Best Notebook and PDA Accessories

Data storage, night lights, dining hot spots, and an ergonomic notebook stand.

James A. Martin

Feature: Favorite Notebook and PDA Accessories

Using a notebook or PDA without accessories is like driving a car without a stereo. Sure, you'll get where you're going--but the trip certainly won't be any fun.

With thousands of software and hardware add-ons, the options for upgrading or expanding your gadgets are endless. Here are six of my favorite accessories: three for notebooks and three for PDAs.

Notebook Gadgets

SanDisk Cruzer. Pocket-size storage devices are the rage, and my favorite so far is the Cruzer. Not much bigger than a car's keyless-entry fob, the shiny silver Cruzer looks cool and is extremely adaptable. While competitive devices offer fixed storage capacities, the Cruzer lets you use a 32MB, 64MB, 128MB, or 256MB Secure Digital flash memory card. The cards can be popped in and out easily and used with other gadgets, such as Palm M500 series PDAs. Best of all, the Cruzer is truly plug and play: Just pop it into a Windows Me/2000/XP or Mac OS 9.1 (or higher) computer for quick backup or file transfer. Prices are $50, $75, $100, and $200, respectively.

You can find more information at the SanDisk site, and shop for better prices at the PCWorld.com Product Finder.

FlyLight Notebook USB Light. When the lights went down for a PowerPoint presentation in a recent meeting, I had to take notes on my laptop--but I couldn't see the keyboard. Luckily, I had packed Kensington's FlyLight Notebook USB Light, a slender, adjustable lamp that draws power (but only a little) from a USB port. There are other notebook lamps, but this one gets my vote for its easy adjustability; with the FlyLight, I can shine light exactly where I want on the keyboard. The FlyLight uses an LED, so there's no bulb to replace. Available in black and platinum, as well as a version with a red LED, the FlyLight sells for $20.

Get more details at Kensington's site, and find the latest prices at our Product Finder.

Ultra Mini USB 4-Port Hub. Targus has the market cornered on practical, affordable accessories. This USB hub ($20) is all that--and cool, too. It allows you to connect up to four devices to one USB port. This teensy device--it measures 3.75 by 1.66 by 0.75 inches and weighs 3 ounces--is ideal for travelers. It draws power from the notebook, rather than requiring its own AC adapter or batteries. And when it's connected to a powered-on computer, the hub's four port covers emit a soothing blue light.

Go to Targus to find out more or buy online, and use our Product Finder to compare prices.

PDA Add-Ons

PalmPak Dictionary/Thesaurus Card. As a writer, I've longed to have a decent pocket-size dictionary and thesaurus at my disposal. Finally, I have one: this expansion card for the Palm M125, M130, I705, and M500-series PDAs. There are other dictionaries and thesauri you can download; some are free or cost just a few dollars. But the PalmPak card conveniently slips in and out of an expansion slot and uses little of your PDA's precious memory. The Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, includes some 100,000 definitions, and the Franklin Thesaurus includes synonyms and antonyms.

You can buy it online for $40 at the Palm store, but I found one for about $30 using our Product Finder.

Targus Stowaway. There's no contest: The Targus Stowaway is the best PDA keyboard for anyone who needs to type more than a few words at a time. When closed, the Stowaway is about the size of a deck of cards. Unfolded, it's a full-size keyboard that lets you touch-type as comfortably as you would on a notebook or desktop computer. The PDA is inserted into a cradle and is propped up by a pop-out arm. Targus makes a Stowaway for practically every PDA.

For more information go to the Targus site. The Stowaway is listed at $80 to $100, depending on the model, but you can use our Product Finder to find it for less.

2002 Zagat Survey Restaurant and Nightlife Guide. Okay, I admit that a restaurant database won't exactly boost productivity. But it's important to mix pleasure with business, and having the popular Zagat Survey on your Palm OS device is a great way to start. The 2002 Zagat Survey lets you browse for eateries in 32 cities (including a few international destinations) using such criteria as Most Popular, Top Views, and Best Buys. Restaurants are rated for food, service, decor, and cost.

The survey is available electronically as a downloadable program or CD-ROM, which installs on your Windows or Macintosh computer and allows you to copy city guides to your Palm; or as a Secure Digital card for expansion-card Palms. Each option is $30. I prefer the Secure Digital card, as it allows me to carry around restaurant information for all cities without taking up much memory--ideal for multiple-destination trips. Note: A Pocket PC version of the Zagat Survey is coming soon.

