Thick-and-heavy laptops are becoming more of a niche product line (think portable workstations, gaming station and mobile servers) as the market share and the sheer amount of SKUs (Stock Keeping Units) of svelter and more attractive Ultrabooks and other thin and light notebooks swell.
But these do come with a number of compromises - like a sore lack of connectors. We've put together a list of accessories that can not only dramatically augment the capabilities of an Ultrabook but also transform it into a veritable powerhouse.
If you want to know what makes an Ultrabook and give the above a click.
1. Android KVM cable
From a distance, it looks like a standard USB cable with a microUSB connector on one end and a bigger-than-average one on the other. But look closer and you will see that it is a mirroring and KM (keyboard and mouse) sharing accessory.
Sold by Lindy for £40, the KMC6105 allows you to view and interact with your Android device regardless of the brand and platform (i.e. tablet, chromecast, smartphone) as well as sharing your keyboard and mouse.
Perhaps more importantly, it charges your Android device while in use, something that the previous generation model did not offer. Unlike that one, it allows you to use your smartphone as an additional screen. It also offers copy/cut and paste as well as drag and drop across the platform.
You will need to install a small executable file that is located on the device itself. Otherwise it will only behave like a standard (expensive) cable. You will need to enable Developer Options in newer smartphones by clicking seven times on the "build number" menu.
Subsequently, you will need to allow USB debugging which is how the KMC6105 works its magic. The installation process will also download the device's driver where necessary. Note that the device carries a standard two-year warranty and is USB 2.0 only.
2. USB Stereo Audio Adapter External Sound Card
Audio has historically never been a forte for laptops and that hasn't changed a lot for Ultrabooks especially for those at the lower end of the spectrum.
Which is why something like an external sound card comes in quite handy. USB devices in general usually carry a performance penalty mostly because they use the host's processing power. They also have a small impact on the battery life.
However, given how powerful the recent crop of Intel-based processors has been, that shouldn't be an issue. Startech sells an audio adaptor that plugs in a free USB port and essentially adds a 5.1 sound card.
The device, which is about the size of a lighter, has two 3.5-inch jacks for headphone and microphone (some Ultrabooks like the Lenovo Yoga 2 Pro only have one port).
Startech's £18 external card comes at the end of a rather long USB cable, uses a C-Media CM108AH chipset and is capable of sampling audio at up to 96kHz. Available in black or white, it does support Sony's PlayStation 3 gaming console and comes with a two-year warranty.
3. Wireless 2.5in External SATA Hard Drive HDD Enclosure w/USB & WiFi AP
If you ever wanted to share a hard disk drive wirelessly, there are a number of proprietary solutions available but few can do it as simply and as cheaply as this solution from Startech.
This wireless 2.5in External SATA Hard Drive HDD Enclosure w/USB & WiFi AP costs £88 and is essentially an empty enclosure that can accommodate a 2.5-inch HDD.
You can connect to it via a USB port or Ethernet (if wired) and wirelessly over Wi-Fi (802.11b/g/n) thanks to a Ralink RT3052 chipset.
It can be used as a NAS (Network Attached Storage), a dumb storage device or as a wireless hotspot (to share internet access). It is unfortunate though that the device is only compatible with USB 2.0, which will affect data transfers adversely.
Unlike some of its competitors, the device doesn't have a card reader nor does it have an extra USB port to plug in external hard disk drives.
It supports HDDs up to 1TB in size, has an extendable antenna for enhanced connectivity and offers FTP, SMB and UPnP functionality.
4. USB Mini Blu-ray Burner
Optical disk drives were the first component to be dropped as Intel put together the specifications for Ultrabook devices (although Acer did try to bring them back in an unconventional Ultrabook design).
If you want to read or write to an external blank media (or boot for one), then you will need an external model like Sandberg's USB Mini Blu-ray burner, available from Amazon for just over £78.
There are cheaper models around especially if you don't mind dropping writing capabilities. This one though comes with a longer-than-average warranty.
As expected, it has a USB 2.0 rather than USB 3.0 interface and is a native plug-and-play device (no drivers required). It can write to double-layer discs and draws power from the computer's own USB ports.
The device worked flawlessly and didn't produce any coasters when I tried to fill up a few blank DVD. Read and write speeds were decent enough, nothing to write home about.
Ultimately, optical disk drives are bound to become a thing of the past as technology moves on, fast internet connectivity becomes ubiquitous and computer magazines drop cover discs.
5. USB 3.0 Gigabit Ethernet Converter
You will be hard pressed to find an Ethernet/RJ-45 port in the new Ultrabooks. The drive to produce something thinner and lighter than the previous generation means that these chunkier ports are the first to be shunned.
However, for those yearning for one (and provided they have a free USB port), a USB-to-Ethernet converter, preferably a USB 3.0 to Gigabit model, should be part of their essential accessories kit, especially if, like us, you attend events where Wi-Fi can be patchy.
Lindy's model (available for £35) is a bog standard one that comes with a two-year warranty and even a useful extension cable that can be used for other devices.
The device is plug-and-play (a leaflet suggests that you install the appropriate drivers from the accompanying CD first) and on my Windows 8.1 Ultrabook was automatically detected with the right drivers downloaded.
