Wicked, wireless and just plain weird, there’s a whole world of accessories available for your laptop. Mark Prigg picks out some travel essentials.
NABAZTAG WIFI RABBIT
£90
firebox.com
A giant plastic rabbit may not seem the most obvious laptop accessory, but rest assured this is no ordinary bunny. Designed by French internet company Violet, the Nabaztag is a wifi-enabled rabbit. Plug it in at home, and it can download weather, share news out loud, and even read emails to you. It’s great fun, but also a really useful tool.
You can sign up to RSS feeds, which are read out by the rabbit at predetermined intervals, and it can even alert you by rotating its ears or flashing its light whenever you receive an email (you can set filters so it’s not every email).
For travellers, it’s a great way to keep in touch with the family, as you can send messages and even play sounds through the rabbit remotely via the Nabaztag website – ideal for scaring the family when you’re away from home.
The latest version of the Nabaztag also has an RFID reader, and the company already sells children’s books in France with these chips built-in, with U versions promised soon. Simply touch the book cover on the rabbit’s front, and it immediately goes online and starts reading the books – slightly spooky at first, but great for kids learning to read.
Overall, it provides hours of fun and is definitely more than a toy – it’s certain to be a talking point for anyone who sees it
if nothing else.
PROS Great fun.
CONS Can be intrusive.
SHURE SE420
£249
shure.co.uk
Spending £250 on a set of headphones may seem like madness, but for the frequent traveller, these Shure SE420s are really hard to beat. However, there are a few caveats to them. Firstly, they are the only headphones we’ve ever come across which actually need instructions to use them. That’s not to say they are complicated, just totally different to any other headphone. They are supplied with
a full selection of foam covers and it is worth spending some time trying them all out, because once you get the fit right the sound is incredible, and the foam actually expands in your ear to block out external noise as effectively as most noise-cancelling headphones.
Sound is amazingly detailed, with rich bass and stunning clarity, and you can wear them for an entire transatlantic flight without any problems. In fact, the only real problem is the price. But if you’re serious about listening to music when you travel, they really will make a difference.
PROS Amazing sound and comfy fit.
CONS High price.
BUFFALO LINKSTATION LIVE NETWORKED HARD DRIVE
£125 for 320GB
dabs.com
Buffalo’s LinkStation Live is the latest in a long line of networked hard drives which can connect to your home or office network, and provide a central place to store files. It’s a simple plug-and-play device which works brilliantly. The latest version also includes the live feature, which allows files to be accessed over the internet, making it the perfect laptop accessory.
Setting up the LinkStation is simply a case of plugging it into your router. You can then access a web page to set up preferences and security settings for the drive, which effectively acts as a mini server for your network. It also uses a protocol called Upnp to share media files, so things like Playstations and Xboxes can play them back on the drive.
The key feature of the system is Web Access. This allows you to access your LinkStation from any location. It’s done via a Buffalo website where you simply enter your drive’s name and a password. You can then choose to download files – an incredibly useful tool if you’re away from the office and don’t have them easily available. You can also stream MP3s and videos, play all MP3s in a playlist or share the content by sending a link and login information to a friend.
The LinkStation can also be used for backing up files, as it comes with excellent Memeo software – you can, for example, schedule automatic backups to an external USB drive plugged into the front of the LinkStation. Overall, if you don’t have an easily accessible corporate server in the office to store files, it’s well worth taking a look at the LinkStation.
PROS Provides a great way to access data on the move.
CONS Web access can be frustrating.
VODAFONE USB MODEM STICK
USB stick from free. Monthly tariffs from £13
vodafone.co.uk
Vodafone’s USB modem is potentially the best friend a frequent traveller can have. It’s the size of a normal USB memory stick but packs in a high-speed HSDPA (think of it as super-3G) modem, giving you internet access speeds of up to 7.2MB – pretty much the broadband speed you’d get at home.
Setting up the device is frighteningly easy – just insert it and wait a few seconds until one or both of the LEDs start flashing. Launch the Vodafone Mobile Connect application and a few seconds later you are online.
Speeds are blisteringly fast for a mobile data connection and really do seem akin to a home connection. In a few weeks of testing, we never noticed anything less than fast speeds. However, this may well have been because we were largely confined to central London.
