Ugreen Tech Accessories Impressions Roundup
Ugreen has provided a few of its tech accessories for us to check out. Let’s see what they have to offer!
Laptop Stand Docking Station
Starting off, we have what’s my favourite of the bunch, the Ugreen Laptop Stand Docking Station, which currently retails for €77 on the official Ugreen AliExpress store. As its name indicates, this quirky accessory is a laptop stand that doubles as a docking station.
As a docking station, it features a modest number of ports, namely one USB-C, two USB 3.0, one HDMI, one SD card slot and one microSD slot. While these aren’t that many for a dock, it is quite numerous for a laptop stand and is the first laptop stand that I personally encountered to feature ports. These are quite handy and can serve as a backup for your regular dock or a simple extension to your existing laptop ports.
I’ve been using a laptop stand myself for quite some time but switching to the Ugreen dock/stand hybrid was an easy decision. It’s not only the extra ports but also the stand itself is well designed.The areas that your laptop rests on are well padded and the metal build is sturdy as well as premium-looking. It features four notches to adjust the stand to variable angles and can easily be folded for storage or travel (there’s even a dedicated travel pouch included). You can also use it as a makeshift stand for a tablet, although I wish an option to raise the tablet would have been included. But this product was designed with laptops in mind rather than tablets.
However, depending on your laptop size, it can be hard to access the ports which will be underneath and hard to reach. The upside of this though is that this does offer a neat trick to conceal wires under your laptop.
Another downside is the limited number of ports on this dock which are all located on one arm of the stand. The other arm could also have featured additional ports for further versatility and that might be an aspect for Ugreen to consider in its next iteration.
USB-C Multifunction Adapter
If you need access to more ports, then the €70 Ugreen USB-C Multifunction Adapter might be something to consider. It’s a sleek-looking adapter packing that characteristic Ugreen metallic shell.
Plugging into a USB-C, it offers access to 10 extra ports as follows:
- 3x USB 3.0 ports
- 1x 100W USB C PD charging port
- 1x SD card slot
- 1x TF card slot
- 1x 4K HDMI,
- 1x FHD VGA port
- 1x Gigabit Ethernet,
- 1x 3.5mm audio/microphone combo jack
These can be a welcome companion for slimmed-down notebooks with limited ports or even handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck. It can even double as a low-profile hub, should you prefer its looks over a tower or slab-like traditional USB hub.
However, it would have benefited from some additional ports, in particular more USB-C ports as only one is included in this adapter.
AC1300 High-Gain Dual-band Wireless Adapter
The last item is the Ugreen AC1300 High-Gain Dual-band Wireless Adapter, which could even double as a makeshift Tie Fighter. Retailing for € 30, this adapter plugs into a USB 3.0 port and acts as a booster to provide WiFi access. It requires the installation of a companion configuration software, after which you’ll need to input your main router’s password. After that, you’ll be able to browse online as usual.
It’s an affordable, low-profile wireless adapter that works well and helps to expand coverage with an encrypted network. Its antennas can even be adjusted vertically and laterally in order to best capture the WiFi signal. I also didn’t encounter it overheating but it is dependent on the computer it is plugged into and will occupy a USB port. This can be remedied by using a USB dock.
While it is a dual-band adapter, capable of operating at both 5GHz and 2.4GHz frequencies, I found it to be adequate for general browsing and even streaming audio and YouTube videos. However, if you’re looking into online gaming, I’d consider something more reliable.
