Owning a laptop computer is fast becoming more of a need in today’s world than simply a preference. More and more people are making the switch from the traditional desktop computer to a laptop because they need to have access to documents and files while they’re out and about. Being able to take your computer with you wherever you go makes it so much easier to share important documents with colleagues or treasured photos and videos with your family and friends. But no laptop is complete without some useful laptop accessories to compliment your on-the-go computing experience. Below are some items that I have found to be handy to have around.

Headset

A headset is a device with both earphones and a microphone. Imagine you’re having lunch at your favorite restaurant or diner, but the music there doesn’t suit your personal taste. You can plug in your headset and listen to your own music that you have stored on your laptop. A headset is also useful in making calls while you’re away from home using a VoIP service such as Skype. If you’re an online gamer, a headset is a “must have item” for communicating with other players.

Port Replicator

A port replicator is a device that allows you to connect your laptop to a number of non-portable devices such as printers, scanners and monitors. This is a nice item to have because instead of having to connect all these devices to your laptop, you just connect them all to the port replicator, and then when you get ready to use one of them, you simply connect your laptop to the port replicator – saves you a lot of time and trouble.

Portable Mouse

If you are like me, and just cannot get used to your laptop’s touchpad, a portable mouse comes in very handy. I chose to go with an optical mouse rather than the trackball kind because it’s more lightweight, navigates better, and you never have to open it up to clean it. You will need to make sure the mouse you choose has a USB cord. This makes it faster and easier to plug it in whenever you need it.

Laptop Sleeve

Along with my laptop, I carry a variety of items, around in a backpack – stuff like pens, keys and other things that can scratch my computer. To avoid this, I use a laptop sleeve. Laptop sleeves are smaller and less bulky than regular carrying cases, therefore you can use them and still fit your laptop in a backpack or other bag along with all your other things.

Extra Battery

While some laptop batteries last for several hours, many of them do not. For instance, mine only lasts about 3 or 4 hours. If you plan to use your laptop away from home and electrical outlets for an extended amount of time, having an extra battery is the only way to do it. Let’s say you’re sitting on the beach, working on an important project. Chances are, you won’t want to leave the beach and interrupt your work just to charge your battery when the juice runs out. Laptop batteries are not cheap, but having an extra is well worth the price in the long run.

These are items that I personally feel the need to have around. Are there others that you find useful that aren’t listed here? If so, please feel free to list them in the comment section below.