Guide
The right hardware for your workplace
by Zeynep Bekar
From keyboards to webcams: the right peripherals for your work set-up
2.3.2023
Translation: Katherine Martin
With the right peripheral devices to suit your needs, you can transform your computer into a modern work set-up. Here’s a quick guide on what to look out for.
When it comes to modern work set-ups, be it at home or at the office, peripheral devices such as monitors, headsets, webcams, mice and keyboards are just as important as furniture, internet access and a PC or notebook. In these two articles, you can find out what to consider when buying a notebook, docking station or monitor:
Mice and keyboards
There are two overriding criteria to consider when choosing a mouse and keyboard. The first is signal transmission. While wired peripherals never run out of battery, wireless keyboards and mice create less cable clutter and give you more room to move. The second criterion is ergonomics. Needless to say, a left-handed mouse is an advisable investment for lefties. If you have carpal tunnel or any tendon issues in your wrist, I’d recommend a vertical mouse. Vertical mice support a natural forearm and wrist position and can be a real boon to office workers.
The ergonomics of a keyboard can also be boosted with wrist rests and slanted keys. Both features help to prevent your wrist from bending too much. Keyboards also need to have the correct layout. Check out our Swiss keyboards with number blocks here.
Office headsets
Signal transmission is also the most important criterion when choosing an office headset. If you’re not overly fussed about the price, you should definitely go for a wireless headset. The freedom that comes with the wireless option outweighs the now-minor price difference compared to the wired solution. The two leading technologies in wireless headsets are Bluetooth and DECT. Bluetooth, which most are familiar with, has the advantage of being able to connect with several devices at once. This means you can listen to music on your PC and keep your smartphone connected to the headset at the same time. That way, you definitely won’t miss any phone calls. DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications), on the other hand, gives you a long range of up to 100 metres and is less susceptible to interference.
While DECT technology has its own frequency band, Bluetooth technology shares its frequency band with that of other devices in the office, including routers, access points and other headsets. The more devices that share a frequency band, the more often interference – the clashing, mutual disruption of wireless signals – occurs. In an open-plan office with a bunch of people making calls, it might be advisable to opt for DECT technology. I myself use a Bluetooth headset for my own work in an open-plan office, where people often have MS Teams calls. Despite this, I’ve never had any trouble with interference during my time at Digitec Galaxus.
Webcams
The increasing importance of video conferences in our everyday lives makes webcams ever more relevant. Laptops now have an integrated camera as standard, which does the job for video conferences. As a result, peripheral webcams are mainly relevant to people who work at a PC (or workstation) or need a particularly high image resolution for their job.
Although there are differences in image resolution and software between individual models, webcams generally always do the same job. They capture an image of you and send it to the person you’re talking to via the web. I’ve outlined everything you need for virtual and hybrid meetings in this article:
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Zeynep Bekar
B2B Sales Engineer
Zeynep.Bekar@digitecgalaxus.chNotebooks and PCs are my thing. I'm there to support our business customers when they're purchasing hardware.
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