Gadgets in Disguise for Your Desk

A little camouflage can make ordinary things a lot more intriguing. We found eight interesting and useful gadgets that are not exactly what they appear to be.

By Albert Filice, PCWorld

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Hidden Gadgets for Your Desk

These fun gadgets for any desk can help you do more, or keep your desk more organized, all while avoiding those ordinary-looking accessories.

Grassy Lawn Charging Station by ThinkGeek

Add a little bit of green to your desk and organize your cables at the same time. This charging station features imitation grass that keeps your unsightly charging cables hidden while making it appear that you're responsible enough to maintain a desktop planter all on your own.

$25 | www.thinkgeek.com

USB 8GB Flash Drive Lighter by ThinkGeek

Never again be without the wonder of fire, or your favorite TV shows and photos, with this convenient flash drive paired with a refillable lighter. Its 8GB of storage can hold plenty of movies or pictures, as well as important documents you don't want to forget.

$30 | www.thinkgeek.com

Desktop Coffee Hotplate With USB Hub by FunUSB

Eliminate the blight of cold coffee and add two more USB hubs to your desk in one fell swoop. This USB coffee hotplate keeps your coffee warm to the end while giving convenient access to your extra USB ports. Just don't slosh your coffee and destroy all your precious data!

$17 | www.funusb.com/

The Wand by Kymera

Using Wii-like accelerometer movements to detect your commands, the Wizard's Wand Universal Remote lets you change the channel while pushing no buttons at all. Take control of your home's entertainment center with this magical wand and get a taste of what it's like to be Harry Potter for the night.

$90 | www.x-tremegeek.com

Battleship USB Hub by Kikkerland

If you're a fan of the game Battleship, maybe even the game Monopoly, or just battleships in general, you'll appreciate this USB hub. The hub gives you five more free ports--a great way to expand your limited array or to put an end to having to reach behind your desk just to plug in a flash drive.

$23 | www.kikkerlandshop.com

Tape Dispenser USB Hub by X-Treme Geek

You don't use tape much in your cube anymore, but it still comes in handy to put up funny pictures of your coworkers. Bonus: This tape dispenser integrates four USB ports for any of your USB 2.0 devices.

$15 | www.x-tremegeek.com

Power Pod by Coalesse

Although the designers of this desk companion envisioned the cup portion as a pencil/pen/scissor holder, I found this neatly designed device to be much more useful as a charging station for my many battery-powered gadgets. Their cords fit well in the sectioned cup, and removing the cup reveals the six-plug power disk (or strip). My smartphone, Bluetooth headset, and iPod sit nicely in the cup while charging, and replacing the cup conceals the plugs again. The only downside: This charmer is expensive.

$150 | Coalesse Power Pod