We share a lot of cool gadgets around here, but there are a few tech essentials we think should be in every geek's laptop bag. Here are the 10 coolest (and most useful) gadgets you should always have with you.


Photo remixed from an original by Kagaya.

10. Cable Shorteners


One of the biggest annoyances the traveling geek encounters is a tornado of tangled cables in her backpack. If you need to neatly organize your cables, grab some cable shorteners like the stylish, cheap Applecores. MacBook users will also love the Quirky PowerCurl wrapper for their AC adapter (though make sure you're wrapping that cord correctly), and a simple binder clip makes a dandy headphone wrapper for the traveling music junkie.



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9. A Space-Saving Wallet


Traditional wallets are big and bulky, and if yours is starting to (literally) burn a hole in your pocket, you have a few alternatives that can save you some space. You can go with something basic like a money clip with extra storage, like the Storus Smart Clip, or go with a wallet that combines itself with one of your other gadgets: like the wallet/notepad Pocket Briefcase, or wallet/iPhone case Cupcase. If you've got a bit more to spend, the BookBook is a very nice wallet/iPhone case combo as well.




8. A Thumb Drive for Your Key Chain


Thumb drives are great for all sorts of things. Whether you're carrying around a suite of portable apps or a full-fledged privacy toolkit, you probably carry one or two thumb drives with you at all times. Most thumb drives are pretty bulky though, and can easily get lost if you don't have them on your keys. We love the LaCie ImaKey thumb drive: it's sturdy, thin, and fits right on your keychain with your other keys. Not to mention they're pretty cheap.




7. Touch Screen-Friendly Gloves


If you live in the cold north, using your smartphone or iPod can be near impossible in the winter. Consider investing in some capacitive gloves, that'll let you use that touch screen without sacrificing your hands to winter's bite. Many of these gloves look a little silly, but we're big fans of Agloves, and you can always make your own with a bit of conductive thread, if buying them doesn't suit you (though they're pretty inexpensive).




6. Mini USB Cables


While those cable shorteners can handle the long USB cables in your backpack, you can save yourself the hassle in a few cases by picking up these great mini cables from Griffin. They come in a few different popular flavors of USB (including one compatible with iOS devices), and are only a few inches long, so you can charge and sync on the go without any cable wrangling.



5. Lenses That Power Up Your Phone's Camera


The best camera is the one you have with you, and while you can carry an extra camera around with you, smartphone cameras have gotten good enough to use in most cases. However, if you want to make them a little better without carrying your DSLR with you everywhere, Photojojo has a trio of pretty awesome camera lenses that attach to your smartphone, including a 2x telephoto lens, a 180 degree fisheye lens, and a 0.68x wide-angle lens you can also use for macro shots. And, while you're at it, you can brush up on a few tips to make sure you're getting the best possible photos out of that smartphone.




4. An Emergency Battery Charger


Nothing runs on good ol' AA batteries anymore, which means if you get caught in a bind and run out of battery, you have to plug your device into a wall. When you don't have a wall, there's the HyperJuice battery, which you can plug into your laptop, smartphone, or other device to give it another charge. You can also grab something like the Mophie case for your smartphone, which contains a built-in extended battery to keep power flowing to your device. Of course, with a bit of DIY knowledge, you can also just build your own USB charger out of an Altoids case and put those AAs to good use.



DIY battery-powered USB charger Instructables has a step-by-step for building your very own Altoids tin USB charger (dubbed the… Read more


3. a 3G or 4G Hotspot


Wi-Fi is nearly everywhere you go these days, but you don't want to rely on it for data connectivity—after all, there seems to be some law of physics that says it's never there when you need it most. To solve this problem, keep a wireless hotspot with you at all times, like the MiFi, which you can get on multiple carriers. Alternatively, if you've jailbroken your iPhone, you can use MyWi to tether it, or tether your Android phone with PDANet. Of course, tethering has its downsides, so be aware of those before you go that route—the Mi-Fi might be a better choice if you want to conserve battery or get the fastest internet possible.




2. A Power Splitter to Charge Everything at Once


If you're lucky enough to find an outlet but have a few different devices to charge, you'll need some kind of surge protector to plug it all in. We're big fans of the Belkin Mini Surge Protector, which contains a few USB ports as well as AC ports, though you can also grab this cheap splitter from Monoprice, the MacBook-beefing PlugBug, or the Chargepod for charging six smaller devices.



Belkin Mini Surge Protector with USB Charger The Belkin Mini Surge Protector is a perfect stocking stuffer for the mobile worker in your life.… Read more


1. The Grid-It Organizer


Arguably one of our favorite go bag accessories is the Grid-It organizer. It's essentially a woven grid of elastic bands that let you hold anything from cables to pens to phones to pretty much anything else on the above list. They come in all different shapes and sizes, some of which even include a little sleeve for your tablet or netbook. And, since it doesn't have any pockets designed for any one product, you can figure out a layout that works for your specific hodgepodge of cables and devices.




Many of these products can be found pretty cheaply at Amazon and elsewhere, so be sure to do some Googling to find the best price before you buy. While you're at it, if you need more gadget ideas for your mobile workspace, check out our extensive "What's In Lifehacker's Bag" set of posts, and be sure to share your favorite mobile gadgets in the comments here.


You can contact Whitson Gordon, the author of this post, at whitson@lifehacker.com. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.



