Best Laptop Accessories

What are the best laptop accessories to buy?

Selecting the right accessories to pair with your new laptop is nearly as important as the laptop choice itself. Depending on what type of laptop you have or are buying, and what you plan to use it for, your accessory choices could vary a great deal.

Your laptop, unlike a traditional desktop computer, already has a keyboard, monitor (or display, in this case), and power supply packed in, but the very first accessory you might consider is a dedicated mouse.

A dedicated laptop mouse

You’d be hard pressed to find a laptop that doesn’t have a touchpad that allows you to move the cursor, scroll, or otherwise interact with your laptop with a mere finger or two. But a mouse provides another layer of capability and is simply easier to wield than a laptop’s onboard touchpad. When not on the go and during those times that you’re working at your laptop in a more stationary position, a dedicated mouse will allow you to be more nimble in the way that you interact with your laptop.

You can more accurately navigate your cursor with a mouse, and the onboard wheel on most mice makes it easy to scroll through documents and web pages. Many mice also feature additional buttons to the traditional two click buttons on the top of standard mice. These side buttons let you quickly navigate forward and back, or can be customized to perform other functions to your preference.

An extra laptop charger

Another, and perhaps more obvious laptop accessory to consider is an extra power supply. While laptops will always come with at least one power supply, it’s certainly good to have another for travel. By adding an additional laptop charger, you can leave one at home and/or at the office, and keep one unplugged and available to take with you in a pinch.

A laptop docking station

Speaking of the home or office, a convenient technology that many may not consider is a laptop docking station. Laptop docks help convert your laptop, essentially, into a traditional desktop when you’re working or browsing at home or at the office. You can quickly attach and remove your laptop from a dock, and the benefit of docking your laptop at your desk is the dock’s ability to stay connected to all of your peripherals when you need to take the laptop on the go with you. So, when you return to your desk, you won’t need to reattach your second monitor, external storage, mouse, or any number of other devices separately – you can reconnect your laptop to them all simply by attaching your laptop to a docking station.

A dock or hub also expands the number of available ports you can use when docked as many docks feature display, USB, and other ports so that if you’re already using all of one type of port on your laptop, a dock can provide access to several more.

A laptop travel bag

And don’t forget for those times when you’re on the go that you’ll want something to keep your laptop protected from the elements, all while make it easier to carry about with you. A laptop sleeve, case, bag, or even backpack are all options for transporting your valuable laptop, and you’ll find many that feature expanded storage convenient for toting around your extra charger, mouse, and other mobile computing peripherals.

And more…

Today, a lot of computing is done at home or at the office, so while a laptop commonly features comparable capability and power to traditional desktops, laptops are often used in place of traditional desktops at the home or office due to the convenience their mobility allows. To that end, many set up their home office or desk space with the same peripherals that have complemented traditional desktops for decades. If you’re such a user, consider a second monitor for the added screen real estate that can heighten productivity.

A great set of audio speakers for your desk will let you enjoy some tunes unencumbered from a headset or pair of headphones. But you may also need a nice headset for those important conference calls between 9-5, and for interacting with family and friends from afar. A high-res webcam , if your laptop doesn’t have one built-in, is also going to be important when calling into meetings or chatting online with friends.

Don’t forget that a home office starts with great furniture selections. So, before you buy anything, if you’re using your laptop predominantly from the comfort of your home, make sure you have a suitable computer desk and comfortable computer chair.