Kensington Debuts Mobile Accessories

By Staff -- TWICE, January 8, 2009

LAS VEGAS — Kensington computer products group is unveiling at International CES a dozen new products designed to enhance the use of personal, mobile electronics. They are being shown in Venetian Tower booths 212, 222 and 223.

Kensington's Play It line includes a new auxiliary dock for an iPod Nano that secures the Nano directly into the auxiliary port and enables play without wires. It includes swappable inserts to safely hold the player within the cradle, and has a suggested retail of $24.99.

Also in the Play It line is a new hands-free car kit for iPhone and Bluetooth phones that clips onto any car visor for use while driving. The device offers one-touch speed dialing of three numbers and a user-swap button that allows seamless connection to a second or third driver's programmed phone. It comes with two 10-hour rechargeable battery packs and has a suggested retail of $119.

Kensington is expanding its Control It line with two mice and a desktop set for home use or business travel. The Ci10 Fit wireless notebook laser mouse features highly precise laser cursor control and contoured rubberized grips, and retails for a suggested $29.99. The thin profile, "plug and stay" SlimBlade mouse with nano receiver has a laser sensor that tracks on multiple surfaces and a four-way tilt scroll wheel. It has a suggested retail of $39.99.

The Ci70 photo sync desktop set lets users download images from a digital camera and sync their music library from an MP3 player using the built-in mini-USB cable in the keyboard. Ready to use out of the box, the set includes a wireless laser mouse and keyboard with dedicated media keys and hot keys. Suggested retail is $69.99.

Kensington's new SlimBlade trackball integrates all functionality into the ball, allowing users to navigate and manipulate digital content through the ball itself. Offering document view or media mode and a low-profile shape, the trackball lets users rotate the ball to control all the many interface functions that support navigation, media control adjustments, and document and photo browsing. Suggested retail is $129.

In the Power It line, Kensington is debuting two new Energy Star-qualified notebook power adapters. The Kensington Wall ultra-thin notebook power adapter and Kensington Wall/Air ultra-thin notebook power adapter are all-in-one solutions that not only charge a notebook but also power mobile devices via a built-in USB power port — all in a low-profile design for easy storage and portability. Each is 33 percent thinner than traditional power adapters and uses 33 percent less energy in standby mode, the company stated. Suggested retails are $119 for the Wall adapter and $139 for the Wall/Air adapter.

Additional introductions include the rechargeable Pocket Booster for mobile phones, at $24.99 suggested retail; and in the Carry It line, a new notebook case and two new notebook sleeves, ranging from $19.99 to $49.99.