One-can fridge

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Picture the scene. The mercu­ry’s nudging 40 degrees. You’re sitting under the awning of the van seeking sanctuary from the relentless Outback sun. You’re on your laptop planning the next day’s route, or checking your stocks and shares, or, catching up on the latest edi­tion of the Grey Nomad Times. You’re desperate for an ice cold beer or a cool can of Coke but you can’t even summon the en­ergy to stand up and to stagger to the fridge inside the van.

Don’t worry … help is at hand!

Britain is not known for its heatwaves, so it speaks volumes for the imagination of the inventors – for which it is renowned – that the solution to the too-hot-to-get-to-the-fridge conundrum has come from the Mother Country.

The UK-based Satzuma company has come up with a brilliant personal drink-chiller … effectively a can-sized red fridge that plugs into your lap­top’s USB port and keeps your beverage cold all day.

With no batteries and no drivers required, this little beauty delivers ‘plug and play’ simplicity … and all for around $20. The mini fridge has just enough space for one can and has an internal LED light so you can find your beer even if you’re working into Outback darkness. And with 1.5 metres of cable flexibility, you can place your favourite fridge at ‘even-if-I-knock-it-over-it-won’t-drown-my-laptop’ distance.

I love it! The USB Cooler’s slick retro appearance could soon make you the envy of swelter­ing grey nomads everywhere.

So, in a nutshell, what’s the big plus point of the mini fridge? Over to Satzuma sales execu­tive, Michaela Grill.

“Cold beer all day and you need never get up from your desk,” she says.

That works for me! Cheers, Michaela. Let’s all raise our cold cans to Great Britain and another cracking invention!