What raises the Razer brand above many others are the keyboards and mice designed especially for gaming in the last few years. Other Razer computer accessories are not too important, because gamers require just these input devices for optimal gaming experience.

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The keyboard reaction speed and mouse sensitivity are the two main requirements for playing action/shooter games on a computer, while the monitor’s reaction time and the internet connection’s response time are only essential when playing on-line. The last factor represents the biggest part of the delay (usually more than 10ms), as input device reaction time is reduced to under 1ms and a gaming monitor needs just 2-3ms to change any – or all pixels from one color to another.

Only if a gamer already has all these things optimized, then he can think about adding other Razer computer accessories to his gaming rig. Razer’s Carcharias gaming headset is especially practical for people who live in building with many tenants, who may be bothered by loud noises. It costs around $80 (depending on the store you’re buying it from) and offers very high quality sound.

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Personally I think that most games are played best with a keyboard and a mouse, and only simulators require joysticks, motion sensors, steering wheels and other special input devices. On the other hand it may be more fun or more challenging to use Razer’s Hydra motion controller(s). This gaming set costs around $140 and is very precise, unlike many standard console/PC joysticks and controllers. The devices’ reaction time is also reduced, so it should help you develop better gaming skills.

Owning such a Razer keyboard will permanently stop you from blaming the keyboard whenever you lose a game or make a wrong move. It uses Ultrapolling at 1000Hz, which means an impressive 1ms response time for any key pressed. On the right instead of the keypad this keyboard has an LCD touchpad with 10 programmable tactile keys above, also backlit by the LCD, displaying the function icon on every key.

Razer Keyboard

The rest of the keys on the keyboards look very simple, just like on any high-end keyboard, like the Apple Wireless Keyboard. Of course all keys are backlit and the frame of the keyboard also lights up in the appropriate color, so you can easily remember on which side you’re fighting. In fact the keyboard had a multi-color LED for the ligting of the frame, so you can set it to virtually any shade of any color, depending on your mood or the game you’re playing. Not bad for a $200 keyboard, right?

The Star Wars Razer keyboard will be accompanied by a very special mouse featuring two highly sensitive sensors. It will also feature the 1ms reaction time, just like the Razer keyboard. It will have an estimated retail price of $129. What I don’t find practical on this mouse is the huge number of programmable buttons, 17 to be more exact, all of which can be pushed by your thumb.

Razer Keyboard

If you have these two computer accessories, then all you need is a low response time monitor. Alienware (owned by Dell) makes some high quality gaming monitors with 1-2ms response time, but the biggest problem of gamers has to do with internet latency. The average time for a packet to travel from you to the game server and back is about 50ms, which is at least 10 times longer than all the input and output devices combined (keyboard 1ms + mouse 1ms + monitor 1ms). I expect to see more products trying to resolve this much more important problem than with input/output devices.

In general it’s not a good idea to design accessories that would make the user hungry every time he looks at them. On the other hand if you want something weird or funny, a USB HUB in the form of a hamburger with ports on top is just the thing for you.

Weird Computer Accessories

To make things even more interesting, imagine an animal flash drive plugged into the hamburger USB HUB.

Weird Computer Accessories

If you’re committed to food shape accessories, there are also vegetables and fruits you can put on your hamburger.

Weird Computer Accessories

There are USB flash drives too in the shape of a smaller hamburger.

Weird Computer Accessories

Manufacturers designed very primitive/barbaric computer accessories too, like the human finger flash drive.

Weird Computer Accessories

It would look really great sticking out of the hamburger USB HUB.

Some mice are made to mess with man’s basic instincts like the fear a spiders and scorpions.

Weird Computer Accessories

Using such a weird accessory daily may seriously affect your psyche. The following mouse mouse has almost the same problem.

Weird Computer Accessories

It actually looks like a mouse, an animal that is also linked to disease and death in the human’s instinct. The fact that the mouse doesn’t move on it’s own, it means that it’s dead, adding even more to your discomfort.

