GET MORE DONE
GOT MY MOJO, WORKING
Of course many of us can work absolutely anywhere – it’s just a shame it took a pandemic for everyone else to figure it out. Perversely, the following selection of productivity gadgets aims to help you free up more time for doing absolutely nothing. In Batman pyjamas, if that’s how you choose to live your life.
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THE COMMUTER p38
Oh God, you’ve got to go back to an actual place of work, with people. Get more done, bunk off early, and speed home quicker with these tech tools.
THE HOMEWORKER p40
Desktop dazzlers, Wi-Fi-weaving wonders and planet-friendly printers for people who think the office is a place where you buy espadrilles.
THE DIGITAL NOMAD p42
Time to decamp to paradise for Wi-Fi and wanderlust, telling everyone who cares to listen that you’re the next big thing in ‘drop shipping’. You berk.
THE STUDENT p44
Our top picks for computing on a budget and home accessories to make Pot Noodle-stained hovels appear ever so slightly more inhabitable.
THE ARTY TYPE p46
A dual-screen laptop for doodling, a phone for making those presentations pop, and A/V goodies for opening the taps on those gooey creative juices.
ALTERNATIVELY… SAMSUNG GALAXY BOOK GO
Slim and shockproof, Samsung’s 14in Galaxy Book Go could just be a commuter’s dream. It uses Qualcomm’s energy-efficient Snapdragon 7C Gen 2 processor with 128GB of storage, which should be plenty for catching up on emails and finishing off that presentation on your way in. from £399 / samsung.com
THE COMMUTER
So, it’s back to the office after a lifetime away… whether or not you’ve been secretly looking forward to it, this lot will help you slip into the old routine again
MICROSOFT SURFACE LAPTOP 4
from £999 / stuff.tv/SurfaceLap4
W
hen you’re only commuting as far as the kitchen table, it’s not really a problem if your laptop weighs as much as a fat spaniel; but if you’re heading to the office via train/bus/jetpack, you’ll want to carry as little bulk as you can… and at just 1.27kg, the sleek Surface Laptop 4 is a strong candidate.
Crafted from aluminium with optional fuzzy Alcantara, it balances skinniness with sensible cooling. Armed with an Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB of RAM, our entry-level model showed no signs of strain when running a handful of work apps, a browser filled with open tabs and Spotify in the background. It’ll cope with heavy-duty stuff like video editing too, but not with the same ease as Apple’s M1 chip.
Porty fears two
There are some compromises when it comes to connectivity: just one USB-A, one USB-C and a headphone port. But the 2256x1504 3:2 display is great for fitting in two documents side by side, and while the bezels around it could certainly be smaller, you probably won’t even notice unless someone sits down next to you with something super-skinny.
The battery life can be bettered, but it’ll be more than enough to get you from nine to five with some catching up on emails or Netflix on the way home – unless you’ve opted for the jetpack that day, in which case you should probably watch out for chimneys and crows.
KEY SPECS
● 13.5in 2256x1502 LCD touchscreen
● 11th-gen Intel Core i5 ● 8/16/32GB RAM
● 256/512GB/1TB SSD ● Windows 10
● USB-C, USB-A, 3.5mm, Surface Connect
● Up to 19hrs ● 308x223x14.5mm, 1.27kg
STUFF SAYS ★★★★✩
Microsoft’s ultraportable gets a handy performance boost
NOW ADD THESE
BOSE QUIET COMFORT EARBUDS
Remember public transport? Big tin cans full of people honking on about last night’s telly and what they’ve got for lunch? If you’re looking for something to block that out, the ace noise-cancelling and equally brilliant sound quality on Bose’s QC Earbuds will transport you far away from the top deck of the 155.
£250
/
bose.co.uk
AIRPOP ACTIVE+ HALO SMART MASK
With any luck masks won’t be mandatory on public transport forever – but if you fancy knowing a bit more about what’s hitching a ride in your lungs, this is like a Fitbit for your face. Its sensor pairs with Apple HealthKit and records things like breathing rate and particles blocked.
.£150
/
airpophealth.com
EMBER MUG²
While everyone else in the office slurps their tea out of those massive Sports Direct mugs that seem to magically multiply overnight, any true brew aficionado knows they’re likely to get pulled into a meeting and come back to a cold cuppa. So the self-heating Mug2 keeps your hot drink at a preset temperature for up to 90 minutes.
£130
/
ember.com
HARBER LONDON LAPTOP BRIEFCASE
You could travel to work with all your essentials shoved in a Tesco bag-for-life, but is that really the impression you want to give? This laptop briefcase comes in 13in or 16in sizes, but both have space for a tablet too. It comes in tan, black or deep brown.
from
£379
/
harberlondon.com
GOCYCLE G4
There’s not a lot of point investing in a fancy electric bike if some rascal comes along and nicks it, so picking something you can fold up and never let out of your sight makes a lot of sense. Gocycle is the master of squashable e-cycling and the new G4 uses more carbon fibre to keep the weight down, while a new motor delivers more torque.
£3399
/
gocycle.com