Go to the Zagat Survey site for more information or to buy the guide, or check out our Product Finder.

Notebooks

Hands On: Ergonomic Notebook Stand

Typing for long periods of time on a notebook can be a pain in the neck--literally. But a Folsom, California-based company has a cure for what ails you: the ErgoLedge. Developed by Rock Solid Solutions, the ErgoLedge is an extra-sturdy sheet-metal stand (with a black powder-coating finish) that features an adjustable shelf.

The shelf can be raised up or down seven notches in one-inch increments, allowing you to position your notebook's display at a comfortable eye level. When an external keyboard and mouse are added, your arms and neck can be in their proper ergonomic positions. As someone who's suffered the pangs of typing-related tendonitis, trust me: The ErgoLedge is a smart idea.

It's no thing of beauty, however. And if your notebook uses a bulky port replicator, as my Dell Inspiron 8100 does, you'll need an optional shelf extension ($22.50) to accommodate it. Also, at 14.6 pounds, the ErgoLedge isn't exactly portable. But a collapsible, lightweight version is in the works, according to Don Glueckert, Rock Solid's director of marketing and sales.

The company has no formal return policy, but Glueckert says anyone who's unhappy with the ErgoLedge can get a full refund within 30 days. The ErgoLedge and accessories are sold for $89 at Rock Solid's Web site.

News: Satellite's Wireless Keyboard and Mouse

And now for something completely different: A notebook with a detachable wireless keyboard and mouse. The Toshiba Satellite 1955-S801 is a desktop replacement system with a 16-inch diagonal SXGA display. The ability to remove the keyboard and mouse for more comfortable use, whether you're typing or controlling a DVD movie, sets this Satellite apart. The 1955-S801 uses a 2.2-GHz Pentium 4 processor, a 40GB hard drive, 512MB of SDRAM, and includes three USB ports, a FireWire (IEEE 1394) port, built-in Wi-Fi (802.11b) and ethernet connectivity, and more.

The notebook tips the scale at 9.3 pounds, but the price seems right: $2499. You can check it out at Toshiba's site and look for the latest prices at our Product Finder.

Review: IBM's Touchpad ThinkPad

A lot of people, myself included, have never warmed to the IBM ThinkPad's eraserhead input device. With the ThinkPad T30, Big Blue has at last offered a touchpad in addition to the eraserhead. Add to it a set of dedicated mouse buttons and built-in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, and you've got a portable that should please most mobile executives.

A couple caveats, though: In our tests, the T30 turned in only average performance, and at $3249, our unit was expensive compared to similarly equipped notebooks. You can find the latest prices with our Product Finder.

Handhelds

News: IBM, Palm Pair Up for Wireless Access

Big Blue and Palm are joining forces to provide wireless Palm devices with remote access to IBM business applications. The duo is jointly developing applications for Palm business users, such as a version of Sametime, a corporate instant messaging client made by IBM's Lotus Development. As part of the agreement, IBM will also sell Palm PDAs, having recently retired its own WorkPad Palm OS device.

News: Sony's Back-to-School Bargains

Sony has introduced a new Palm OS PDA for the back-to-school crowd. The Clie PEG-SL10 costs only $150, the same as Palm's M105 and Handspring's Visor Platinum, though they run older Palm OS versions and are slightly larger. The new Clie has a monochrome screen, 8MB of memory, USB and infrared ports, and runs on three AAA batteries, which the company says will last the average user 20 days.

News: Secure Digital Card Adds Wireless Access

SyChip has announced a wireless local-area network card that will allow users of PDAs with Secure Digital slots to connect to Wi-Fi public Internet access points and corporate networks. The Secure Digital card provides a lightweight alternative to other wireless LAN hardware devices. The company didn't disclose pricing or say when the card will be available commercially.

Wireless

Review: Motorola V70

The Motorola V70 cell phone got a thumbs up in our recent PDA roundup. With its circular screen, five-line rectangular display, slick silver cover that rotates 360 degrees, and luminescent blue keypad, the phone is the picture of cool. At just 2.9 ounces and 3.3 by 1.8 by 0.8 inches, the V70 is also wonderfully compact. But the digital phone is pricey at $400 (even with service activation), it's currently offered only by Cingular Wireless, and it's limited to nine areas.

via PC world