9. Belkin CushTop

Anybody who likes to work with a notebook PC away from his or her desk is likely to find the Belkin CushTop a great boon to their productivity. Though it's hard to explain the CushTop perfectly, it's best understood as a platform/workspace/pad for a notebook that works particularly well for those who like to hold a notebook on their lap, work on a sofa or easy chair, or even to spread out on the floor.

The padded Belkin Cushtop not only provides a place to park your notebook, it also provides interior space for the brick (power supply).

The CushTop is made from dense but cushiony furniture-quality upholstery materials. The outer surface is a slightly corrugated, stain resistant, microfiber material that comes in three colors: bright orange (as shown in the photo), light silver, and pale green. The construction also features an interior pocket into which you can tuck your external power supply, and where you can keep your mouse and power cords while they're not in use.

Of course, the CushTop also provides thermal insulation for those who like to use a notebook PC in their laps - some machines can get pretty warm when in heavy use, particularly on the bottom. For those who like to carry a notebook around the house and compute whenever they feel like it, the Cushtop makes a particularly helpful accessory. This is bound to appeal to students, well-known for their proclivities for working in unorthodox positions.

The CushTop is available from many online retailers for $26 to $37. Whether still at home or off at school, students who like to compute away from their desks will find the CushTop a surprisingly satisfying computing platform. Though Belkin is perhaps better known for its networking gear and cables, the CushTop is a nice demonstration that Belkin's reach exceeds those familiar markets.