As Christmas is just around the corner, perhaps it’s time for you to ask Santa to throw a new bag for you into that giant bag of his.

At SmallBusiness.com, we’re fans of anything that helps organize and store the wires, cables and blocks of plastic that have taken over our lives. Here’s proof: We even have a Pinterest board devoted to the topic. So yes, we were impressed recently when we learned about the Slyde Charging Solution, a family of products that provide lockable workstation spaces where a worker can charge, store and secure valuables and electronic devices—while hiding the wire-nests that have become a fixture on most open-space desks.

Slyde is the brainchild of Scott Lesizza, one of the owners of the New York-based furniture dealer Workwell Partners. Frustrated with the sameness of open-office designs and workstations with too few plugs, Lesizza began working on a solution that evolved into the products that are now a part of Slyde.

The Slyde Divyde

A great example of the Slyde concept is its Divyde Desktop Charging Station. Like traditional dividers in an open-space office design, Divydes help establish territory for workers and provide accessories like racks for hanging folders and family photos.

But the Divyde also provides the worker a convenient area in which to charge their cell phone and mount and charge their iPad.

It also has a lockable cabinet (key or combination) and two side baskets that provide additional storage for electronic devices and office supplies.

Inside the lockable cabinet, there are electrical outlets and USB 2.0 ports so up to five devices can be charged simultaneously.

Slyde Charging Drawer

The Slyde Charging Drawer takes electronic devices off the desktop and houses them in a lockable charging drawer beneath the work surface. It comes with plugs for charging up to three devices, enough space for iPads and other tablets, notebooks and phones, and two USB ports for syncing multiple devices to your computer. It is also lockable, providing workers a secure place to house devices.

Slyde Charging Drawer Insert

For use with existing drawers, the Slyde Charging Drawer Insert houses devices in an underutilized area of storage pedestals and cabinets.

Slyde Ped

As more and more paper records stored inside hanging folders are being replaced by digital files, workstation pedestals have become less and less “file drawers.” Now, much of their function is for storage.

In addition to having space for filing, electronics, and personal items, the Slyde Ped also has charging receptacles, and docking stations—and even some room for a few remaining hanging folders.

Pricing and ordering information available from Slyde:

Slydedrawer.com
info@slydedrawer.com
646.630.3090

Photos via Slyde Charging Solutions

The Pinterest.com/SmallBusiness board below, devoted to examples of standing desks, should convince you that we’re obsessed fascinated with the merits and long, proud history of standing desks. We’re always seeking the better mousetraps of stand up desks—especially those that come up with a new twist to the preferred desk of great thinkers and writers like Jefferson and Hemingway. Also, it’s great if the new idea makes having a standing desk more affordable and easy to store.

Follow SmallBusiness.com’s board Standing Desks / Stand Up Desks on Pinterest.

We think we’ve now seen the most creative, affordable and easy to transport-and-store-away standing desk idea ever, the Oristand.

According to Vancitybuzz.com, Ryan Holmes, the founder of Hootsuite, created the Oristand with Steve Suchy and Nathan Martell. Holmes decided to create an inexpensive, simple option after experiencing back pain.

Features and specifications

Material | made from industrial-weight cardboard
2 lbs. | Total weight
Sturdy | Can support weight of laptop and keyboard
5′ to 6′ | Works for people between five and six feet tall
Easy Assembly | Easy to set up or take down
Portable | Made to move around
Inexpensive | One for $25, 5 for $100)

“Many companies want to provide stand up desks as an option to enhance the work environment and promote the overall health and well-being of employees, however cost is a big barrier. The investment is simply not feasible for many small-to-medium sized businesses. We wanted to create a product that would solve this problem for both companies and employees.” – Ryan Holmes

Suggestion: To understand the clever design of the Oristand, watch this short video.

Oristand on Vimeo.

via: VancityBuzz

(Images via Oristand.com)

Each year on SmallBusiness.com, we declare this week “Small Business Gadget Week,” because a sub-group of products launched at the annual Consumer Electronics Show are as much a “small business” product as a “consumer” one. It’s all about how you use technology, not the technology itself. Get ready for several posts that will tickle your gizmo bone.

Product: Ehang 184 Autonomous Aerial Vehicle
Availability: A long time from now

On SmallBusiness.com, we regularly update the progress of commercial drones — devices that are close to a tipping point in many industries (as long as they are far away from urban centers). So when Ehang, a Chinese drone company, unveiled the Ehang 184, a self-flying, personal “autonomous aerial vehicle,” which, in english, means, “a 440-lb. pilotless robotic eight-rotor drone that carries a passenger,” we were happy to declare it the Friday selection for our annual Small Business Gadget week. The Ehang 184 is designed to carry a person up to 10 miles per charge. Don’t know how to pilot a helicopter? No problem: it flies itself after you chose your destination on an iPad. (Really, what could go wrong with that?) All that, for $200,000 or so. If it sounds too good to be true, it surely will be. Why? The FAA likes at least one person in an aircraft to be a pilot because someone needs to know how to avoid all those drones that will be delivering Amazon packages. Oh, and did we mention $200,000.

Below, see photos and video provided by Ehang

Cool, huh?

