Shopping for the back-to-school season usually brings down everyone involved—whether you’re a student trying to figure out how to fit everything into a matchbox-size dorm room or a parent racing fellow customers to purchase a coveted item on the school-issued office supplies list (not to mention the unfortunate employee charged with maintaining the war-torn school supply aisle).
But on the bright side, back-to-school season presents an opportunity to purchase some new consumer tech and gadgets for the academic year. When school resumes, students need to connect with classmates, conduct research and attend extracurricular activities—oftentimes on the go. The market is flush with devices that can help students manage their busy schedules, but a few tools are particularly valuable for starting off the fall semester on the right foot. Fortunately for college kids who just broke the bank with textbook purchases and parents watching their tuition subtotal rise, these devices aren’t ridiculously expensive. Here’s a list of six useful gadgets that can be added to your shopping list, each under $50.
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5 Essential Gadgets for Students That Cost Less Than $50 |
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Credit: Jackery Bar
JACKERY BAR
The majority of student life is spent within easy reach of an electrical outlet. But when you’re studying out on the quad or listening to music at the bus stop and that dreaded low-battery notification appears, access to a portable charger means the difference between comfortably continuing your business and feverishly planning how to ration that last bit of juice. Enter the Jackery Bar. This pocket-size power bank (available at the Jackery store, starting from $19.99) can recharge an iPhone two or three times and it’s also compatible with iPads, Android devices and Kindles.
The Bar’s durable aluminum casing makes it light enough to tote around all day in a backpack. There are a few color options, including sleek black, silver and gold as well as bright orange—handy for those of us with a habit of losing things in the cluttered bottoms our bags. One end of the Bar hosts a micro-USB port for charging the power bank itself (cord included) and a standard-size USB port for connecting devices to charge. The three blue lights on the side of the Bar indicate how much charge remains. According to the Jackery site, it takes about six hours to recharge the power bank and the Bar can charge an iPhone in a couple hours.
Among Amazon commenters and tech reviewers alike, it’s difficult to find anyone who has a bad word to say about the Jackery Bar. One drawback is that it only has one USB port, so people who need to charge multiple devices at once might be better off with the Bar’s big brother, the Jackery Giant. Also, the three blue lights do not give a precise estimate of how much battery life remains. If the Bar’s capacity is two or three phone lifetimes, the difference between 33 percent charge and 66 percent charge is significant. But overall, the Jackery Bar seems to be an affordable option for students looking to recharge their devices on the go.
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Credit: Cooler Master
COOLER MASTER NOTEPAL X-SLIM COOLING PAD
Depending on which applications a student requires to do homework (or which games they play while pretending to do homework), overheating can pose a threat to a laptop’s hardware. Not to mention the fact that listening to the continuous huff and puff[OR: whir] of a computer’s internal fans can become annoying. But a laptop-cooling pad such as the Cooler Master X-Slim can go a long way in protecting a computer from self-damage, along with keeping its fans quiet.
The Notepal X-Slim ($17.99 on Amazon) supports computers up to 17 inches wide and is powered via a USB port expander, so that using the pad doesn’t require forfeiting a port while you work. The design of this pad makes it easy to cart around campus: It’s skinny and sturdy enough to slip in a backpack, with grooves on the bottom for winding up and storing the cord during transport. On the other hand, some users might find the plastic and metal mesh structure uncomfortable to rest on their laps. According to Cooler Master, this pad boasts nearly silent fans—a claim supported by online video reviews—but buyers might want to test that out for themselves before firing it up at the library.
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LOGITECH BLUETOOTH KEYBOARD
A host of apps make it possible to take notes on a tablet or outline an essay on a smartphone. But for anyone who minds a keyboard halving the display area of a tablet screen or has trouble thumb typing on the phone, tasks that involve a lot of writing are probably best done with a physical keyboard.
Logitech’s Bluetooth Multi-Device Keyboard K480 ($49.99 on the Logitech site) is compatible with Windows, Mac or Chrome OS computers as well as Windows, Android and iOS tablets and phones. Users can connect the keyboard to three different devices at once and switch between them with a dial in the top-left corner. The consensus among Amazon reviewers seems to be that connecting and alternating between devices is quick and easy. Weighing in at almost a kilogram, the Logitech keyboard is heavier than some other tablet keyboard case options. Logitech claims that the two AA batteries included with keyboard purchase will last a couple years.
One handy feature is the slot at the top of the keyboard that holds wireless devices, so there’s no need to purchase a separate stand (or construct one out of items on your desk) to prop up the phone or tablet while you type. On the other hand, the slot is one-size-fits-all, so devices housed in chunky cases may not fit. Another downside is that the keyboard lies flat on the table, so those who prefer to type on a tilted surface might find it a bit uncomfortable. But this versatile keyboard could definitely be a useful tool for any student continually working with a suite of different screens.
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WD ELEMENTS PORTABLE EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE
Okay, this one isn’t under $50. But its inclusion in this list is simply a testament to how absolutely crucial external hard drives are. Take it from someone who has wept bitter tears over a lifeless computer containing the bulk of her work from the last two years of high school: Safeguarding against a computer crash is worth the money.
The WD Elements (available from Walmart for $59.43) portable hard drive is light and compact, making it convenient to carry around campus, and stores a terabyte of data. (There’s also a two-TB version.) The drive can be used to back up a computer—Windows or Mac—or even an Xbox. The USB cable that comes with the WD Elements is used both to transfer data and to power the drive. One caveat: this drive has no security features, which isn’t a problem for students looking to back up term papers and the like, but those looking to store more sensitive information might want to purchase a different data storage device.
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Credit: Tile
TILE
Students are continually on the move—transitioning between classes, hitting the gym, holing up in the library—which leaves a lot of opportunity to misplace and leave behind personal effects. They can keep track of their valuables with the Tile, a Bluetooth-enabled tracking device that syncs with a smartphone app (available from Amazon for $25 and now compatible with both iOS and Android). These handy tracking tags can be hooked on a key ring or zipper or stuck to the flat surface of a laptop or phone. The iOS and Android apps can keep tabs on eight and four Tiles, respectively.
Each Tile’s Bluetooth range extends up to 45 meters, and when the user starts searching for an item, the Tile app displays a radar screen–style view of how far away it is. When a Tile goes out of range, the app shows the last place the phone “saw” the Tile. The Tile app can also crowdsource the search for missing items—if another Tile user passes within range of a lost object, the owner’s phone will update the object’s location accordingly. Of course, the usefulness of this feature varies greatly, depending on the concentration of Tile owners in a particular area.
Unfortunately, Tile batteries aren’t replaceable, so each 12 months Tile users have to drop another $25 to keep track of their stuff (unless they purchase multi-Tile packs, where each piece is slightly discounted). Still, that annual fee might be a small price to pay for the peace of mind brought by these tracking tags.
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