IDC’s Future of Work Readiness Index Assessment 2018 forecasts that up to 50% of employees will be working remotely by 2020. According to Poly, this WFA (work from anywhere) trend means that individuals will need the right tools to be productive.
Besides the mobile phone and laptop, Poly suggests the following gadgets for portable productivity:
Portable battery pack
The gold standard for 2019 should be a minimum of 20,000 mAh, which should last up to five full charges.
Look for battery packs that support the Power Delivery standard as they allow laptops to be topped up via USB-C.
Poly also suggests setting the phone to ‘airplane mode’ and not using it while charging for quicker results.
Multiport adapter
Consider investing in a sturdy multiport hub or adapter. These usually come with multiple USB ports, video output connectors, and possibly memory card slots.
Portable speakerphone
Rather than using the built-in laptop mic for conference calls amidst “Can you hear me?” and “I’m sorry, can you please repeat that?”, try a portable speakerphone like the Plantronics Calisto series. These can be used in huddle rooms, for example.
The Calisto 3200 is a corded USB speakerphone that turns the computer into a wideband audio speakerphone and is built for unified communications (UC) applications and softphones from Avaya, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and more. It can be connected by a cable to the laptop.
The more powerful Calisto 5200 is designed for hands-free conference calls, collaboration or web conferencing. The unit features 360-degree room coverage with active background noise reduction, and provides the choice of a USB-A, USB-C, and 3.5 mm connectors.
Besides the mobile phone and laptop, Poly suggests the following gadgets for portable productivity:
Portable battery pack
The gold standard for 2019 should be a minimum of 20,000 mAh, which should last up to five full charges.
Look for battery packs that support the Power Delivery standard as they allow laptops to be topped up via USB-C.
Poly also suggests setting the phone to ‘airplane mode’ and not using it while charging for quicker results.
Multiport adapter
Consider investing in a sturdy multiport hub or adapter. These usually come with multiple USB ports, video output connectors, and possibly memory card slots.
Portable speakerphone
Rather than using the built-in laptop mic for conference calls amidst “Can you hear me?” and “I’m sorry, can you please repeat that?”, try a portable speakerphone like the Plantronics Calisto series. These can be used in huddle rooms, for example.
The Calisto 3200 is a corded USB speakerphone that turns the computer into a wideband audio speakerphone and is built for unified communications (UC) applications and softphones from Avaya, Cisco, IBM, Microsoft and more. It can be connected by a cable to the laptop.
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| Source: Poly. The Calisto 5200 in action. The speakerphone is the black cylindrical device on the table, connected by a cable to a smartphone. |
The more powerful Calisto 5200 is designed for hands-free conference calls, collaboration or web conferencing. The unit features 360-degree room coverage with active background noise reduction, and provides the choice of a USB-A, USB-C, and 3.5 mm connectors.
