Ten... laptop accessories
Gadgets to go
Product round-up Those of you with laptops will undoubtedly agree that even with all convenience of portable computing, there remain compromises aplenty. Yet add a gadget here and there and mobile working can be improved tremendously.
Whether it's a tool to keep it cool, a way to boost the audio or simply better ways to keep the darn thing protected, there's a rich and varied range of accessories worth looking into and here's ten to consider when you're out and about.
Canon Pixma iP100
As hotels charge extortionate prices these days to print a few pages of business itinerary, a portable printer would pay for itself over time and may be a sensible addition to a regular-traveller's bag of laptop goodies.
Canon's portable Pixma might is rather on the pricey side, but it shouldn't leave you wanting. The 2kg machine prints at a speedy rate, pumping-out borderless prints in 50 seconds and handling a resolution of up to 9600 x 2400 dpi. It draws power either from the mains or its built-in rechargeable battery pack and comes with Infra-Red and Bluetooth connectivity support too.
The iP100 has been carrying the torch in the portable printing world for a number of years now, so it can be snapped up for a fraction of the original price if you shop around. Worth a look-in perhaps, if you can put it to good use.
Kingston Ultimate HyperX 3.0
Who needs external hard-drives when modern USB keys pack plenty of content on a much-more portable device? Flash indeed, especially the Kingston HyperX 3.0 Datatraveler – equipped with USB 3.0 and notching up blistering 225MB/s read and 135MB/s write speeds.
Kingston offers a heap of Flash drives in a range of sizes, but you'll only find one of them in my pocket. The DataTraveler HyperX has served me well for a number of months now and while my version has a 64GB capacity, the range goes up to a whopping 256GB. Add to that a five year warranty and the DT Ultimate HyperX takes some beating, but it's not cheap.
If you still want USB 3.0 but don't need those HyperX speeds, the DataTraveler Ultimate 3.0, is an impressive but cheaper alternative with 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities available.
Next page: LG BP06LU10 6x Slim External BD-RW
COMMENTS
If all you sinister folk weren't so contrary and just learned to use things with the correct hand the problem would go away.
Mains inverters are silly for laptops
Converting to mains and back is inefficient - might not be a problem for charging while driving but can be if using when the engine's off. Far better and more portable to get a dedicated laptop car adaptor (not much more than £5 on eBay). I know you can't plug other things into it but this article is about laptop accessories.
Worse - there are much smaller printers, much smaller projectors (some stupidly tiny), much smaller USB hubs, much more efficient and smaller car chargers for laptops (even generic, multi-voltage ones), and things like the mouse are an abomination.
I was hoping to see a small USB scanner for a half-decent price. I can safely say I would never buy any of the products listed there (£700 USB keys? Buy a fecking external 1Tb hard drive, or even 10, ffs). Even the soundbar is just a nice way to put extra leverage on your screen hinges, and hardly any of it is "portable".
If you want something to be a "laptop accessory" I have to be able to reasonable carry it in an ordinary laptop bag with all my other accessories. I don't think any of those items except the stupidly-expensive USB key would fit that bill.
No TV-tuners? (just bought a DVB-T and analog dual-tuner - so can watch / record two digital channels simultaneously - model for less than £20) No scanners? No external hard drives? No fancy gadgets like, I don't know, some sort of joypad/joystick that folds away? No mention of things like the wireless presenter controls that can slip into an Expresscard slot for storage, etc.? Disappointing, and very misnamed, round-up of useless and expensive products.
