Plugs, drives and adapters that just work,
shortlisted with the catch spelled out.

Socketry ranks smart plugs, extension leads, mini UPS units, HDMI adapters, hard drives, graphics cards, e-readers, digital notepads, portable printers, mobile hotspots and laptop cooling pads sold on amazon.co.uk. We weigh what reviewers say, check every spec against the live listing, and tell you which plug, port or voltage to check before you order.

From the wall socket to the graphics slot

Eleven guides for the gear that powers, connects and stores

Ten guides rank ten models and add four more alternatives; the WiFi hotspot guide keeps to a focused ten. Every pick links straight to its amazon.co.uk listing.

How a Socketry guide is put together

Read the reviews, match the listing, then rank

Socketry is a research desk, not a test bench. Each category goes through the same five steps before it is published.

Collect the reviewer picks

We start from current UK and international roundups and single-model reviews, noting which plugs, drives, adapters and readers keep earning a place.

Pin down the exact listing

Each candidate is tied to its own amazon.co.uk listing. Renewed stock, foreign-plug versions, cables posing as adapters, multipacks and look-alike sister models are weeded out.

Check the numbers twice

Capacity, ports, wattage, VRAM and voltage come from the listing and the maker. Where the two disagree, the guide says so or leaves the figure out.

Score for the job

Every guide has its own weighted scorecard, and the top ten keeps to one model per brand so the alternatives are genuinely different.

Write down the catch

Each pick, the winner included, ends with a plain drawback, from drivers you must install to plugs you should check before you order.

Why start with Socketry

Fewer returns, clearer trade-offs

One ranked shortlist per gadget, with the reason for each place written out rather than buried in a score.

Honest about method: every guide says its ranking comes from research, specs and listings, never from a lab we don't have.

No printed prices to go stale; every button opens the live amazon.co.uk listing so you see today's figure there.

Is a gadget missing from the list?

Tell us what Socketry should cover next

Suggest a category, report a listing that has changed, or send a correction. Every message is read by the editor.

Contact Socketry