Cheap Champs
A really compact drive? A supersmart mouse? Here are 14 PC accessories to please your inner geek--all terrific, and all under $100.From the loads of inexpensive accessories for desktop PCs, notebooks, and PDAs on the market, we selected 14 favorites that make computing easier and more productive. Our criteria: They had to be under $100 (street) and incredibly useful.
Notebook Movie Maker
Veo Mobile Connect, $65,
Broadcast your mug from anywhere you can tote a laptop. The $65 Mobile Connect camera can capture still and video images at three different resolutions: 640 by 480, 320 by 240, or 160 by 120. You can send video e-mail with three clicks, and videoconferencing via Windows Messenger is almost as easy (but setting up a NetMeeting requires coordination between participants beforehand). Video e-mail is compressed automatically and sent as an.exe file, but other captured video is saved as an.avi file to facilitate editing with the bundled ArcSoft VideoImpression software. The camera comes with ArcSoft's PhotoImpression and Panorama Maker for editing still images.
One Clever Mouse
Kensington StudioMouse, $49,
Most of the time, mice don't get much respect. Plug 'em in, click left, click right, scroll--that's about it. The tricks the StudioMouse performs will make you think otherwise, however. The StudioMouse uses a three-mode sensor instead of a scroll wheel for free, continuous, and single-step scrolling. A middle button below the scroll sensor can be programmed via the included MouseWorks software to pop up a custom menu or provide two-click access to any open application. All three buttons can be set to launch applications or files, paste boilerplate text, or enter keystrokes, among other functions.
Point and Light
Belkin PenLight, $9,
Belkin adds a tiny but surprisingly bright LED tip to its PenLight PDA stylus. Spring action in the twist-on power switch at the top of the device permits either short bursts of light or a longer, sustained stream. The PenLight fits most Palm devices and many PDA models from Handspring, HP, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba. You can use the high-intensity beam as a flashlight, but it's intended to illuminate a PDA screen, reducing your PDA's battery consumption. An easy-to-replace battery is included.
Stuff Your Stuff
RoadWired Pod, $40,
It's called The Pod, and with more than 20 pockets and compartments, this 7-by-6.5-inch bag has space that belies its size. The fully padded, durable ballistic nylon case sports a removable hammocklike insert to protect your primary device from jostles. On the outside are zippered compartments and netted pockets, many with their own subpockets and compartments. Clever use of Velcro makes many compartments resizable. For anyone who carries a digital camera, PDA, and cell phone--along with paraphernalia (such as memory cards, batteries, and cables) for each--The Pod all but screams "the more the merrier."
Thin Is In for Speakers, Too
Monsoon Audio PlanarMedia 9, $84 ,
The perfect desktop complement to your sleek new LCD monitor is a pair of Monsoon Audio's 0.75-inch-thick PlanarMedia 9 ribbon speakers. Of course, the millions of us still using CRTs need all the desktop space we can recover, too. Problem is, we'll need the space we save--and then some--to accommodate the system's subwoofer, which measures 11 by 8.5 by 8 inches. The two 4-by-7-inch speakers project audio both backward and forward (a process called dipole radiation) to create surprisingly warm sound.
No More Floppies
SanDisk Cruzer, $79 (128MB),
Floppy drives are almost history. Even Zip drives can hardly compete with the latest in high-capacity flash memory. But until recently, people had no convenient way to read and write to flash memory cards on a computer. Enter the new pocket-size USB flash drives. One of the most convenient and practical of these is SanDisk's Cruzer. About the size of a small cigarette lighter, the unit can handle Secure Digital (SD) cards of any capacity--unlike many other USB memory drives, which come with preset, built-in memory. The Cruzer's single switch on top cleverly releases the SD card or reveals the otherwise-hidden USB connector. Plug it into your PC's USB port for instant access to your data. No software installation is needed (except for drivers for Windows 98 systems).
