Under a thousand: Add ports to your device for not too much

The AEC810 is made of reassuringly solid metal and connects to the USB type C port of your device through a wire 

Smartphones, tablets and notebooks might be getting more powerful than ever before, but one department where they seem to be in a state of recession is in terms of connectivity ports. Throw your mind back to barely five years ago, and it was normal for a notebook to come with a card reader, network and HDMI slots. Phones and tablets too had expandable storage slots and some even had support for HDMI connections.

You get an HDMI port with support for 4K, two USB Type-A ports (one which is USB 3.0 and the other being USB 2.0), 2 USB Type C ports, one SD card slot, one TF card slot, and an ethernet jack 

Docking stations: a multi-device user's port of call!

Fast forward to the present era and you get tablets and phones with single USB Type-C ports and no expandable memory options and notebooks that treat connectivity ports like water in the Sahara - they hand them out in limited quantities with a lot of care. Yes, we know that we are moving towards a wireless world, but wired connections and ports are still very much part of our existence. In fact, most portable flash drives still come with USB Type A ports, and while cameras can transfer photos and videos quickly to notebooks over Bluetooth, things work much more smoothly over a wired connection. And of course, there are times when one simply wants to connect multiple devices to a phone or a tablet - something that becomes impossible when everything from connecting to charging happens through a single USB Type C port.

Which is why docking stations are becoming a rage these days among mobile professionals. These are generally handy gadgets that connect to the USB Type C port and add a number of other connecting options to it, generally in the form of extra USB Type C and Type A ports and some others as well. The catch with these is that while handy, they can often be either expensive or unreliable. Or both. The Ant ESports AEC810 multifunctional docking station is fortunately neither. It does not cost the earth (which is why it is in this section) and it adds a massive eight ports to your device.

Rather remarkably, even the ethernet port worked very smoothly - we literally could plug and play it with our MacBook Air and even the OnePlus Pad 

Ant ESports AEC810: made of metal, with ports and connections galore

The Ant ESports AEC810 multifunctional docking station is officially priced in the region of Rs 1500 - Rs 2,000, but is often available in the region of Rs 1,000 on online portals or even at offline retail stores. We think it would be a good investment at Rs 2,000. At close to Rs 1,000 (we got ours for Rs 1,119), it is a downright steal for those who want to connect multiple devices to their notebook, tablets or smartphones.

The AEC810 is made of reassuringly solid metal and connects to the USB type C port of your device through a wire. We know some folks prefer docks that connect directly to the port of their devices with no wires, but these can often be a problem to use if your tablet or smartphone has a cover attached to it. There are no issues like this with the AEC810. The wire connector seems to be sturdy as well, and hopefully it should last us for a while. The dock is not super light, but has a reassuringly solid feel to it, which we like.The ports and slots have been clearly labelled and we hope that the paint stays (Express Photo)

We also like what the dock adds to your device. You get a HDMI port with support for 4K, two USB Type A ports (one which is USB 3.0 and the other being USB 2.0), 2 USB Type C ports, one SD card slot, one TF card slot, and surprise, surprise, right at the top, an RJ45 ethernet port. Of those two USB Type C ports, one supports PD charging, so you can actually use it for charging your devices at a brisk speed, provided you have a fast enough power source.

It is quite a stack of options to have, and what's more, it works pretty well. Do not try to use the two card readers at the same time, but that apart, there are really no major restrictions on what this handy little can do. We found that we could easily connect a portable hard drive, read a SD card from our camera, and keep a wired mouse connected to our MacBook Air (M1) even while charging it off the USB Type C port.

Rather remarkably, even the ethernet port worked very smoothly - we literally could plug and play it with our MacBook Air and even the OnePlus Pad. Using the HDMI port did make the dock heat up a little, something that happened when we are charging a device using it as well, but it never reached alarming levels. The only issue we encountered was the refusal of some phones and tablets to recognise the unit (evidently because of the phone and tablet manufacturers' restrictions), but it worked just fine with all notebooks we used it with.

Ant ESports AEC810 is a great option for those who have to tangle with multiple devices and connecting points 

Great value for money for those tangling with multiple devices

The ports and slots have been clearly labelled and we hope that the paint stays, especially in the case of the Type-C port that supports PD charging and the USB 3.0 Type A port, as it is easy to confuse them with their 'normal' siblings next to them. A small problem is also the tangle of wires that you are likely to get when you connect multiple devices to your notebook, tablet or smartphone. But in our book, that is a small price to pay for the sheer convenience. We have encountered no problem with our very sturdily built unit, but in case something does get amiss, the device comes with a one-year warranty, and Ant ESports is a well-known brand with a decent track record in the industry.

It might not look very elegant and some might feel a little overwhelmed by all the connections it supports (especially when more than three or four devices have been connected to it, but we think that at around Rs 1,000, the Ant ESports AEC810 is a great option for those who have to tangle with multiple devices and connecting points. It also expands one's productivity potential - we suddenly are using wired mouses and keyboards more often, and are not as worried about charging wireless devices!