Back to the Office: 5 Gadgets to Make Work More Fun This Fall

Who says kids should get all the cool new stuff? We’ve found some great gadgets  for the office that will make fall a little more fun for adults too.

gadgets for the office: laser cube keyboardCube Laser Virtual Keyboard
It’s a keyboard, but it’s also a laser! The tiny cube projects your keyboard anywhere, anytime, so it’s mobile, space-saving and seems like it’s from the future.

The cube projects a full-size QWERTY keyboard on any flat surface for up to 150 minutes of typing. It’s easily recharged via USB. It work via Bluetooth and is compatible with Android 2.0+, iPhone 3Gs+, iPad, and basically any Mac or PC made in the last ten years.

$179.99 from ThinkGeek

 

 

Office Gadget: Portable Monitor GeChic On-Lap 1302GeChic 1302 Portable Monitor
More portability! The GeChic On-Lap 1302 (say that 10 times fast) is portable monitor you can plug right into your smartphone. It’s a good idea, even if it has a terrible name. It’s a 13.3 inch screen, powered either by your laptop or an external battery, that can be plugged into just about any smartphone, ultrabook, laptop or tablet. The only drag is the need for lots of extra cables: you will need the right adapters for your tech set-up, so do your reading before you buy.

$199.99 at NewEgg


Office Gadget: Shortcut Keyboard Skin Keyboard Shortcut Skin

It’s like a silicon cheat-sheet. These keyboard overlays fit right over your existing keyboard (Mac only, sorry) for easy access to all the keyboard shortcuts your heart could desire. Keyboard shortcuts for what you ask? Well, take your pick. There are overlays for Photoshop, Final Cut, Pro Tools, Lightroom, Aperture, After Effects, and Lightroom. Bonus: since it’s one big piece of silicon, it keeps crumbs out of your keyboard.

$30-$40 at Photojojo

 

Office Gadget: Koubachi plant sensor helps you care for your plantsKoubachi Wi-Fi Plant Sensor
Office plants are great. Just their presence can be relaxing and life-affirming. Unless they’re brown and dead, of course. Enter Koubachi, the sensor that lives with your plants and tells you how they’re doing and how to take care of them. Get updates to your laptop or phone, so that even when you’re not in the office you can remind a coworker to water your plants!

About $125 from from Koubachi

 

 

Office Gadget: Stop Talking Business CardsStop Talking Cards
If you’re not interested in spending over $100 to keep your ferns alive, maybe the less expensive (but meaner) fun of “Stop Talking” cards is for you. No, they’re not a gadget exactly, but they are amazing. Hand them out just like business cards and let them speak for themselves. Use wisely.

$8 for a box of 25 cards from Set Editions