Daily gear deal – Kensington cordless netbook mouse with nano receiver for $25

by Scott Carmichael on

Today’s gear deal is for the new Kensington cordless netbook mouse with nano receiver.

This 2 button mouse runs off 2 AAA batteries (included), and communicates with your netbook with its “nano receiver”.

The mouse is part of a larger lineup of Kensington netbook accessories which includes a universal netbook charger and a compact netbook lock.

If you have ever spent any length of time using the tiny trackpad on your netbook, you’ll understand how a mouse could make your machine quite a bit easier to use.

The mouse is on sale for just $24.99, which means you are one penny short of reaching the $25 threshold for free shipping. I recommend adding something really cheap to reach $25.

The Gadling power anything anywhere kit

by Scott Carmichael on

It is no secret – I love my gadgets, and I love traveling with them. But even the most advanced gadget becomes useless when it runs out of power.

In the past, I’d occasionally arrive at my destination with a dead mobile phone or an iPod that only made it halfway through the flight.

It’s a pretty frustrating experience, so for the past years, I’ve been putting together the perfect kit for powering any of my gadgets on the road.
When it comes to powering gadgets, there are several things I am looking for:

  • Powering and charging my laptop and gadgets on the plane
  • Powering and charging my laptop and gadgets when I am abroad
  • Emergency power for my gadgets and laptop

Here is the kit I put together, with some of the reasoning behind each device:

Callpod Chargepod

The Callpod Chargepod passed through Gadling last year, and it has quickly become of the most important gadgets I carry with me. The device charges 6 things at the same time, which means I can charge 2 phones, my Bluetooth headset, a backup battery pack, a game console and an MP3 player off a single outlet.

The Chargepod itself can be powered off AC or DC (car) sources, and the company has power tips for almost every portable device on the market.

Price: $79.95 for a Chargepod bundle (AC and DC chargers and a selection of power tips)
From: www.callpod.com

APC External laptop battery pack



The APC universal notebook battery pack comes with a large selection of power plugs, for most brands of laptop computers. To charge the pack itself, you simply use your existing laptop charger. I’ve always preferred the APC battery packs over the “official” spare battery from laptop makers because I tend to change my laptop quite regularly, and by having a single battery that covers multiple brands, I don’t have to waste an investment in batteries every couple of months. The long cord on the battery means I can leave it in my bag and still have it hooked up to my laptop.

There is one annoying issue with the APC battery pack – APC stopped making them, and the only ones out there are the remaining inventory at local retailers. A good alternative would be a power pack from Tekkeon, who actually produce an external battery pack with more power than any of the APC units.

Price: From $70 (discontinued product)
From: www.apc.com


Proporta emergency battery pack

The Proporta emergency battery pack is a compact Lithium-Polymer power source that can be charged using your computer, an AC adapter or DC (car) charger. The battery pack houses a 2500mAh battery, which provides enough juice to fully recharge most gadgets at least two or three times.

The battery pack has a standard USB out plug for charging your device and a handy button for checking the remaining power.

Included with the charger is an assortment of power tips for most mobile phones and the iPod, as well as a retractable USB cord and an AC adapter. Since it has a regular USB port, you can also use any existing power cable with it.

Price: $56.95
From: www.proporta.com

Kensington ultra slim universal laptop adapter



As I mentioned in the description of the APC battery pack, I change my machine quite a bit, so this Kensington ultra slim universal laptop adapter is another wise investment – it comes with power tips for most brands of laptop computers. In addition to being able to charge/power my laptop off AC, it can also be plugged into the Empower power jacks on many airlines. The charger is smaller and lighter than most original laptop power supplies. One oversight with the product is that they did not include a DC (car) plug with the AIR cable, so I had to invest $10 to get one from a different vendor.

As an extra bonus, the charger features a USB charging power port on the side, plus it operates off 100-240V, making it perfect for taking abroad. Along with the slim charger, I also carry the Kensington travel plug adapter with USB so I can plug my stuff in when I am abroad.

Price: $140
From: www.Kensington.com

The total kit weighs just under 3 pounds, which is not too bad when you consider that it replaces every charger I used to carry, and that I can keep my laptop going for almost 8 hours (longer when I carry the 6 cell battery for my machine).

Every part of the kit fits inside 2 Tom Bihn packing organizers. The whole setup may seem quite extreme, but to someone who carries (too many) gadgets, it’s the perfect way to carry all that crap, and keep it all working. Total price for the kit is a bit over $300.

Do you have a favorite power product, or something you think is better than what I carry? Let me know in the comments!

Kensington introduces 5 accessories for your Netbook

by Scott Carmichael on

With the amazing popularity of compact Netbook computers , it’s not surprising that companies are working overtime to bring equally compact accessories to the marketplace.

Kensington has passed through Gadling in the past with their computer accessories, and today they announced a lineup of 5 new Netbook specific add-ons.

Included in the lineup is a 10″ neoprene case ($14.99), a corded mouse ($14.99), a cordless mouse with micro receiver ($24.99), a netbook locking cable ($24.99) and a universal power adapter with USB port ($49.99).

The new accessories are currently available for pre-order on Amazon, and will be available at other major retailers by the end of the month.

Product review – Kensington 4 port USB charger for mobile devices

by Scott Carmichael on

In this brief product review I’ll give you a quick look at the new Kensington 4 port USB charger for mobile devices. Despite a long and complicated sounding name, the product is about as simple as it gets.

The charger is nothing more than a power brick, with 4 USB ports. While this may sound boring, it is actually one of the most convenient chargers I’ve seen in ages. Almost all my pocket gadgets charge over USB nowadays. Everything from my mobile phone to my iPod can be charged using a simple USB cable and charger. With that in mind, I can now carry a single small charger, and power 4 gadgets at the same time.

The concept is similar to the Chargepod, which I reviewed here last year. Of course, you’ll still need to carry the USB cables required for your device, but with just a single power brick, you’ll reduce the amount of stuff you need to carry with you. If you carry a laptop, you can use its USB ports to charge your devices, but that means you’ll have to keep the computer on.

The Kensington 4 port USB charger for mobile devices operates on voltages from 100-240 Volts, so you can safely bring it abroad, as long as you carry a suitable plug adapter for the outlet at your destination. The unit provides up to 2 amps of power, which is enough to provide full power to all 4 gadgets at the same time.

You’ll find the Kensington 4 port USB charger for mobile devices at Kensington.com ($29.99) and Amazon ($21.99). Several of the Amazon reviews mention that it did not charge their devices, but I have connected it to every USB device I could find, and it always charged them correctly.

My only minor complaint with the device is the lack of folding prongs. Other than that it is simple, reliable and affordable. If you travel with more than one USB powered device, it’s certainly a product I can recommend.

Daily deal – Kensington 120W universal AC laptop adapter for $30

by Scott Carmichael on

My daily deal for today is for a Kensington laptop AC adapter. This device can deliver laptop power up to 120W, making it idea for most machines, including those that require a little extra juice, like 17″ laptops.

The adapter comes with power tips for Dell, HP, Compaq, IBM, Lenovo, Toshiba, Sony, Gateway and Acer laptop computers.

A charger like this is idea if you need a cheap replacement or spare power adapter for your laptop. The Kensington 120W universal AC laptop adapter is on sale at Frys.com for just $30, and comes with free shipping. Of course, with a price this low you do need to know that the charger has been refurbished, which means it was once returned to the vendor, but has been returned to its “as new” condition.

At a price this low, I can highly recommend picking one up and keeping it around, “just in case”. Laptop adapters are often one of the things people tend to forget at their hotel, and an original replacement adapter for most laptops can cost as much as $100.