Top 10 Office Gadgets

The office is one place where gadgets have made considerable headway in the past decade, stress-balls, metronomes and Newton’s cradles were once standard, but such decorations have been replaced by tools that make working life more pleasurable, productive and personable. Here is ABR’s Top 10…

WRITTEN BY JOE JOHNSON

1. The Apple iPad

The iPad, in all its iterations is without question the most important office gadget of all time. The tablet computer packs all the power of a laptop device and all the portability of a mobile phone, bridging the gap between these two devices and offering a near-faultless solution where neither fully delivers.

The potentially endless supply of high quality third party applications means that new uses for the iPad can be found all the time, adding value as time goes on, ensuring it makes for a worthy investment. Not only does the iPad function impeccably, it also excels in form stakes, with a super-slim case and a beautiful, easy-to-use interface, making it simple enough to use for all team members.

Although a top office gadget – it is perhaps the iPad’s stunning functionality on-the-go that is one of its most desired attributes, meaning you can carry on working wherever you are.

2. Under-desk exercise bikes

One of the toughest personal challenges facing the modern office worker is keeping fit. Demanding jobs mean that long periods of sitting at the desk and convenient junk food both mean weight gain is difficult to avoid. Enter the under-desk peddle bike, discretely allowing execs to exert themselves while working on that urgent report!

See also  Luxury luggage for the executive traveller

3. Posture enhancing chairs

Keeping the pounds off isn’t the only concern of office workers; most desk chairs are poorly designed and uncomfortable, promoting poor posture. Special posture enhancing chairs have a back rest that ensure the spine maintains a neutral position, and don’t place undue stress on the muscles and bones of the mid-section.

4. Mug-warmers

Nothing kick-starts the morning like a piping hot mug of tea or coffee, perfect for getting the mind engaged and the colleagues on-side. Nothing is more annoying than a stone cold brew however, left to cool when you’re whisked off to an unexpected meeting. Eliminate this risk with a special mug-warmer that will insulate your brew, so it’s still drinkable when you return!

5. Parker Pen

With all the ultra-high tech gadgetry on display in today’s modern office, it may seem churlish to talk about pens. The fact remains however that a good office worker needs a good pen, and Parker produce some of the finest in the world. Invest in a top quality fountain pen and ditch the tens of flimsy, unreliable biros taking up all your draw space.

6. Dropbox membership

This might be an intangible gadget, but it is untouchable for more than one reason. For a small monthly fee you can have access to unlimited cloud storage space for all your documents, files and media artifacts. This totally eliminates the need to carry around external storage devices, since you can access all your files from any internet-enabled device.

7. Beats by Dr. Dre Headphones

See also  Top 10 African Business Schools

Sometimes you just need to be in the zone, whether it’s finishing that report or putting the final touches to a PowerPoint presentation, certain music has been proven to help us work more efficiently. Listen to your favourite tunes through crystal clear Beats headphones.

8. Apple iPhone

Although its younger sibling swipes the number one spot in the list, an iPhone is also undeniably an essential piece of office kit, such a portable piece of hardware that offers so much functionality – and I’m talking about things like notepads, calendars and the ability to view emails – can’t conceivably missed out.

9. Energy saving desk lamp

Weather like it or not, being climate aware is the new ‘cool’ in the workplace and investing in one of the growing breed of energy saving desk lamps boost your green credentials while at the same time illuminating your work space with a warm glow.

10. Mini whiteboard

Admit it, you’ve always wanted to play to role of teacher, scrawling your musings on a whiteboard in various different colours of permanent marker. Well now you can! It may not be particularly high tech, but a whiteboard can help you quickly record important points from phone conversations, to-do lists, and inspired ideas!

Joe is a travel blogger who often works with just the most basic of office equipment. He will be splashing out on a new laptop however when he takes his Dubai holidays.

African Business Review is now available on the iPad. Click here to download it.