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Belkin's New Product Lineup
The Belkin booth at the Digital Experience was chock full of new goodies which ran the gamut from an iPod mixing board to a laptop cushion. Most of Belkins products seemed to fall into the category of not extremely technical, but well thought out. CushTop In Belkin's Laptop@Home product line, they are releasing several products which are targeted to the home user of a laptop. Those individuals that want more freedom than a standard desktop can provide, but don't really travel far with it are the target market for this product line. The CushTop is a laptop pad which insulates your lap from the intense heat from modern laptops. I tested the device out with a nice large 17in Macbook Pro which was extremely uncomfortable to sit on your lap by itself. With the cushion, the heat is dissipated and the laptop was very comfortable. The cushion is reversible for use with either a 15in or 17in laptop. The CushTop falls into that simple, but highly functional, product category.    PocketTop Along the same lines, the PocketTop is a laptop carrier for transporting your laptop and all of its accessories. The PocketTop is designed to allow you to keep your laptop easily plugged in, but makes it far more portable. The open area which also acts as a handle can store you mouse, and power cable making portability just that much easier. The case also acts as a protector for laptop when not in use. The PocketTop is aimed towards consumers who tend to use their laptops at home more than anywhere else, allowing for easy transport between the home office, bedroom, couch, etc.   Laptop Cooling Stand In keeping with the laptop theme, Belkin was also showing off their Laptop cooling stand. The device uses a high power fan and its shape to pull heat away from your laptop. The cooling stand also has a slanted design for improved ergonomics both for typing and for viewing of the screen. It will be available late February with a price of $29.99. Hi-Speed Laptop docking Station Belkin was also showing off their new Hi-Speed Laptop docking Station. The device which connects by way of an ExpressCard allows you utilize your laptop as a desktop. The device supports multiple video modes such as using dual display, using only a primary display or mirroring the display. The device includes 1 VGA, 1 DVI, 5 USB, 5.1 surround sound, an Audio Line-In, S/PDIF, 10/100 Ethernet, and an ExpressCard Cable Connector. The device should retail for $199.99 MSRP. pureAV HDMI Interface 3-to-1 Video switch Belkin also had their 3-to-1 video switch. The device supports 480i, 480p, 720i, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p resolutions. The source can be selected from either the front panel switch or by using the included IR remote control. The switch is available now with pricing of $199.99.   PC-to-PC Transfer With the impending release of Windows Vista, there will be slew of users who will need to transfer their important files from one machine to the other. To accomplish this task easily, Belkin was also showcasing several new products for that task. One of these was their PC-to-PC wireless USB adaptors. This device does exactly what its name implies; they connect two PCs wirelessly for the transfer of files. Belkin also has a wired solution for the same file transfer if the wireless approach is not required.    Power Strips Belkin was also displaying some innovations in power strip technology. Yeah, power strips! the lowly device everyone just plugs into and throws behind the desk. Well, Belkin appears to be trying to make the power strip just a bit more functional. Shooting for the safety conscious, Belkin is releasing their concealed power strip which contains child proof tabs which cover the outlets. This not only protects the plugs, but also makes for a much cleaner installation. The device has a 10ft cord with a total of 11 outlets, 4 of which are spaced further apart for large power adaptors. There are also coaxial, phone and Ethernet inputs and outputs. This power strip is available now with a retail price of $49.99.     Another power strip product introduced at the Belkin table was the clamp-on power strip which! has a clamp on it. Not a real hard product to imagine, but definitely one which someone thought about. By adding a clamp, the simple power strip has gained a higher degree of functionality. The Clamp-On power strip retails for $34.99.  Finally, I get to a battery backup which by all accounts looks like any other battery backup you might see. The big difference comes from the rechargeable removable flashlight. This enables you to see your way when the power does out. I think this is a great idea and something that takes an ordinary product just that little step further. The battery backup features a 550VA capacity with a total of 6 outlets, 4 of which are surge + battery backup. The device will be available in mid February for $99.99.   If you enjoyed this article, make sure to check out the rest of our extensive CES Coverage. You can help support us by Digging this article. 
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