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Desktop toys: USB Cafe Pad gets a lukewarm reception

By // November 15, 2006, 2:41 AM PST // markwkaelin

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  • The holiday season is approaching fast. In fact, it seems to approach faster every year. For those of you in the giving spirit around the office, it can be difficult to find that special gift for the person on the other side of the cubicle wall. It cannot be too expensive and it should reflect a certain amount of lightheartedness and fun. I mean, after all, gift giving in an office environment is really about generating smiles and feelings of goodwill with your co-workers.

    With that spirit in mind, TechRepublic has acquired several inexpensive yet tasteful and useful desktop toys for review. One of these fine gadgets should appeal to even the most difficult to buy for in your office.

    Next on our gift list is a USB Cafe Pad courtesy of Perpetual Kid.

    &copy CNET Networks, Inc.
    Mark W. Kaelin

  • Like the USB Desk Lamp that we looked at last week, the USB Cafe Pad is a very simple device that claims to keep your coffee warm.

    &copy CNET Networks, Inc.
    Mark W. Kaelin

    • Keep a beverage warm ---- check
    • On/off switch --- check
    • LED working light --- check
    • What! --- I can't smoke a turkey with it? What am I to do with all this tinder on my desk?


    &copy CNET Networks, Inc.
    Mark W. Kaelin

  • The Cafe Pad certainly looks stylish. It would add to the decor of most cubicles I know.

    &copy CNET Networks, Inc.
    Mark W. Kaelin

  • It is as if it was built for our famous TechRepublic coffee mug. The platform is heavy and sturdy so embarrassing spills are not any more likely than normal.

    &copy CNET Networks, Inc.
    Mark W. Kaelin

  • I am concerned with the amount of surface contact produced by the TechRepublic coffee mug. Whatever heating there is will not be distributed to the entire bottom of the mug.

    &copy CNET Networks, Inc.
    Mark W. Kaelin

  • Note the LED (green) light is off --- it is probably not a good idea to leave the USB Cafe Pad on overnight. So an light indicating whether the device is on or off is good for those of us who forget such things.

    &copy CNET Networks, Inc.
    Mark W. Kaelin

  • It's on and working. The only question now is does it keep my coffee warm as promised.

    &copy CNET Networks, Inc.
    Mark W. Kaelin

  • Here is definitive evidence that the sole source of power is a USB 2.0 port. Unfortunately, in my very unscientific tests, the USB Cafe Pad did not keep my coffee warm. The heating element did get warm to the touch with only USB power, but not warm enough to keep the coffee in my TechRepublic coffee mug warm.

    My not quite as famous thermal CNET tumbler actually does a better job of keeping my coffee warm. Ummm, coffee.

    &copy CNET Networks, Inc.
    Mark W. Kaelin

Related Topics:

Hardware Data Centers Networking Innovation Big Data Analytics Security

The holiday season is approaching fast. In fact, it seems to approach faster every year. For those of you in the giving spirit around the office, it can be difficult to find that special gift for the person on the other side of the cubicle wall. It cannot be too expensive and it should reflect a certain amount of lightheartedness and fun. I mean, after all, gift giving in an office environment is really about generating smiles and feelings of goodwill with your co-workers.

With that spirit in mind, TechRepublic has acquired several inexpensive yet tasteful and useful desktop toys for review. One of these fine gadgets should appeal to even the most difficult to buy for in your office.

Next on our gift list is a USB Cafe Pad courtesy of Perpetual Kid.

&copy CNET Networks, Inc.
Mark W. Kaelin

About Mark Kaelin

Mark W. Kaelin has been writing and editing stories about the IT industry, gadgets, finance, accounting, and tech-life for more than 25 years. Most recently, he has been a regular contributor to BreakingModern.com, aNewDomain.net, and TechRepublic.

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