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.
5 Essential Gadgets for Students That Cost Less Than $50
- Jackery Bar
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.
Introduction
- Cooler Master Notepal X-Slim Cooling Pad
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.
- Logitech Bluetooth Keyboard
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.
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.
- WD Elements Portable External Hard Drive
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.
- Tile
Credit: Tile
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.