One of the key things about HSDPA technology, and particularly the 7.2MB version used here, is that it depends on network coverage. In central London, or at major airports, this should not be a problem, but a lot of rural users may find slower speeds. The card has backup networks, and it will drop back to standard 3G speeds and then finally to GPRS, which has national coverage. So you’ll always have access, just at varying speeds. You’ll also be able to get online (again, at varying speeds) in the 45 countries Vodafone has roaming in.
Despite coverage issues, this is overall the fastest and easiest way to get your laptop online. We found we were even using it at home rather than connecting to a traditional wifi network, because the speeds were so good.
PROS Size and set-up is tough to beat.
CONS Highest speed is in a limited coverage area.
MOGO X54
£60
newtonperipherals.com
A brilliant idea, this tiny mouse (pictured left) folds down to be stored and charged in your laptop’s expansion card slot. It’s very simple to set up and works via Bluetooth, which most modern laptops have built-in. Due to the small catch which allows the body of the mouse to pop up, it feels surprisingly normal when used. It’s even usable as a day-to-day mouse, so is not just a travel accessory. One of the MoGo’s really clever features is its ability to double as a remote control for your laptop’s music software, making it useful at home as well. This is a must for any business traveller.
PROS Superb design.
CONS Not as robust as a normal mouse.
IOMEGA EGO PORTABLE HARD DRIVE
£99
iomega.com
One of the problems with laptops is the comparative lack of space – put your MP3 collection on the hard drive along with a few films and you’ll soon find it full up. However, these days small USB hard drives are incredibly common and extremely useful – as well as holding your music, they’re superb for quickly swapping files between machines and for backing up data.
Iomega’s 250GB (above) offers enough storage for all but the biggest film buff, and it’s a really stylish little unit (although it does resemble a hip flask more than a computer peripheral). There is no power supply to lug around as it’s powered through the USB port, and there’s even a choice of red and blue.
In use, the drive is really fast, and we watched several films with no problems. Iomega also gives the option of a free download of some pretty decent backup software, which is well worth getting hold of. As with all USB drives, no installation is needed, and the drive will just show up when you plug it in. The eGo is a great little drive, and worth packing for those long trips. We also found ourselves using it instead of carrying around a laptop, as it’s easy to plug into a machine in a cyber café or office to access files.
PROS Memory size and price.
CONS Could be smaller.
LG FLATRON 22-INCH MONITOR
£190
lge.com
For the home office, the rise in decent combined TVs and PC monitors has been a godsend, allowing you to while away those evenings you should be working by watching TV instead. However, while being great TVs, they have been notorious for being fairly awful monitors. Thankfully, LG’s snappily titled M228WD 22-inch LCD monitor is, first and foremost, a really good second screen for your laptop. It has a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,200 pixels, and pictures are sharp and extremely clear.
As a TV, it’s also impressive, with both analogue and digital (Freeview) tuners built-in. The only slight disappointment is the TV picture, which is a little washed out. HDMI, D-Sub, Scart, component and RF inputs mean you can plug in anything from a game console to a high-definition TV box. Overall, it’s a great monitor, but only an average TV. For the price, it’s an absolute bargain.
PROS Good design and built-in TV tuner.
CONS Picture is not brilliant.
Mark Prigg is the Science and Technology Correspondent of the London Evening Standard
LAPTOP BAGS
Carrying your laptop around in style can be tough, but there are a range of stylish and resilient bags and sleeves out there…
iSkin’s Soho laptop sleeves are great for the more corporate end of the market, with their black leather exterior. There are several sizes available, and the sleeve will unzip all the way around, letting you use your computer without taking it out – which also helps keep your lap cool. From £50, iskin.com.
Pakuma’s Choroka messenger bag is good-looking enough to carry around all day, but sufficiently roomy to easily hold a 15.4-inch laptop in its protective sleeve. There’s also room for the rest of your gear, including a handy large pocket for power supplies. We’ve been using one for several months and it’s one of the best laptop bags we’ve found for everyday use. From around £40, pakuma.com.
For Mac owners, Wrappers MacBook sleeves are a superb alternative, as they simply cover your machine and keep it safe in your normal bag. The covers are also the most stylish we’ve seen, with fabrics ranging from corduroy and linen, to fire retardant jumbo cord and Gore-tex fleece. From £15, wrappers.typepad.com.
