Another college school year is headed our way, less than a month away to be exact, and everyone is beginning the “run around” in deciding which supplies are a must-have. Pens, pencils, five-subject notebooks, and non-disposable water bottles are all must-haves but when it comes to tech and gadgets that’s where things start to get confusing.
Every school year brings a plethora of newer/updated gadgets that leave last year’s models in the dust (almost seems unfair).
To help new and continuing college students we’ve decided to make a top ten list of the ten gadgets that college students must-have for the 2019-2020 school year.
Air Unleashed
Air Unleashed
Apple may have disappointed its loyal customers with the cancellation of the AirPower — a wireless charging mat that promised to charge an iPhone, Apple Watch, and AirPods at the same time — but all hope is not lost. The AirUnleashed does exactly what Apple set out to do for the affordable price of $99 with free shipping across the globe. “The AirUnleashed uses three charging coils side-by-side and therefore does not have the challenges of using a large amount of overlapping coils,” the company states. “The result is a wireless charging mat that can simultaneously charge three of your favorite Apple devices; an iPhone, Apple Watch and AirPods. We call it the AirUnleashed.”
After testing out the product, the AirUnleashed does everything that it promised and more.
Kindle Fire 7
We completely understand that lugging around five to ten textbooks can be insanely heavy, boring, and even painful; plus you’re bound to drop them at some point throughout the year. Also forgetting one of them can leave you behind in class. This is why we recommend the Kindle Fire 7. All of your textbooks and class notes are in one spot; it also saves you a ton of money by purchasing books through the device. No more hassle of remembering each book. As added bonuses, you can download helpful educational apps and you can get Netflix on this device as well.
Portable Hard Drive
Better than a flash drive is a Portable Hard Drive. They can hold a wider range of file types, pictures, videos, they just have more space for memory in general. Plus, it’s always a good idea to have a device that can act as a back-up in terms of holding assignments, projects, etc. because nothing is worse than losing all of your data and not having any way to get it back.
Smart Notebook
Take all of your handwritten notes in this notebook, sounds traditional, we know, but you can upload these handwritten notes to cloud-based servers like Dropbox or Google Drive. This happens through the specialized ink that you use to write with. We recommend the Moleskine Classic Notebook from Amazon for this.
Noise Canceling Headphones
College can be an amazing place, especially if you’re a student who dorms; however, college campuses and dorms can be extremely distracting when trying to do work or study. This is why we recommend that students get noise-canceling headphones. Without the constant distraction of noise, you will find it easier to stay focused on the important tasks at hand and make your assignment deadlines.
USB Laptop Backpack
Keeping our gadgets alive throughout the day is crucial during college; however, this is not always the case. Sometimes we forget our phones chargers or laptop chargers but with a USB Laptop Backpack, you can charge your devices on the go. This backpack has a built-in USB port to plug in your devices and enough space to hold all of your college equipment (even the items listed above).
LED Desk Lamp
These LED Desk Lamps are small and will give you enough light during that last-minute all-nighter. Plus, they feature an adjustable light setting so, if you dorm, you don’t disturb your roommate.
Portable Phone Charger
Even with the USB Laptop Backpack listed above, a Portable Phone Charger is a good, less expensive, alternative. These come in a variety of sizes and shapes and can easily fit into your pocket or backpack. They don’t take any time to set-up and make charging on the go extremely easier than anything else.
Surge Protector
Surge Protector’s are highly important for college dorming life since you will be using a lot of electrical equipment. This is simply for safety so you don’t blow a fuse or start an electrical fire.
Portable Photo Printer
Not essential for your academic career at college but if you dorm at school then a Portable Photo Printer is a great way to keep all of those fun college memories. The printer lets you have your photos in an instant hard copy. The printer is an easy Bluetooth connection set-up with your phone or tablet.
Router
While college routers are good they are not always stable. If you dorm at school, having your own Wireless Router can help make sure that your internet is the strongest. This is helpful with assignments and entertainment; just make sure you bring enough ethernet cables (a wired connection is best).
Not every gadget on this list is for academic necessities, nor is every gadget meant for students who commute. However, each of these ten gadgets are useful for all college students in a variety of ways. Links, that will take you directly to Amazon, are provided for each gadget where each gadget is listed. The 2019-2020 school year will be starting soon, better get these gadgets fast.