Digital gear: Essential accessories for netbooks

Residual effects of the 2008 netbook craze are now popping up, with users complaining of cramped keyboards, missing DVD drives and limited functionality. Those are just some of trade-offs for a laptop that is dirt cheap and small in size. Some small accessories designed with netbooks in mind can ease those discomforts. The devices, which include portable keyboards, external storage devices and DVD drives, are small and draw less power. However, some devices can be pricey, so watch your wallet.

Apricorn's external hard drive

It's easy to dig a netbook's small size, but the limited storage capacities could pose a problem. Apricorn's Aegis Mini external portable hard drive offers good storage in a small size. The 1.8-inch portable drive is the size of a deck of cards and offers 240GB of storage. The device is light at about 3.7 ounces (104 grams) and connects to a netbook via a USB port. The drive'"shock-mount" case uses material similar to protect laptops from falls.

The drive draws power from laptops, and a shorter cable helps preserve battery life, said Mike McCandless, vice president of sales and marketing at Apricorn.

The device is pricey at $269, which is close to starting prices of some netbooks. But the light device can stretch netbook battery life, McCandless said. The device is also for mainstream laptops and works with Windows and Mac OS operating systems.

External Blu-ray/DVD drives

Netbooks don't usually include DVD or other optical drives, but efforts are under way by vendors like Asus to fill that void. Meanwhile, NUI Digital sells the external $229 Slim BD Combo Drive EBC100 that can burn DVDs and play Blu-ray movies. Also offered is the NU Slim USB External SuperMulti Drive DVD Burner ESW860 through Amazon.com for $69.99, which burns and records DVDs and CDs. The drives pull power and connect to a laptop via USB, and a power adaptor can be purchased separately. Some netbook makers also sell external DVD accessories through their Web sites.

Locks, power adapters and sleeves

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