Weird Computer Accessories

This mouse pad design surely comes from somewhere cold. Personally I don’t see anything practical in it, because people who really work on a computer with a mouse don’t have cold hands. Let’s not forget that most computers have a 15 degrees Celsius recommended operating temperature, although technically they work at temperatures as low as 10 or 5 degrees Celsius.

Weird Computer Accessories

Although this webcam may seem weird, the design is an obvious consequence of 3D stereoscopic recording development. 3D cameras need two sensors with a specific distance between them, so they can be mounted in a casing that resembles a human, robot or animal head, without any effort.

Laptops are easy to cover in pink, as more and more different types of protective shells and skins are available on market. They can be applied and removed in just a couple of seconds.

Pink Computer Accessories For Mac

This is the accessory that resolves most of your case-color related problems, but there are a lot more products that go with the pink protective shell or skin.

Pink Computer Accessories For Mac

The semi-transparent keyboard skin is very practical. It addresses both the bacteria problem of the keyboard and the laptop’s incompatibility with liquid spills. This exact same keyboard skin also fits on Apple’s desktop keyboard from the same generation as the laptop.

Although the keyboard skin and protective shell offer a decent amount of security, most users choose to buy an additional laptop sleeve.

Pink Computer Accessories For Mac

A mandatory accessory for any serious laptop user is the one and only real pointing device for laptop. I’m talking about the optical mouse of course. Luckily even the best input device manufacturers make pink mice.

Pink Computer Accessories For Mac

This Logitech wireless mouse is almost the best you can buy in this color. Pink external hard drive racks are a bit more hard to find, but WD (Western Digital, one of the top hard drive manufacturers) didn’t hesitate to address the need for pink.

Pink Computer Accessories For Mac

Pink laptop speakers come in all shapes and sizes.

Pink Computer Accessories For Mac

This one is from Creative, one of the first manufacturers that introduced digital audio processing in PCs. Flash drives also come in pink and some very strange shapes.

Pink Computer Accessories For Mac

This is a particularly disturbing one made by ADATA. Headphones don’t really have major compatibility issues. In theory you can go into a electronics store anywhere in the world (on Earth, to be more specific), buy the model you like and it will work with any MacBook or iMac.

Pink Computer Accessories For Mac

For connecting even more kooky pink Mac computer accessories, you’ll also want to purchase at least one USB hub.

Pink Computer Accessories For Mac

It multiplies a single USB port into four. Please note that this hub cannot give more power than the original (one) port.

As you can see, these locks are very low-tech computer accessories, because they don’t have any electric or electronic parts, but resemble simple bike-chains. As a consequence, these computer locks are a temporary solution. If you lock your laptop with it to a table in a public place for example, someone can’t take it and run away with it easily. On the other hand, if the computer is left without anyone watching, the thief may have some tools that can free the laptop in a couple of minutes.

Kensington Computer Accessories

There are quite a few available models, some are harder to break, others can be simply pulled off the desk’s leg (the one seen on the picture) if the thief manages to avoid its built-in sounding alarm.

Attaching a Kensington lock to the monitor makes a lot of sense in a public place, but if you think about it, the thief will probably look behind the monitor to free the cables. He will notice it and could still get away with the monitor. Nowadays it’s hard to imagine that a room with at least two or three computers can’t afford at least a video security system.

Kensington Computer Accessories

They are very cheap, an average central unit costs around $200 (hard drive included) and an average analog camera another $50. Using a security camera and making an insurance are much smarter anti-theft solutions. In this way you’ll get your money back, the stolen goods might be recovered and the robber could get caught.

Kensington Computer Accessories

Other Kensington computer accessories include mice, keyboards, mobile phone and smart phone accessories, docks and stands for laptops, power adapters, chargers and different net-book accessories. Few of the most practical net-book accessories are listed on a page of the official website.

