It takes a bold person to say that current market leaders aren’t delivering, so let’s try to do something different in the market.

Thus, Uber and Grab arose from the deficiency in the taxi industry, while Deliveroo helped drive the food delivery market. Start-ups aka disruptors have been popping up all over the place, in the most obscure of places, and surprisingly, not all are bent on global domination.

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Some companies are simply targeting the homes, and changing the rules about home furniture.

Local start-ups Secretlab rewrote the rules of luxury gaming chairs, while companies like Woosa and Noa are redefining what a mattress means to you. Now, a new player wants to tell you that the desk that you think you know, can be better.

Actually, scratch that. The company behind the Omnidesk isn’t new. Aftershock started five years ago, finding great success in selling high-end gaming PCs and laptops, and they are now branching out with a table.

And it is not just any table, but a height-adjustable desk that is conveniently a one-size-fits-all for your family as well.

Does the little one need a desk to draw on? A press of a button lowers the desk to a comfortable level that a child can sit and use, with their kiddy chair. Does the teen need the desk a little higher? Press the button.

Maybe the adult gamer wants the monitor at eye level – just press the button, to raise or lower the table to match the eye level of any user. But wait, does mummy want to fix her posture, and is choosing to stand at her desk while surfing the web, typing or watching Netflix? Just press the button.

There are actually six buttons on the desk, and one dot matrix display that shows the current height of the table. The Up button raises the table, up to a height of 130cm off the ground, while the Down button lowers it, to a height of 65cm off the ground.

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The remaining four buttons are memory keys that bring the table back to 4 predetermined heights set by the user, allowing different family members in a home to key in their height preference.

There’s no more stacking your table with phones books, to raise the height of your computer monitor to a suitable height, or having to consider buying separate desk of different types, for various people in the home.

For those who want a full-fledged standing desk, there’s no need to buy a plastic contraption that sits on your desk, elevating your screen to the desired height, but basically preventing anyone else from using that table.

For The Computer Aficionado

So what makes this table stand out against any wooden table? For one thing, the guys at Aftershock know their PC, speakers and monitors. The table comes with a rectangle slot for cables to run through, much like a hole without a grommet. There is a plastic piece to cover it, in case you want a full flat table with no holes, but chances are, you won’t. Under the hole sits a metal sleeve that extends the length of the table, for you to run your cables along, instead of having them fall unceremoniously to the ground.

But it’s not that you need it. The Omnidesk comes with add-ons, for those who need it. Do you need a tray to hold your tower PC? There’s one that you can get, to attach to the left or right leg of the desk. Do you want great audio, but don’t want the speakers to sit on your desk? There are brackets that can attach speakers to the bottom of your desk. How about a bracket for a four or six socket powerstrip?

The plan with these brackets, is to keep everything off the table, and off the floor, so that everything is neat, and the table can be raised and lowered without much hinderance.

Instead of making space to fit two monitors on your desk, why not attach a monitor arm to the table, to hoist the monitors, clearing real estate space for other gadgets? Well, what do you know – Aftershock is selling those arms as well.

The company says it is looking at other accessories, such a bracket for a wireless charging pad, or even an extension power supply that pops up from a hole on the table, to deliver more connections to the desk.

This makes the desk a truly modular one, though at the start, only select accessories are available.

Another interesting feature for the desk is the raised texture that feels quite like a mousepad. The guys have managed to line the wooden table with a textured surface, such that you no longer need a mousepad with the Omnidesk.

For The Home User

So what happens if you’re not a gaming nut, and don’t want this gaming desk in your home? The beauty of this desk is that without the accessories or mountings, this looks classier than most of the wooden computer desks out there. Available in black or white, both colour profiles has been picked to match the decor of many home types. If you want something fancier, the Omnidesk Pro comes with a curved indent on one side, providing a sleeker look and feel to the desk.

The Omnidesk provides a large flat surface that can fit a desktop, laptop or tablet side by side, such that different users can simply move things around, to maximise their time on the desk before someone else takes over.

The engine mechanism for the elevation is extremely quiet and smooth, and when the desk is lowered, a safety feature stops the table from lowering any further if it hits something, such as the armrests of a chair, a forgotten leg still positioned under the table, or even a wandering child or pet hiding under the desk.

The six-button controls can be placed at the left or right side of the table, for convenience, though this is a one-time set-up done during the installation process.

For now, Aftershock is providing free delivery and installation of the desk, but chances are that it will soon set an installation fee, because the process can take up to an hour. While the table comes in a large box, it takes two people to properly secure the legs and accompanying metal frame, before they are screwed. A trained individual can do it alone, but it will take longer.

Thankfully, the tables come with holes that are pre-drilled, so there won’t be a mess of shavings in the house after the installation. The table’s power supply, along with the cables, are mounted and attached to the underbelly of the desk, and placed behind the table’s metal frame, making it almost impossible for users to accidentally come in contact with.

Having been using the Omnidesk for over a month, the family has had no issue with the table. While my six-year-old wasn’t a fan of a black table, the idea of owning much of the real estate to fit her homework, stationary and toys appealed to her. The Mrs initially felt that the table was too big, but being able to sit beside our kid while teaching her is something that she can appreciate.

As for me, my only gripe is that the height controls are too easily accessible. Very early on, my children realised what the buttons did, and kept playing with them. The last thing I want is a child lying on the table and pressing the button to elevate herself. Perhaps having a master power button should be a consideration for Omnidesk 2.0.

GEEK REVIEW SCORE Summary With friends spending hundreds on accessories to elevate their desk, or even thousands on a height-adjustable, the Omnidesk comes in at an attractive price point starting from S$630. But the textured table top, together with streamlined design and modular features clearly elevates the Omnidesk to a class of its own. Overall 9/10 9/10 Aesthetics - 9/10 9/10

Build Quality - 9/10 9/10

Performance - 9/10 9/10

Value - 10/10 10/10

Geek Satisfaction - 8/10 8/10 Sending User Review 3.21 ( 63 votes)

Sherwin once held the Matrix of Leadership, but wisely passed it on to the rightful leader of the household.

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