The Story of Two Essential Treo and Centro Accessories

There are two Treo and Centro accessories that I personally feel are essential (even critical).  The first is the SPE Retractable S&C Cable and the second is a memory card reader such as my favourite new SanDisk MobileMate SD+ Reader (both pictured below). 

I write about these two small but indispensable accessories today because I somehow managed to stupidly “forget” to bring these along on a trip to Paris last week – an error that left me with no means to HotSync my smartphone nor transfer pictures that I had taken on my Centro to my PC…

The SPE Retractable S&C Cable (pictured below) really needs no introduction (see my review) as it has been a bestselling item for over two years now thanks to the fact that it’s small, ultralight and compact as well as offering a retractable system that brilliantly eliminates the clutter of tangled cables (it measures just 115mm when closed but extends to nearly 10 times that – 970mm – when fully open) and also an integrated HotSync button.  It’s basically the perfect sync & charge tool to take with you on the go (when you remember)…

The new SanDisk MobileMate SD+ Reader (pictured below) for its part is a small and practical high-speed USB 2.0 5-in-1 memory card reader (fits SDHC, miniSDHC and microSDHC cards) that allows you to make the most of those 4GB SDHC cards for your Treo and 4GB microSDHC cards for your Centro by quickly adding or transferring data to them via your PC.  I personally have all of my cards filled to the rim with music, movies, photos and various personal and business documents.

Overall there’s no doubt that both the SPE Retractable S&C Cable and the new SanDisk MobileMate SD+ Reader are essential items that offer terrific value and that as I painfully discovered by leaving them behind no Treonaut or Centronaut should ever be without…

Lastly, since I’ve now finally been able to get all those Paris pictures taken with my Centro transferred to my PC I thought that I’d share some of these with you below.

My departure at the stunning new Eurostar International terminal at London St. Pancras (above left) and a chance encounter with the fun Toyota iQ mini-car concept at their showroom on the Champs Elysees.

In the same Toyota showroom (above left) I had the opportunity to see their i-unit concept personal vehicle for urban mobility (basically a very cool chair with four wheels to take you around town).  Next is a scale model of Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia church exhibited at the fantastic Cite de l’Architecture (billed as the world's largest architectural museum).

Finally, on a stroll in the St-Germain-des-Prés district an encounter with the colourful statue of French writer and philosopher Voltaire (above left) and a view along the Seine river looking towards the Île de la Cité.

[Update: as a reader pointed out (thanks Mike) I should probably also have included the SPE Stereo Adapter for Treo and Centro as part of my essential accessories kit…]

Treonauts always have something new to share…