Easy Networking
It's not difficult to find an Ethernet hub that supports both 10Base-T and 100Base-TX networks, or one with five autosensing ports, each independently switched and fully duplexed. But all that for only $36? The Siemens/Efficient Networks SpeedStream also features a built-in uplink port that will let you expand the network via a hub or a switch without requiring a special crossover cable. The device's LEDs let you know at a glance the status of each connection.
Any Port Replicator in a Storm
Keyspan Mini Port Replicator, $49 ,
Something's missing from most notebooks--and many desktop computers--made in the past year: serial and parallel ports. Maybe that's the price of progress, but you now might wonder how to attach your old printer or Palm syncing cradle. Keyspan's USB-powered Mini Port Replicator packs a serial port, a parallel port, and two USB ports in a box the size of an Altoids tin.
A Second Listen to External Audio
Xitel HiFi-Link , $50,
After it received a poor review in our October issue (" External Audio Enhancers Miss the Mark"), Xitel engineers convinced us to give their HiFi-Link PC-to-stereo connector another try, citing driver issues as a possible culprit. Armed with updated system drivers and a new list of setup tips, we reinstalled the USB-based product--and experienced better audio. In our tests with MP3s and audio CDs, the HiFi-Link produced higher-quality sound than did our test computer's existing sound card; if your PC's current sound is poor, the improvement should be even more noticeable. The 30 feet of shielded audio cable that Xitel includes seals the deal.
One Plug, Four Drives
Addonics Mini DigiDrive, $40,
Raise your hand if your desktop PC lacks a drive to read and write small memory cards for cameras, MP3 players, laptops, and PDAs. No matter what type of card you have, the Addonics Mini DigiDrive can handle it. This 3-ounce USB flash media drive is about the size of an audiocassette and handles seven different formats with aplomb. Plug the 3-foot cable into a USB port on your PC or notebook, and the device adds up to four different drive letters to your computer to handle various memory cards simultaneously.
Got Juice?
Mobility Electronics Juice, $99,
Universal power chargers are indispensable on the road. Their interchangeable tips let a single power brick work with multiple devices--say a laptop, a PDA, and a cell phone--obviating the need for separate chargers. The 1.5-pound Juice, a shiny silver cell-phone look-alike, works no matter where you are--in a car, plane, hotel, or office, or at home. And with its optional $20 Peripheral Power system, you can simultaneously charge a laptop and a second device.
Video in Your Pocket
Sharper Image Digi Pen II, $99,
Think of it as the Swiss Army knife of digital cameras. The Sharper Image's $99 Digi Pen II is a 1.3-megapixel digital still camera; a digital video camera that can store up to 120 seconds of video at 30 frames per second; and a security camera for detecting and recording motion with two successive snapshots. The camera connects to a computer or notebook via USB 1.1 and fits comfortably in a shirt pocket. Its lens swivels 90 degrees--it can serve as a Webcam atop your monitor--and a clip lets you attach the camera to the top of a notebook PC. The Digi Pen II's low price and versatility compensate for the camera's limit of 8MB of built-in flash memory and its funky plastic flip-out viewfinder.
Straighten Up and FlyLight
Kensington FlyLight and FlyFan, $14 each,
With their flexible, 15-inch extensions, the ingenious Kensington FlyLight and FlyFan are highly practical--and simple--notebook add-ons. They have no switches or software: Plug them into a USB port, and on they go. The bulb-free FlyLight expends less than 90 seconds per hour of battery charge while its LED glow illuminates the keyboard and other areas near your PC. The FlyFan's safe nylon blades offer an instant cool breeze in any direction. Use either device for a few seconds, and you'll wonder how you ever got along without them.
Tabletop Surge Suppression
Kensington SmartSockets, $40,
It's about time someone developed a surge suppressor to accommodate the oversize power plugs on so many PC devices. All six outlets on the tabletop model of Kensington's SmartSockets Advanced Multi-Stage Surge Protector accept such bulky plugs. A green/red indicator light lets you know if your devices are protected. The suppressor's conveniently color-coded outlets and matching adhesive tags make it easy to identify which plug goes with which device. Also nice: the audible alarm that sounds when a power surge damages the suppressor.