Extends the life of your coffee but not your elbow! USB Mug Warmer (USB Mug Warmer)

Member Name: GillMN

Product:	USB Mug Warmer
Date:	28/08/09 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Keeps coffee warm. It's a better present than a singing doormat.

Disadvantages: None if you remember not to rest bits of yourself on it.

My Mum is 82 and even though she still has all her marbles, she reverts to childhood at Christmas time and buys all of us the most useless tacky gadget/toys you could ever wish to see emerging from Christmas wrapping paper. (I blame postal catalogues for this!)

"Oh thank you Mum, that's unusual!" Feigning pleasure as I unwrap a doormat that plays 12 Christmas tunes if you so much as look at it!

"Gosh Mum! Where did you find this? It's amazing!" As I unwrap a gaudy life size parrot that repeats every word I say!

This year she suprised us all, (having been tactfully steered by my marvellous Daughter in Law) three of us got one of these USB Coffee warming thingies.
They don't play Christmas Carols.
They don't flash lights at you. (Well, just the one!)
They don't whizz round the room uttering maniacal laughs.
That's three points in it's favour for starters!

They sit sedately upon your desk, looking quite smart and.........they keep your coffee warm! Marvellous!

The Coffee warmer plugs into any USB port on your computer. The lead is about 3 foot long (90cm?) I kept mine with the original tie on instead of unwinding the lead, so it doesn't get in the way. Mine is quite a smart silver colour, they are also available in black. They cost between £5.00 and £8.00 depending upon where you buy them. (Or you could wait until they start turning up at car boot sales!)

It does keep the coffee warm for longer. It doesn't keep it hot, don't expect that. I don't suspect that it uses much extra power but there was no information about that on the box or user manual. (Piece of A5 paper actually!)

You can turn it on or off, on the front of the warmer, or just by unplugging it (No S*** Sherlock!!!).

I've used it virtually everyday since Christmas and it justs sits there unobtrusively doing it's job. No more cold coffee because I got too engrossed in what I was doing on the computer. You can use it for tea of course, but tea doesn't really taste good if you keep it warm for too long. Coffee doesn't seem to mind.

Don't do what I do occasionally and forget to turn it off when not in use. The quiet of my office has sometimes been punctuated by yelps of pain and suprise from me when I have carelessly rested my bare elbow on it's hot surface. It's not hot enough to burn, just to give a bit of a shock to the unwary elbow! The little red glowing LED on the front telling me that it is still switched on should be a clue really.

Perhaps I should get one that talks! Perhaps they should say
" Hey Genius! This is not an elbow rest!"
or "Of course it hurts! I'm a coffee warmer not an elbow burner!"

As far as gadgets go, this is not one that you have to throw in a kitchen drawer and forget about. It actually works and is actually useful!

I'm giving it four stars because of that. I can't honestly give it five stars because it hasn't radically revolutionised my life. It's just a bit handy!

Now, will someone please suggest to my Mum that I would like a nice gadgety laptop for Christmas? Can I bribe you with a self heating furry hand warmer or a singing duck? You'd love them really!

Summary: An unobtrusive little gadget that does what is says on the box. (For once!)