Pack some power with these handy USB gadgets

Tag : ports sock


USB is a major technology success story. It has proliferated acrossa huge variety of products, from digital cameras to printers toportable gadgets. You can buy USB-powered personal fans, mugwarmers, and even a USB desktop fondue pot. But we'll focus ondevices with more useful business applications like hubs, harddrives, flash drives and peripherals.

The $130 Belkin Network USB Hub isn't your typical USB hub. Itworks alongside your existing wireless network to let you share upto five USB devices like printers and external hard drives. A printserver that's simple to set up is the highlight of the package. The$119 Firestick Pico from Yoggie Security Systems is roughly thesize of a typical USB flash drive, but it houses a sophisticatedfirewall that runs on a mini 300MHz Linux-based computer. It comeswith a copy of Kaspersky Anti-Virus and is especially handy forlaptop users who log on in un-secured wireless hot spots.

When it comes to USB devices, storage is big. In the case of theToshiba 320GB USB 2.0 Portable External Hard Drive, it's absolutelyhuge—in capacity, that is. The $200 drive weighs just 6ounces, but the impressive capacity is enough to sock away tons ofdata, back up multiple computers or take some heavy-duty mediafiles with you on the road. USB thumb drives are prolific and makefor handy storage options. The $137 8GB Kingston DataTraveler 400includes MigoSync data synchronization software to help youorganize your data between multiple PCs. The $59.99 4GB SanDiskCruzer Titanium Plus comes with six months of free online backupfor the drive. A subscription fee of $29.99 per year applies afterthat. For demanding environments, the $250 Corsair Flash Survivoris a 32GB flash drive in a waterproof aluminum casing.

A mouse is a very personal thing; it's important to find one thatis both comfortable and capable. The Targus Wireless LaserStow-n-Go Laptop Mouse is a 4-ounce portable mouse with powerconservation capabilities that provide up to six months of batterylife. It features laser technology for accurate tracking, and theUSB wireless receiver stows away in the mouse for portability. The$34.99 Kensington Ci75m Wireless Notebook Mouse works wired andwirelessly. Its slim design hides a clever built-in USB cable forwhen your battery dies or if you're computing in a place withrestrictions on wireless usage.

Few things are more frustrating than having your AAAbattery-powered portable Bluetooth mouse die in the middle of acomputing session. The Energizer DUO Charger will recharge your AAor AAA batteries from a USB port or from a removable wall plug. Ittakes about two hours to recharge two AAA batteries. A downloadableprogram from the Energizer website can show you where yourbatteries are in the charge cycle. Go ahead and fire up your USBfondue pot and invest in a USB hub. You'll probably need to addextra ports to your computer to handle all your USB-equippedbusiness gadgets.