A kit containing three essential net-book accessories costs about $40. I don’t know why a reversible sleeve is better than a non-reversible one, but both types protect the net-book from dust and other minor exterior factors. The truth is that even if you buy a slightly thicker laptop case, it probably won’t protect your laptop if you drop it from a 1m height. Special laptops designed for surviving falls and liquid spills live through falls without any kind of cases, but that’s a whole other category and price range.

Kensington Computer Accessories

The optical mouse isn’t optional for productivity on the road. The incorporated track pad or touch pad is compact, very precise, but it simply has no efficiency. I would like to see some improvements in that field, after all these years when manufacturers just added a couple of virtual buttons to the track-pad and multi-touch functions. Absolutely impractical if you’d ask me. The $40 kit also includes a Kensington lock for situations when you can’t be sure what kind of people pass by your opened and vulnerable net-book.

Kensington also recommends an extra universal charger for $50, a USB hub and other types of optical mice for net-books, however the Essential kit should be sufficient for most users.

Although there are several types of keyboards available today, their main architecture is the same, mostly QWERTY arrangement, above them the numbers and F1-F12 function keys. ENTER/TAB/SHIFT(s)/CTRL/ALT/MENU/START/HOME/END … etc. keys can be found on all keyboards.

Not even the A-shape design was able to change the keyboard preferences of the big majority of computer users. Even Apple, a company known for trying to challenge tradition, kept the original keyboard design, but made it out of different, more elegant materials than plastic.

In my opinion, the keyboard design won’t change in the next 10-20 years either, but there are two concepts, which may become practical if they will be made compatible with a large number of games and applications.

The first one is basically a big touch-screen, used only for displaying keys and receiving input.

It’s a very interesting concept implemented in a couple of laptop models. It’s major disadvantage is the lack of physical parts. Typing isn’t very comfortable when done on a hard flat surface, which doesn’t react to the touch of your fingers. The other problem huge could be fixed. As you can see in the picture, you have to keep your hands in the air at all times. If you touch the keyboard even slightly, then keys are activated. By fine-tuning the software that analyzes the input, it can be adjusted for a specific typing style, but this raises more questions about where to draw the limits. Your typing style may be dependent on your mood, so if you’re angry and press down harder on the buttons then the software’s settings should also change. For now this solution is most suited for public computers (in libraries, ATMs …etc.) where all kinds of people may require different keyboard layouts. Even though most such computers have only one language installed (English, Chinese …etc), it would be nice if anyone could type in his own native language. We’ll see in which direction they will take this technology, but until then there’s another keyboard concept also based on a color screen.

This little gaming netbook resolved the problem of the mechanical feel as it’s made with transparent buttons. Underneath these buttons there are small LCD screens (or just a big one?) which display the chosen function for each key. For gamers it’s an excellent solution, because they don’t have to memorize which letter does what, because the picture of the function is shown on each key. When playing on traditional keyboards, these icons would be displayed on the bottom of the screen, or wherever the player puts them.

They could either be pressed with the mouse or with the appropriate button on the keyboard. Both solutions are less efficient than pressing the icons directly with your fingers, without covering a part of the screen with your hands. These are the two designs which in my opinion may have a future, but this next concept will surely fail before it enters the market.

Projected keys can be seen in science fiction movies and some prototypes have also been built, but they accumulate a lot a flaws. One is the lack of mechanical feel as I have mentioned before about the touch-screen keyboard. The other obvious flaw is having to keep your fingers raised in the air while not typing. Nothing new up to this point, but the picture reveals yet another problem, caused by your fingers getting in the way of the red beams. You constantly face eight annoying moving red dots as the keyboard projector’s light reflects from you fingernails. Pros who never look down on the keyboard may not be bothered by it, but such a phenomenon may cause psychical problems as you force yourself not to look down on what’s happening to your fingers with the moving red lights.

