These days our gadgets cost more and more, and we’re sure there are many people out there in possession of thousands of pounds worth of electricals. When you consider the cost of a laptop these days, it’s likely to be one of the priciest gadgets you own and therefore it makes sense to look after it.
Laptops can also contain sensitive information which needs to be secured, and for some, just leaving your laptop on the side when you go out for the day isn’t safe enough. The Chubb Elements Air safe is designed specifically with laptops in mind, with a low and wide frame that’s a perfect fit for your laptop and other valuables.
If you’ve heard of the name Chubb before it’s likely to be because that’s the name on the lock for your front door. These guys are up there with the best in the business when it comes to locks and security, and it shows when you look at the design of the Elements Air safe. It’s very hefty and sturdy – as all safes should be, of course – but with a cushioned floor to ensure your laptop doesn’t get scratched or damaged in any way when you shove it in.
On the door there’s a simple numerical keypad which allows you set a code to allow only you entry, at least that’s the idea. Setup is a cinch – firstly pop four AA batteries into the compartment located on the inside of the door. To set your code you’ll need to open the door, key in “1 5 9 #” and then hit the red switch on the inside of the door hinge area. Then enter a code that’s a minimum of 3 and maximum of 8 digits, followed by the hash key to confirm.
You can also set an emergency password if you’re the forgetful type, which is a similar procedure but uses the code “0 0” followed by the red switch. We found this pretty useful in actuality, as one of our team was always forgetting or changing the default password! Enter the wrong password too many times and the safe’s inbuilt alarm will be set off, resulting in an incessant beeping noise.
The keypad itself is somewhat basic and plastic, although the rubberised buttons are pretty responsive and we found the LED functions that show whether the lock code was correct or not very useful.
For extra security you have the option to bolt the safe to both a wall and the floor, although only four bolts were provided with our sample, leaving us with the option of one or the other.
The Chubb Elements Air is a decent basic safe, although it struggles with any laptop sizes above 13 inches. We managed to fit in the 13-inch MacBook, 11-inch MacBook Air and a 10-inch Acer netbook fine, but we were disappointed to find that our 15-inch laptops wouldn’t fit.
If you’ve got a smaller laptop then the Chubb Elements Air is a great safe, and it’s also ideal for cameras, smartphones and tablets. However, if your laptop is 15 or 17 inches in size, you might want to look for something a little larger.
The Chubb Elements Air safe and others are available from Winterfield Safes.
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