Logi Dock

A docking station with a built-in mic and speaker is a winning idea, but this first implementation falls short

- TIM DANTON

PRICE £333 (£399 inc VAT) from logitech.com

If ever there is a product for our times, surely this is it. A docking station that doesn't merely provide a bunch of handy ports, power to your laptop and dual monitor outputs, but also integrates a microphone and speakers for the endless series of audio and video calls that now mark our working lives.

It will be particularly useful to users of Microsoft Teams, Google Meet and Zoom: as soon as a call starts you can jump in by pressing the button that sits in prime position above the fabric fascia. This button has a Teams icon on it, but it works equally well with Google and Zoom. This assumes you have downloaded Logi Tune, which then connects with your calendar.

It uses ambient lights under the unit to signal that a call is happening - that's the point at which you press the button to join. When you tap on the mic button to mute yourself, a red light appears to make it obvious that people can't hear your mutterings. There's also a video on/off button, with its own coloured light, that you tap when you want to disappear from view.