Favorite Accessories

Where would we be in this world without our accessories? Accessories – those lovely little gadgets that help us out when we need our primary gadgets to do just a little more - aren't they great?!

Right now I have two favorite accessories – a Targus 4-Port Powered USB hub, and a Power Monkey Explorer – an emergency power supply for a myriad of devices.


The workhorse of these is the Targus 4-port powered hub.

This device allows any two USB ports on a device to magically become 4 ports. I can use this 4-port hub to run high-power USB devices by simple plugging in both the black (data and some power) and Red (additional power) USB connectors. I have regularly used this device to recharge my Blackberry, run my pen drive, sync my Livescribe Pulse Smartpen, and run and external mouse.

The power monkey explorer by powertraveller is an auxiliary battery device that can be used to charge cell phones, mp3 players, portable game, and host of other devices. This device provides anywhere from 5-96 hours of additional time depending on your device and usage patterns (5 hours on game consoles PSP and 96 hours of standby time on your mobile phone). I have been able to refill a Blackberry Bold 2 times with one charge of the power monkey explorer. Best of all – if you are out of power and don’t have access to another power source the solar panel can be used to recharge the powermonkey explorer itself.

The powermonkey-explorer kit comes with:

• the powermonkey portable charger,

• the Solar Charger,

• a mains charger with international heads (UK, US, Europe and Australia)

• a USB charger and a whole bunch of charging tips for other devices,

Favorite Gadgets I currently use

Curently I have a select list of gadgets that I find most useful in helping me get things done.

First among these is my work provided Blackberry Bold. This device is very useful for me to maintain my schedule and accomplish work tasks while I am on the go at work. it also comes in handy as a device that allows me to carry a lot of information with me. Additionally I am able to use it as an MP3 player.

My second favorite device was a Christmas gift that my wife got for me last year (2008). This is the LiveScribe Pulse smart Pen. I have found this device useful for capturing time synchronized audio notes along with my handwritten notes. While some may not like this device for having to use special paper the small premium for it is made up for by the functianlity of the device itself.

Third, is my Acer Aspire One Netbook. I was an early adopter of this technology and bought the 8.9 inch version. I find the device usefull for mobile web browsing, document editing and other light to medium computing tasks but really believe that the latest generation of 11.6-inch netbooks and ultraportable notebooks is the real sweetspot for this technology. Best thing about this device is that is sure beats carrying my 6 pound work provided Dell D830 when I am on work travel.

Finally, two of my favorite 2 non-it gadgets are pens. The Zebra Telescopic Pen is very useful and is small so it does not require much room to sotre. My executive Yoropen is also a fine writing instrument that is very useful for both lefties (like me) and righties. It is highly ergonmoic and is comfortable to write with for long periods of time.