Most Dell laptop computer accessories are much like the products of other accessory manufacturers. Laptops have two parts that are brand-specific: battery pack and docking station. In these two cases it’s always recommended to go with the original parts, even if other manufacturers offer compatible products at much lower prices. It’s important to buy original Dell Docking Station for your Dell laptop, because original Dell laptop computer accessories have the best quality. The docking station’s most important feature is the docking connector that has to make perfect contact every time you attach your laptop to the docking station.

The Dell Simple E-Port Replicator sells for $129 and is the ideal solution for expanding your laptop into a workstation, while you’ll be able to detach you laptop anytime by removing a single connector.

This specific docking station comes with a 130Watt power supply, making it compatible with a wide range of Dell laptops: Latitude 2110, E4200, E4300, E4310, E5400, E5410, E5500, E5510, E6400, E6400 ATG, E6400 XFR, E6410, E6410 ATG, E6500 and E6510, Precision M2400, M4400 and M4500.

It has got all important ports: 5 x Hi-Speed USB – 4 pin USB Type A, 1 x network – RJ-45, 1 x display / video – 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15), 1 x display / video – 24 pin digital DVI, 1 x display / video – 20 pin DisplayPort, 1 x eSATA / Hi-Speed USB and Audio Input/Output jacks. It’s one of the most important Dell laptop computer accessories, because all additional accessories can be connected to it.

Other docking stations connected through a USB port may not be as fast when it comes to video output and other devices that require bigger transfer rates. USB 2.0 limits total speed to a theoretical 480Megabits/s (60MB/s), but practically you’re lucky if a USB device reaches 75% of that speed. Most cheap computer accessories (like external USB 2.0 hard disk racks) function at speed around only 20MB/s (160Megabits/s).

It costs $129, but it doesn’t have a laptop power adapter because it only connects through one USB port, so this only complicates things with it’s additional power supply only for the docking station.

For travel, the most important accessory to take with you is the mouse, some kind of Internet connection and a universal power supply that will run on any AC/DC current found in outlets around the world.

At $29 the original wireless Dell mouse is the most efficient choice:

It’s compatible with Windows 7, this important to know if you intend to use the programmable buttons on it. Most laptops have integrated Bluetooth modules that will run the mouse without a problem. Laptops without Bluetooth require an additional USB to Bluetooth adapter that’s available in very small sizes, perfect for laptops.

While it may have some advantages over the classic design, it get very uncomfortable after a while, your index finger gets sweaty. Another disadvantage is it’s poor precision, because the mouse – mouse pad friction is taken out of the equation, so it reacts more quickly to your finger’s every little movement.

For only $8 it’s worth trying out, it’s available at lightinthebox.com.

This latest computer accessory seems very simple and you would think that it’s an everyday plastic toy, but you wold be wrong. It’s a USB 2.0 hub for laptops, with four strategically placed USB ports, one on each mouse foot. This way there’s no interference between the ports, so any type of device can be connected of any size and shape. Standard desktop and laptop computers usually have ports too close to each other, resulting in unpleasant physical limitations when using the ports.

Ports face in four different directions when the animal’s legs are spread, permitting the full use of the ports, but of course only under the 5V 500mA total power limit. Four keyboards, four mice or four USB flash drives should work without any problems, but when it comes to external hard drives all bets are off. Even one hard drive could reach the limit and not start, because most of them were designed to work in one or two USB ports with 5W of power at their disposal. When connected through a USB hub, the hard disk has to share that little power offered by the port with the USB hub.

Other (so called) latest computer accessories just got a makeover, like this 2.1 speaker system:

The Edifer brand is very popular in China, it’s E1100 black speaker system is even more appreciated because of it’s unique design and great sound quality. Two satellites produce 4.5Watts of sound each, while the sub woofer delivers 12Watts. When we’re talking about efficiency however, these are not very good specifications, because the sound system’s rated power is 41Watts, meaning that it’s efficiency is around 50%. There are many electronic devices with even lower efficiency factors, but today anything below 80% efficiency can be considered wasteful.

