Editors' Picks 2011: Coolest tech accessoriesWhile we love our gadgets, we also love those clever and cool tech accessories that make them work better, more efficiently, or more effortlessly. Here, we present our very favorite techessories of 2011.

Coolest tech accessories: PlugBug

PlugBug
Liz: A
brilliant little adapter from twelvesouth that let’s you charge your
Macbook and iPhone or iPad from one socket. Total travel necessity for
me now.

Coolest tech accessories: Motorola Roadster

Motorola Roadster
Kristen: I’m all about going hands-free in the car,
and the Motorola Roadster makes that happen while keeping amazing sound
integrity. It’s so much more than a bluetooth or a speaker phone,
giving you talk-to-text capabilities just like your own personal
assistant.

Coolest tech accessories: retro Pop Phone headsets

Pop Phone Headsets
Liz:
Everything old is new again. In lieu of a bluetooth device, go back in
time with a headset like grandma had. (Or, uh, some of us had back in the day.) Remember how good it felt to
scrunch it between your ear and shoulder?

Coolest tech accessories: Mophie Juice Pack

Mophie Juice Pack
Kristen: I can’t tell you how many times my Mophie
juice pack has saved my butt when I’d otherwise be stuck with a dead
cell phone. While they’re not new, I just started using them this year and now I never leave home without mine.

Coolest tech accessories: Sol Republic headphones


Sol Republic Headphones
Liz: Kudos to this new company which is developing Monster quality headphones without the monster prices. They would know–they used to be the guys behind Monster.

Coolest tech accessories: Sonos wireless music system

The Sonos Music System
Liz: This year we were introduced to Sonos, which may be the greatest all-in-one wireless speaker system. The Play:5 is the original, but 2011 saw the launch of the smaller, sleeker Play:3, should you want great sound but still need a little space left in your home for the kids’ stuff.

Coolest tech accessories: Echo touchscreen gloves

Echo Touchscreen Gloves

Liz: Touch
screen gloves have come a long way in even a year since we started
seeing them. I’d like these whether or not I had to take them off to
text in the cold. But I don’t.

Coolest tech accessories: Belkin Conserve plug

Belkin Conserve
Kristen: Belkin built a better power outlet with the Conserve, and saving money and decreasing my carbon footprint are two reasons love it. A third reason: it turns off standby power mode automatically. In other words, it thinks for me, which as a busy mom of four, I can realllly appreciate.