We might carry our phone everywhere we go, but it’s the laptop we still depend on to get any work done. If your laptop has been for the longest, your primary computer, then you know there are some accompanying woes. As laptop users, we can relate, so we’ve compiled a list of accessories that have helped us make life a lot easier.
A laptop cooler
Laptops are heavy machines, they’re powerful, and they get warm, the longer we use them. There is the added problem of poor ergonomics. Sitting in front of a laptop for long hours, means you’re either staring down at it on your desk, or you’re slouching in your seat. The keyboard on a modern laptop isn’t angled well either, so your wrist and body posture takes a toll after a while. An easy solution to these problems is a laptop stand or a laptop cooler. In most cases, these stands let you adjust the inclination and height of the laptop. This way, the laptop can be setup to be at your eye-level, and the keyboard becomes more accessible too. Some of the stands also have a fan or two that you can adjust. They are powered by the laptop’s USB port, and help keep your laptop cool.
Keyboard and Mouse
The laptop keyboard is quite cramped and the track pad is usable for some light work. If you’re going to spend hours on a laptop working, then the laptop setup must include an external keyboard and mouse. Using a full-sized keyboard means you get a dedicated numerical pad, and all of the function keys and dedicated page scrolling features are present. This is way more efficient than using a laptop keyboard’s compact layout. The mouse is also better than operating the track pad, not to mention it’s more ergonomic too.
There are other benefits too. Using a wireless keyboard and mouse means you can sit back in your seat rather than lean towards, tilting your back and neck. You can even connect your laptop to a larger display or TV and operate the laptop remotely, which is more productive.
A monitor
It’s a very unlikely suggestion one might think, but hear us out. Most laptops have 15-inch screens, or smaller. The standard resolution is 1366 x 768, which can be limiting, depending on what you work on. A dedicated monitor costs a little more than Rs. 10,000 and has a screen size of 24 inches, running a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The higher screen resolution lets you run many programs, side-by-side at once. That’s not all. Once you connect the monitor to your laptop, you can use it as a second display and multi-task between the two displays. This is particularly useful in many situations. If you’re working and need to refer web sites, you can run your web browser on the external monitor while the main work continues on the laptop screen. You could also be streaming a movie or a cricket match on the large monitor, or TV from the web, while working or talking with friends on the laptop.
Additional battery
If you’re someone who travels a lot, you know the pains of having to charge your laptop every opportunity you get. While there are ways to improve the laptop’s battery performance, there’s only so much you can do. Investing in a separate battery for your laptop, is like carrying a battery pack to recharge your mobile phone. Every time you run out of power, you can switch to your backup battery.
Other accessories
Portable router
There’s a lot you can do on the internet, when you’re on the move. You could be travelling to, or back from work or be on a long journey out of town. Owning a Jio SIM connection for example, and a JioFi mobile router could be just the thing you need. You can expect blazing internet speeds, so you can be gaming on the move, or streaming your favourite movie or TV show, or even participate in a video conference call.
Portable speakers
The speakers on most laptops are tiny. They can be loud, but they’ll rarely be as loud or as detailed as larger portable speakers. Portable Bluetooth speakers are a good solution. They are affordable, starting from as low as Rs. 999. They usually have a built-in battery and they can charge off your laptop’s USB port. Besides playing audio, they can be used as a speakerphone all thanks to the in-built microphone found in some models.
Headphones
If you’re not listening to music on speakers, then headphones should offer the privacy you want. You can find headphones that come with a microphone built-in as well. These can be used for any kind of audio or video call from your laptop. There are some models which offer you the benefit of noise cancellation. You can even consider wireless, Bluetooth enabled earphones. These models can be also used with your mobile phone or tablet.
Storage drives
Most laptops come with around 500GB hard drives, and some which extend to 1TB or above. If you’re using a premium laptop, chances are that it runs a SSD, which is much faster, but comes in capacities of 128GB or 256GB. In such cases, you can opt for an external USB hard drive. These USB 3.0 hard drives are quite affordable, are fast and start from capacities of 1TB. If you aren’t looking to invest much, purchasing a USB pen drive is a more affordable option. External drives are great for storing massive amounts of data, such as all your photo albums, movies, and music.
Laptop bags
Some of the laptop manufacturers these days bundle a free laptop bag with every product. If you’ve been reading through our article, you’ll know you might need to carry a few things with you. There are laptop bags manufactured by other vendors which offer a lot more flexibility. They are robust, better padded to prevent damage to your valuable laptop, and they have compartments where you can store your power adapter, and other accessories neatly.
Laptop cleaning kit
Last, but least for your checklist, is a laptop cleaning kit. A long-lasting laptop is one that’s well maintained. There’s only so much that can be done using a cloth. A good laptop kit contains special cleaning liquids for the screen and keyboard, as well as delicate brush with bristles that can get dirt out of stubborn corners and gaps. That wraps up all of the accessories you should ideally own with a laptop. Most of these accessories are very affordable but they add so much value to your computing experience.
