I work in a hospital and, as such, the ward is often very warm even in the depth of winter! As part of my role, I have to complete a degree of office work and locked away in the office within the ward is, believe me, very very warm. For this very reason, I invested in a Veho PC Cooling Fan so that these periods of time when I have to sit at the computer were a little more bearable for both me and my colleagues. I looked around as I only wanted a cheap fan as it was not for home use, and I came across the Veho PC Cooling Fan which was ridiculously cheap. I found one online from The Electrics Shop 2 (www.electronicshop2.com) for just £3.07, and while I was a little dubious as to how good it would be, but having read some positive reviews I thought it was worth chancing for such a little amount of money.

This fan is made entirely out of plastic and rubber and so is does look a little cheap and there is nothing about the look of it that makes you excited. However, I wasn't really that interested in how it looked, as long as it worked. The fan was 8 inches tall and so it is fairly small and designed to just sit on the desk and not take up too much room. The base and stem is made out of plastic and although it doesn't feel particularly sturdy it is quite stable on it's feet, thanks in part to the wide base. The stem is flexible and so it can be manipulated so that the oscillating part of the fan (the blades) are directed towards where you want them to be directed - which, usually in my case, means my face and neck. The blades themselves are made of soft rubber and there are three blades that circulate to oscillate the air around it. These blades are safety blades and will not do any damage if inadvertently touched - and so there is no need for a guard around the blades, even when they are in full motion!

In order to use this fan it is just a matter of plugging it in to the USB port on the computer and then turning the on/off switch to the on position - and then the fan starts up. I tend to use this on the computer in the office, but it could equally be used on a laptop as long as it had a USB port. There is the option of putting batteries into the fan which makes it more portable, but I have to admit that I haven't tried this and so I can't really comment on how effective this method of powering is.

I was actually quite surprised at how well the fan works. It does provide an ample supply of cool air which does make working in a hot environment more bearable. I have found that sometimes I will need to range the stem to re-direct the angle of the breeze because the neck does tend to droop a little after a while, but this is only after it's been on for a while. It isn't possible to control the speed of the air flow - it's all or nothing - but seriously, what can you expect for less than a fiver! The fan doesn't overheat, even if it's on for several hours, and as our computer is always plugged in while it is being used, there isn't really an issue with power drainage.

Overall, I recommend this for personal use. I've had it about 4 months and so far so good. There are, of course, better and more powerful and versatile desk fans out there, but I bet there aren't many that are as good as this for as cheap as this.