I didn't have any issues speed-wise. We recorded ping times of 9ms, download speeds of 97Mbps and upload speeds of 66Mbps respectively on Speedtest.
Bear in mind though that using USB means that there will be some compute overhead (i.e. the adaptor will use some of your CPU resources), however it is likely to be minimal.
6. USB hub with smartphone sync
It is not easy to innovate when it comes to bog standard USB peripherals that often retail for 99p at your local pound shop.
Sandberg did that however with a USB hub that has only 3 ports (rather than the usual 4) but also offers a micro USB plug as well which can connect to a smartphone.
The actual connectors are at the end of cables which means that they can be more freely moved around compared to traditional solutions.
While it sounds like a rather interesting idea, in practice one would probably wish for a better thought product.
It is not USB 3.0 compatible, has four cables protruding from one USB hub (which may make it flimsier than traditional 4-port hubs) and it doesn't provide with enough power to charge even a standard smartphone (I tried the Motorola Moto G). So don't count on it for anything other than
That said, it does cost a mere £11, is plug-and-play, has a built-in overload protection and a 5-year warranty. Note that this product is also available with a 30pin iPhone connector.
7. USB 3.0 Hard Disk Box 2.5in
It is a no-frill hard disk drive enclosure that comes with an SATA connector and is compatible with all mainstream operating systems.
This is Sandberg's 2.5in USB 3.0 caddy, an unexceptional, uncluttered and unambitious piece of kit with a relatively affordable price tag (just under £15 at Amazon).
The empty case uses a non-standard cable for connection, which is a shame but if you can live with that, then you've got yourself a good deal.
It uses aluminium as the main material, which improves heat conductivity and gives it a nice finish. Its slightly oval profile means that it is not advisable to lay a couple of them one on top of another.
Such an enclosure is ideal for those looking to recycle an old internal laptop hard disk drive or if you have a spare one looking for a second life.
I didn't manage to test it but there's no reason why it should be a disappointment. Also Sandberg backs this product with a five-year warranty, something that in my eyes make it stand out from the rest of the competition.
8. USB 3.0 docking station
The prevalence of ultra-portable laptops means that docking stations are often offered as optional accessories by most vendors at the point of sale.
However not only do they tie you as these, more often than not, come with a proprietary connector, they are also more expensive.
Many independent vendors like Startech and Lindy however have compelling alternatives. The latter stocks a USB 3.0 docking station that comes with a bewildering array of front and rear connectors.
Physically, it is a tall rather than flat model, one that is white rather than the more conservative charcoal colour of its competitors.
Connectors include four USB 2.0, two USB 3.0, DVI, LAN, HDMI and audio ports which should be more than enough for most users.
Installation is remarkably easy, though you will need to install the latest Displaylink driver . After that the user only has to plug a single USB 3.0 cable to his or her laptop.
Lindy's solution is not perfect though. It is a vertical peripheral which means that, although it has a much lower footprint, connecting devices could cause it to topple down.
Then there's the fact that you still have to connect the power supply unit to it and it is unfortunately not 4K compatible.
9. USB 3.0 Dual Head Graphics Adaptor
The arrival of USB 3.0 was seen as a boon for bandwidth-hungry applications like file transfer. However, an unlikely beneficiary of the new technology was display.
With up to 5Gbit/s, daisy-chaining high resolution monitors suddenly became feasible, relatively affordable and painless to install.
Startech has come up with a nifty little box called the USB 3.0 dual head graphics adaptor (USB32HDDVII) which allows two monitors to be connected to your computer, offering the tantalising option of having three monitors running concurrently on a laptop.
The online retailer quotes a suggested retail price of well over £100 but shipping around means that you can get one for just over £76 from Dabs.
That little box is actually pretty powerful. It comes with a DisplayLink DL3900 chipset, 1GB of RAM and a DVI-I and a HDMI connector.
The maximum resolution for each display is 2048 x 1152 pixels and it does support audio on the HDMI output. The product is compatible with USB 2.0 although USB 3.0 is what you need to get an optimal performance.
You can connect up to three adaptors to your PC which allows up to six displays to be used at the same time (plus anyone connected to the actual graphics module/card).
Speaking of installation, it is always advisable to download the latest Displaylink driver. It is regularly updated and might help to solve any nagging issues you encounter. Sadly enough, it doesn't support Linux distributions.
10. Mini DP to VGA, HDMI and DVI-D adaptor
If you have only one mini DisplayPort output (like on the Apple MacBook Air) and want to connect it to a display through a standard size port, then it might be worth considering the Lindy Mini DisplayPort to HDMI/DVI/VGA adaptor (currently on sale at Novatech for £29).
The device comes handy to connect mDP-equipped devices with legacy monitors, television or projectors without the need for any additional investment in cables or converters.
You can only connect one port at a time and the adaptor supports 5.1-channel audio over HDMI. Note that it does source its power from the host (your laptop in this case) which means that it will drain your battery.
The Lindy adaptor is about the size of a Tic-Tac box with a white glossy finish and a 15cm lead; it doesn't need any driver as it is truly plug-and-play.
Note that you can also plug it in the Thunderbolt port and that the maximum resolution supported is full HD (1920 x 1080) @60Hz.
Using it was seamless. Like most accessories in that feature, it didn't require us to install any drivers or restart our device.
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