On the other hand, this kind of laptop cases look great and have a lot of storage compartments for additional HP laptop computer accessories. This specific model is made by Targus and supports laptop sizes up to 17”. It costs just under $50, so it’s one of the cheapest shock-resistant computer cases around. Next on the popularity list is the HP 11.6” Mini Sleeve that addresses a completely different type of user.

These little laptop cases offer protection mostly against scratches and dust, shock protection is not really an option at such small dimensions. People who buy netbooks (laptops with screens smaller than 12”) usually want maximum portability, and less safety. It wouldn’t make sense to put a small laptop in a thick protective case. At a $25 price it may be the best choice for HP mini laptops.

The best and most ergonomic laptop case is the backpack. The most popular backpack, SwissGear 17″ Pegasus Backpack is unfortunately in sixth place on HP’s popularity list, so a conclusion would be that people don’t really care about health when it comes to one of the most visible accessories.

It costs $80, but it’s worth every cent, because not only does it divide the laptop’s weight equally on you shoulders, but it also frees up your hands to walk more naturally and to do more important things than holding a bag. At home at at the office the most important accessory for laptops is the standard keyboard and mouse, that make it possible to increase productivity compared to the laptop’s miniature input devices.

This original HP Wireless Multimedia Keyboard and Mouse cost $60. The most important features include multimedia controls on the keyboard, fast scrolling rubber mouse wheel and extended battery life. They keyboard works for up to a year on two AA batteries while the batteries in the mouse have to be changed every 6 months. Compared to early wireless accessories that needed recharging (or replacement batteries) after every 1-2 weeks, these are very close to perfect. Another laptop accessory that is worth investing in is a good docking station.

It costs $100 and it comes in handy when you have a lot of accessories at home that you don’t take with you, just the laptop. If this is the case you just disconnect the laptop from the docking port, and you’re ready to go. As you can see it supports all kinds of accessories including one monitor, analog and digital audio input/output jacks and most importantly it also has a power adapter, so you don’t have to take out the charger from the bag, you may use it only for travel. Although HP brand monitors are a bit more expensive than less-known brands, today we’re looking at only HP products.

It’s important to choose a monitor with the highest possible resolution, while size doesn’t really matter when it comes to productivity. This $212 21.5″ monitor is ideal for programs, games and any FullHD content.

Alienware desktops on the other hand are nothing special (except for the case design). They include mostly standard components and a liquid cooling system that (or something similar) can also be installed in almost any non-Alienware computer.

Computer accessories made by Alienware are a completely different story. For example Alienware monitors are specially designed for high definition gaming. This monitor looks the same as the others, but it has very realistic RGB colors and the response time is under 2ms that makes it perfect for gaming. The next monitor however offers something special, a very wide viewing angle, however the resolution is not so great, only 2048 x 1536.

Other Alienware computer accessories include very resistant led-backlit keyboards designed especially for gaming.

The keyboard can be lit up in 20 unique colors with up to 400 possible combinations. Alienware also designed a very practical gaming mouse. It isn’t very stylish, but it’s very comfortable and it lets you play for many hours non-stop without hurting your hand even in the most action packed games.

Considering the fact that most passionate gamers play well into the night, some soundproofing comes in handy. Alienware manufactures some really cool headphones too.

Also designed for many hours of non-stop use, the earpieces surround your ears without pressing them to your head, and they produce a very high quality sound making it easier for midnight gamers to abandon their huge 5.1 speaker systems and let people sleep in the rooms nearby. If you have bought a very expensive Alienware gaming laptop it’s essential to carry it in a very secure and resistant bag. The Alienware Orion Messenger Bag supports laptops with screen sizes up to 17”, and offers great protection thanks to many safety features that are achieved by an optimal combination of different resistant materials:

Some people may not pay attention to your cool Alienware bag, so it’s best to buy an ware original Alienware Alpha-4 Trucker Caps too.

Of course this is not always a good thing, it may draw unwanted attention from muggers and thieves. It would make more sense to choose, carry the Alienware bag or ware the cap, but not both at the same time.