Each year on SmallBusiness.com, we declare this week “Small Business Gadget Week,” because a sub-group of products launched at the annual Consumer Electronics Show are as much a “small business” product as a “consumer” one. It’s all about how you use technology, not the technology itself. Get ready for several posts that will tickle your gizmo bone.

Product | AIO Robotics Zeus Plus

At this year’s CES (2016), one of the four 3-D printing innovation award winners was AIO Robotics’ Zeus Plus, an integrated 3-D scanner and printer with its own all-in-one touchscreen interface. The general trend in 3-D printing is currently on improving speed and ease of use. The industry still has lots of market education to accomplish to help 3-D printers be perceived as a tool for small businesses beyond product designers, developers and custom manufacturers.

AIO Robotic’s current product, the Zeus ($2,500), is featured in the video below.

Each year on SmallBusiness.com, we declare this week “Small Business Gadget Week,” because a sub-group of products launched at the annual Consumer Electronics Show are as much a “small business” product as a “consumer” one. It’s all about how you use technology, not the technology itself. Get ready for several posts that will tickle your gizmo bone.

Product | The HP Envy 5540 All-in-One Printer 
Availability | Now

The HP Envy 5540 All-in-One Printer ($129 via HP.com, $77.98 via Amazon.com) is a multifunction printer that features a quick mobile installation process so users can print from a smartphone or tablet with or without a router or local wireless network. Users can scan, copy, and access Web content directly from the color touch screen. While ink cartridges can add $0.10 or more for each copy, HP launched its Instant Ink service in 2013, a subscription plan that allows owners to choose between three plans: The Occasional plan ($2.99 per month, 50 pages), the Moderate plan ($4.99 per month, 100 pages), and Frequent printing plan ($9.99 per month, 300 pages).

Each year on SmallBusiness.com, we declare this week “Small Business Gadget Week” because a sub-group of products launched at the annual Consumer Electronics Show are as much a “small business” product as a “consumer” one. It’s all about how you use technology, not the technology itself. Get ready for several posts that will tickle your gizmo bone.

Product: Pilot ECO USBCell Battery
Availability: TBA

Pilot’s ECO USBCell battery, a CES 2016 Innovation Awards winner, is the first USB rechargeable battery to use lithium polymer technology in a standard AA or AAA battery size. Traditional rechargeable batteries lose capacity retention and performance degrade quickly compared to lithium polymer technology. An additional advantage of lithium polymer technology is that there is no dangerous acid leakage or corrosion. Most amazing: The battery can recharge for 500 cycles making it equivalent to 500 regular non-rechargeable batteries. (via: Press Release)

(Photo: EcoUSBcell.com)

Each year on SmallBusiness.com, we declare this week “Small Business Gadget Week” because a sub-group of products launched at the annual Consumer Electronics Show are as much a “small business” product as a “consumer” one. It’s all about how you use technology, not the technology itself. Get ready for several posts that will tickle your gizmo bone.

Product: Griffin Technology BreakSafe Magnetic USB-C Power Cable ($40)
Availability: April 2016 at GriffinTechnology.com

For Mac users, the break-away “MagSafe” connector has saved millions of laptops from damage caused by tripping over a power cord. But with Apple’s latest release of MacBooks, a new type of power cord using USB Type-C is introduced — and the MagSafe safety feature is absent.

Griffin’s BreakSafe Magnetic USB-C Power Cable brings back a magnetic breakaway power cable to USB-C compatible laptops. The patented quick-release magnetic connector plugs into a laptop’s USB-C port and safely disconnects from the rest of the cable when put under stress or strain from incidents like tripping over the power cord.

Photos: Griffin Technology

One of our most popular boards on Pinterest.com/SmallBusiness (What? You didn’t know there is a Pinterest.com/SmallBusiness?) is dedicated to tips and tricks to help organize cables and cords. This one, however, tops all others. From the guys who put the sticky in sticky content at Sugru comes the discovery that Lego figures can hold several sizes of cables (shown: Apple lightning connector cable). Organized cables and Legos. We think it deserves a Nobel Prize.

(via: Lifehacker)

Less than six months after launching the super small performance camera Hero4 Session, GoPro has slashed the camera’s price for the second time. Starting out at $400 in July, the camera was cut to $300 in September. Today, the Hero4 Session is listed on Amazon.com for $199.*

Great reviews, not so great sales

While the small ice cube size camera received positive, even glowing, reviews, the value of its small size and simplicity has not caught on with customers who can purchase feature-packed traditional GoPro cameras* at comparable prices. The GoPro Hero lineup includes three “entry-level” Hero action cameras starting from $129.99 to $299.99, and three “performance” cameras starting from the $199.99 Hero 4 Session to the $499.99 Hero 4 Black.

Is the price now right for the Hero4 Session?

At a $200 price-point, the Hero4 Session may finally catch on as a second (or third) camera for existing GoPro camera users. At $400, the incredible features may have been too much to justify. But at a $200 price point, they may be too tempting to pass up for GoPro fans:

An ice cube | size of camera
2.6 ounces | weight of camera
1 | buttons on the camera
33 feet | maximum waterproof depth
1080p60 | wide-angle video
8 megapixel | photos
Bluetooth and WiFi | built-in
Smartphone app | compatible with GoPro app to video, edit, and share content
Accessories | compatible with all GoPro accessories and mounts

(via Mashable.com)

*Affiliate links

(Photos: GoPro)