Office assistants

Standing desks are all the rage, but being on your feet all day long can be a daunting (and sometime painful) proposition. That’s why Office Depot introduced its Realspace Magellan Steel/Wood Stand Up Height Ad-justable Desk, a workstation that can adjust easily from a traditional desk to the stylish stand-up option. The desk comes in a cherry, espresso or gray finish, so you can match it to your office décor or personal prefer-ence. $350, officedepot.com.

Harsh office lighting often leads to eyestrain and headaches, ultimate-ly lowering worker productivity. Brighten up your workspace with the Anker Lumos A2, a modern desk lamp that provides powerful light in five dimming levels and four modes: study, read, relax and bedtime. The adjustable arm allows you to get the perfect angle, and the base includes USB ports to charge multiple devices. Plus, with LED light bulbs, you may never have to change a bulb again! $40, anker.com.

With multiple people sharing a thermostat — but not the same body temperature — a space heater can be an office necessity. The Vornado SRTH Small Tower Heater is small but mighty, providing two heat settings to keep your work-space toasty. Rather than the typical oscillating heaters, this heater distributes warmth in a V-shaped pattern to prevent cold spots and unbalanced heat. It also features a four-hour auto shut-off, cool exteri-or and a tip-over switch for addi-tional safety. $50, vornado.com.

Sleep easy

Counting sheep is now a thing of the past, thanks to the Sleepace Sleep Dot, which helps you get the sleep of your dreams. The small gadget attaches to the corner of your pillow, where it monitors and analyzes your sleep quality by measuring how often you turn over or leave the bed, your heart and breath rates, and the ratio of light-, mid- and deep sleep. It also syncs to the Sleepace App, which generates shareable sleep reports. And the tiny device is sound-equipped, so it can lull you to dreamland with sleep-aid music or rouse you for another day with soothing sounds that wake you more naturally than your typical alarm clock.
$50, sleepace.com.

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Key-free security

Someone stealing or rifling through your be-longings is a worst-case scenario for most trav-elers. Protect your suitcase and all its contents with the eGeeTouch Smart Travel Padlock, a smartlock that doesn’t require an easily forgot-ten code or key. Instead, the lock works with your mobile device to store a unique ID that can only be opened when it is in the vicinity of your phone. It also has a built-in smart microchip tag that eliminates the need for leather luggage tags. And eGeeTouch technology even complies with TSA regulations — authorized personnel use a master key if luggage needs to be inspect-ed. $40, egeetouch.com.

The thinnest TV

If you’ve observed the evolution of televisions from clunky cathode-ray tubes to the sleek LED screens of today, you might think there’s no way they can get any thinner. LG apparently disagrees; the company just debuted the LG Signature OLED TV at the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show, a wallpaper-thin television that attaches directly to the wall. The 65-inch screen features crystal-clear visuals and state-of-the-art sound, as well as wide viewing angles that let everyone in the room see the picture clearly. This first-of-its-kind device carries a price tag to match its cutting-edge design: It retails for $8,000, lg.com.

Space saver

We’ve all been there: ready to snap
a stunning photo or download an important app, only to get the dreaded “not enough storage” alert. SanDisk’s iXpand Flash Drive aims to make that hated warning a thing of the past. The flash drive comes in four sizes ranging from 16 GB to 128 GB and allows you to quickly free up space on your iPhone or iPad. The companion mobile app also lets you automatically back up photos without using the cloud, and watch vid-eos directly from the drive. The iXpand Flash Drive is compatible with most cases, including a version specially built for the OtterBox universe case system, so you don’t have to leave your phone unprotected to give it more space.
$50–$130, sandisk.com.

Helpful apps for business

Keeping track of expenses, especially when you’re on the go, can be a tricky task. Not so with Certify, a handy app that lets you snap pictures of your receipts with any smartphone or tablet and then upload them to create expense reports. It also has credit card integration, so purchases are automatically recorded and submit-ted on scheduled dates. Depending on your company size, choose from Certify Now! (25 employees or less), Professional (25 to 200 employees) and Enterprise (more than 200 em-ployees), which is compatible with multiple currencies and languages. $8 and up per month, certify.com.

If you’ve ever sprinted through an airport, you know few things in life are more stressful than won-dering if you’ll make your flight
on time. Thank goodness for Fly Fleet, a helpful travel app that uses crowd-sourcing technology to let you know about security line delays, flight delays and other airport hassles — all in real time. And in case of a delay, the app also helps you find restaurants, coffee shops and stores in your gate’s vicinity. Plus, Fly Fleet lets you share your real-time flight info with family and friends, so they know exactly when your wheels will touch down. Free, flyfleet.org.

One of the fastest-growing busi-ness apps of 2016, Zoom offers conferencing that’s custom-built for a remote office world. The basic plan has HD video and voice, virtual back-grounds, desktop sharing, Chrome and Outlook plug-ins, and other features, which can be used by up to 50 people. It also has collaboration features such as instant messaging, screen share and breakout rooms, plus advanced encryption to keep all your conversations secure.
Free, zoom.us.

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