Having a notebook means versatility on the go, but when you’re at home it’s nice to have a set up that leverages the idea of having a permanent desk. If you’re at all like me, you’ll want to be able to bring that set up with you where ever you go. This I what’s on my desk, June 2019.
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Lenovo S940 Notebook
My working horse today is a thin and light notebook with a stunning display and gorgeous design. The Levovo S940 is ideal for those who need to carry their notebook around frequently since it’s very slim and only 1.2kg it won’t weigh you down.
On my desk the 13.9 inch display is really the stand out feature it has contoured glass on the edges and it appears to fall away. You’ve seen it on smartphones, the edges of the display are slightly round to give the impression of a wider screen and we think it is elegant. You’ve got two options either be a 4K display with HDR400 support or a 1080p Full HD model with Dolby Vision HDR. I have the 4K version and it really is stunning. You’ll also notice the camera placement is at the top with a reverse notch. I love it, it gives me a place to grab the top of the notbook to open it up.
The Yoga S940 is set apart from the crowd by its display. The contoured glass not only makes the display a pleasure to look at and use but also makes it unique in the space, allowing the already tiny bezels to appear even smaller. The performance is good with an 8th Gen i7 processor with 16GB of RAM and an SSD up to 1TB.
When it comes to battery life the Full HD version should give you about 10 hours while the Ultra HD edition is about half at 5 hours. This is WiFi on and screen brightness at 75%, I’m not generally conservative with my display brightness so it’s possible to really stretch it out. At night I’ll pull it all the way down and 25% will get me 2 hours of Netflix.
Getting back to the desk, I’m more productive with a second display. I’m a huge fan of the ASUS ZenScreen line.
ASUS ZenScreen Go
A second monitor is an essential tool for upgrading my productivity. I already use the spit-screen feature in Windows to have different website or documents open. When I’m doing photo or video editing the second screen streamlines my work flow so I’m not switching between tabs or programs.
I loved my first generation ZenScreen, the ZenScreen Go has a very significant upgrade with an internal battery. This means that it doesn’t pull of your notebook for power, this is key for notebook with Type C that might not have the power output from all the ports. Even with the built in battery the S940 struggled to keep the screen powered. This wasn’t a problem as the display had a battery life of about 8 hours. If I took an hour lunch the display would top up 20% so I never really had problems with the screen dying. This is also great for when your travelling if you want to play videos from your phone to the display.
The only complaint that I have about the ZenScreen Go is that on occasion it can have trouble connecting. A few times a week I’ll have to restart my system, turn the display on and off and unplug the cable and connect fresh. It’s hard for me to say if this is a standard issue since the monitor was loaded with demo software to show off the display various settings, like Splendid mode, to brighten up the colors. Even with this issue I’ll be sad to see this review unit go and will debate whether or not I’ll pick up the touchscreen or 4K version.
ASUS makes the best portable monitors on the market. I love the versatility of being able to take this desktop setup anywhere I go.
15.6 inch IPS display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 weighing only 850 grams and is only 8mm thick. The reason I’m considering the 4K version even though I suspect the battery life issues will be worse, is that you can see a big difference in display quality when you look between them. The brightness could also be a touch higher, but you do have to head into the settings to make sure the brightness is on full, the standard 50% brightness is far too low.
Price: $294.99
46 used & new available from $170.15
Symbus Q Compact USB-C Dock with Wireless Charging
When you first add a type c hub to your desk you’ll instantly feel more organized. You’ll be able to do some cable management, which means a neater desk and when you sit down to work you only have to plug one cable in. The first thing you might say when you look at a photo of my desktop set up, I have the ZenScreen Go plugged into the notebook, the connectivity issues I mentioned above came into play, it was less messing around if I went directly to the notebook.
The moshi Symbus Q USB-C docking station with wireless charger is a USB-C dock that has an HDMI port that supports 4K, 2 USB ports, an Ethernet port, and fast wireless charging. The Qi certified wireless charging – supports Apple 7.5 W and Samsung 9 W wireless fast charging
The only thing tht hub was missing was a card reader, I shoot photos and video and wireless SD cards haven’t entered into my workflow.
My only other complaint is the power brick for the hub is huge, I know most people can hide it away behind their desk, but I can’t all of my cables are exposed so this one stands out since it’s so much larger than all the others.
If you’re looking for a desk upgrade for your Type C notebook, tis 4K docking station with a built-in Qi charger is a sleek and stylish addition.
Price: $66.99
8 used & new available from $66.99
Samsung Galaxys S10 with Case
My daily driver changes a lot depending on what phone I’m reviewing but the Samsung Galaxy S10 has made it into my pocket as my personal phone. The camera is solid and people are always interested in how news phones perform against the camera on a Samsung.
The other reason it’s in my pocket is the dope LED case. When I turn it over I get a little light show, sure it uses up battery, but I like it. There are cute animations I can have and a useful feature of showing a timer countdown if you set your phone up to take a shot of you sitting somewhere.
Price: $637.50
13 used & new available from $550.00
Price: $21.99
7 used & new available from $15.00
Samsung Gear Buds
If you’re looking for a pair of wireless headphones these are pretty darn good. They took several updates to loose the connectivity issues, but now they don’t loose connectivity to my Windows notebooks. On my Android phones I had no issues but last month they finally fixed audio drops on Windows.
Why did I stay loyal to these even though they had connectivity issues and if you take a call using these headphones outdoors you sound terrible? It was the convenience of wireless charging. I just put them down on a wireless charging pad and carry on with my day. It’s amazing what inconveniences you’ll tolerate for one feature that removes another cable from my life. It’s hard to go back to cables once you get used to Wireless Charging.
The audio quality is solid, decent bass and full sound. I wouldn’t recommend them for the audiophile in your life, but I think the sound quality is great. The battery life is about 6 hours and the case gives you a full charge. If you run out 15min in the case gives you nearly 2 hours of playtime. All in all I great pair of all around headphones.
Samsung Galaxy Buds True Wireless Earbuds – Serial White – Refurbished
Price: $93.90
32 used & new available from $63.25
Fressko Coffee Cup
Of all the things on my desk this is the one that I would classify as game changing. I know a fantastic notebook and a secondary display that completely changes my work flow and productivity are both second to this coffee cup.
The made by Fressko cup keeps my coffee HOT for an hour and when I say hot I mean I almost burned my tongue after an hour. You have hot coffee for about three hours. I ALWAYS forget that I made myself a coffee. I didn’t realize how much cold or warmish coffee I was drinking, I genuinely feel like this has improved my quality of life.
FRESSKO – Camino Reusable Coffee Cup 340 ml / 12 oz (Black)
Price: $34.95
1 used & new available from $34.95
