Gadget Guide

Whether your desktop is home to just a laptop and a lamp or an arsenal of gadgets, you’ve likely spent too much time searching underneath it for the right cord. Affixed to a wall or perched neatly at the edge of your desk, these simple clips from Bluelounge will keep your power cords in check and close at hand. Bluelounge.com, $9.95 for a pack of 6

Gadget Guide Motorola Atrix 4G

Motorola’s smartphone-laptop hybrid is one of a kind. The Atrix 4G itself is a powerful Android phone equipped with a lighting-fast 1GHz dual core processor, 1GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage. An additional SD card slot adds 34GB of storage capacity—which is vital to the phone’s secondary function as the engine of a sleek companion laptop. The laptop dock comes to life when the phone is inserted into a slot behind its screen, letting you browse the Web, create and edit documents, and view multimedia with the convenience of a full screen, track pad, and traditional keyboard. ATT.com, $199.99 with 2-year AT&T contract

SplitStick

USB sticks are useful for carting around the hodgepodge of important Word docs, PDFs, photos, and miscellaneous files that tend to pile up during graduate school. The creators of SplitStick reimagined this classic gadget by splitting it in half, making it easier to keep your personal and professional files separate. The double-ended 8GB USB drive is marked with home and work icons to help you remember which side is which—so those pictures from your sister’s bachelorette party won’t get mixed up with your resume. Quirky.com, $24.99

Fitbit

When school and work make unreasonable demands on your time, regular exercise and plenty of sleep will keep you afloat. Fitbit helps you stay on top of both by tracking your activity levels via a 3D motion sensor clipped to your clothing. It tells you how many calories you’ve burned, the number of steps you’ve taken, and the quality and quantity of your sleep. When you walk within range of its base station, the wireless clip automatically syncs to the Fitbit Web site, where you can view and manage all your data. Fitbit.com, $99

iPad 2

If you’ve been waiting to invest in an iPad, now’s the time. With a full year of experience under its belt, Apple’s flashy tablet is quickly gaining ground as a multipurpose device with practical applications for health professionals. The new model is thinner, lighter, and more powerful than its predecessor, thanks to Apple’s dualcore A5 processor. It’s also equipped with front- and rear-facing cameras for making video calls with FaceTime, taking self-portraits with Photo Booth, and recording HD video.

Apple.com, $499 to $829