A docking station can add extra features to your laptop, but as with this version from Belkin, they work best when used as part of your office setup.

This is a standard analogue dock that offers two USB ports, parallel, serial and LAN throughput. There is also a VGA-out port for connecting to an external monitor.

In use, we found this device worked best when positioned as a link between a 22-inch TFT screen and our test laptop.

If you're not looking to add digital components to your desktop setup any time soon, this is as good a solution as we've seen.

However, we did find the ports to be of limited appeal, as most laptop users will no doubt prefer more in the way of USB ports.