an ingeniously novel one
The question is, do we really care if a gadget has a use if it’s fun? Do we just love gadgets for gadget’s sake? And is stylishness of integral importance?
There used to be a time when every office exec had a stainless steel Newton’s Cradle clacking away quietly on their desk. The ultimate in peaceful, repetitive motion, they served no practical purpose whatsoever, but, undoubtedly, had style and a certain elegance in their design. Then there were the magnetic piles of tiny metal chips that were fun to play with, but a nightmare if knocked off the desk to the floor, where they would scatter to all four corners to be trodden on, or clog up the cleaner’s hoover. Again no purpose, and not even particularly stylish — how much style can a pile of small, slightly dusty metal pieces have?
There was nail art, sand art, even so-called desk-top Zen gardens, all fun for a while, but with a time-limited appeal, and again, once dusty and tired, they lost any sense of style.
So, the purposeless gadgets were exiled from the City, where even style couldn’t save them, and the useful, ingeniously designed gadgets moved in.
In terms of usefulness, what could be more practical than a phone charger? We run our lives — both business and personal — through our phones and they require charging, some more frequently than others (Apple, I’m talking to you!). However, in order to power up, it was necessary to tether your phone via a cable — and generally, a rather short cable, to the power outlet, which, essentially, rendered our mobile phones immobile for a period of time.
High-tech gadget designers have been busy, though, and we now have the QI Wireless charger. Available in a vast variety of styles, from plain black stands, to elegant glass, brushed steel and models with space age colored light displays, these chargers allow cell phones to be charged without cables. We no longer have to mess around unplugging to take that important call and can wander at will, safe in the knowledge that merely by placing our phone on the charger, it will power up in super fast time. So, just like that, a purposeful desk gadget, and you can check out the latest QI wireless chargers.
Another really useful piece of office gadgetry comes in the form of angled stands for laptops. After a day of pouring over a keyboard, many people suffer aches and pains, not to mention eye strain. The experts at Princeton University suggest that by raising and angling the keyboard with a stand, students can sit straighter in their chairs, improve their posture by setting them further away from the screen, and relieve tension across their shoulders and necks. They go on to say that this improves productivity, concentration and mental health among their students.
Often featuring cooling capabilities, a laptop stand enables your computer to work more efficiently, too.
However, to fulfill the requirements for Gadget City, laptop stands must be stylish too, and boy, are they! Lights, dials, brushed steel components, there is something to suit every taste. From industrial minimalism to gloriously high tech, designers have gone to town, or should that be City, on these beneficial gadgets. Discover all the latest laptop stands at The Gadget Nerds.
With funky little cable tidiers, ingeniously designed desk organizers, and smoked glass and steel hand-held document shredders, Gadget City has never been more fun, demonstrating that practical and stylish wins every time.
Now, where’s my wireless coffee warmer?
Gadgets provide a sense of balance in a cutthroat business world. It’s comforting to know that, on this crazy miserable planet, we can still get an inkjet printer to work or resolve an IP conflict.
Conquering those seemingly minor problems make us feel great. They may be small victories, but oftentimes, that’s exactly what we need.
The truth is, we’re all in codependent love-hate relationships with our gadgets. And if you’re not willing to admit that, then you’re just living in denial, my friend.
