Top 10 Must-Have Back-to-School Gadgets - GearUP^

Script written by Marc Saltzman.

Top 10 Must-Have Back-to-School Gadgets - GearUP^

It’s almost back to school time, and while students everywhere may be rolling their eyes, at least know there’s a ton of cool tech to help ease you back into the classroom.

Hey everyone, welcome to Gear Up, the WatchMojo series that looks at the latest in gadgets, gear and games. I’m Marc Saltzman, and in this video, we’re going to look at 10 recommended college-ready gadgets that make the grade. OK, not listed in any particular order...

#1: Laptop

Thin is in with the Surface Laptop from Microsoft. With its 13.5-inch touchscreen display, up to 14 ½ hour battery, and powered by a beefy Intel Core i7 processor. I also like the color combinations and Alcantara material-covered keyboard. This Windows 10 S PC also includes a year of Office 365, with 1 terabyte of cloud storage. Of course if you’re an Apple guy, the new MacBook Pro would be a great pick – and students get a free pair of Beats headphones, too.

#2: Tablet

2017 might be the first year you actually ditch a traditional laptop in favor of a tablet with wireless keyboard accessory. Or maybe you’ve been doing it for years. The new Samsung Tab S3, for example, is a stunning 9.7-inch Android tablet you can use with its magnetic keyboard built into a protective case, your fingertips, voice, or with the bundled S Pen, a new stylus with .7 millimeter tip and increased pressure sensitivity. For fun, the Super AMOLED display supporting 4K video and HDR (or high-dynamic range), quad speakers with immersive sound, and access to more than 2 million apps at the Google Play store. The Galaxy Tab S3 is also the first tablet to support fast charging.

#3: Smartphone

If you don’t want to break the bank on the latest thousand-dollar-plus smartphone but need something with killer features, Moto is back with its second-generation Moto Z Play – called the Moto Z2 Play -- a thinner, lighter, faster smartphone that supports Moto Mods – a collection of clever accessories including a projector, stereo speaker, high-end camera, and more. The Moto Z2 Play lasts up to 30 hours on a single charge – and when you need a top-up its TurboPower charging gives you 8 hours of power in just 15 minutes. Along with the sharp 5.5-inch Full HD display, the all-metal Moto Z2 Play also packs the first camera that combines laser and dual autofocus pixels.

#4: Smartwatch

Ideal for busy students, a smartwatch captures activity data, vibrates to remind you of important calendar appointments, and gives you glanceable information on your wrist without you having to reach for your phone. Michael Kors Access watches include models with digital touchscreens – so you can customize the watch faces, get directions, and see who’s calling, texting, emailing – as well as analog watches that look like classic timepieces but have some smarts to them, too, when paired with a free app. Powered by the Android Wear platform, these stylish yet smart watches work with both Android devices and iPhone.

#5: All-in-One Printer

Stop me if this sounds familiar: You’ve got a major paper due in the morning and so you try to print it -- only to discover your ink has run dry. You don’t have a spare cartridge and, oh, it’s 11:30pm. This scenario might be a thing of the past with the new Epson’s EcoTank family of printer as they let you print for up to two years before you need to refill the ink tanks (and at just $17 a bottle, per colour). The Epson Expression ET-2550 EcoTank All-in-One Printer is Wi-Fi-enabled printer/scanner/copier has an ink yield of 4,000 black and 6,500 colour prints, and can print up to 9.2 pages per minute for black and 4.5 pages for colour.

#6: Noise-Canceling Headphones

Whether you want to block out ambient noise in a library or your dorm mate’s snoring, when you’re trying to study, the Sennheiser HD 4.50 BTNC Wireless is a pair of wireless noise-canceling headphones that sound great, are super comfortable and costs significantly less than Bose's QuietComfort 35. It works well as a headset if a call comes in and has good battery life. Powered by Sennheiser’s NoiseGard active noise cancellation, which lets you enjoy your music in peace – everywhere, these bluetooth headphones also fold up into a simple canvas carrying bag.

#7: Wireless Speaker

Listening to music through laptop speaker in a dorm room just isn’t gonna cut it. instead, consider picking up the small but powerful Sony XB40 Portable Wireless Speaker – and the XB stands for extra bass. Dual passive radiators work together with two full-range speakers to enhance low-end response for balanced and rich sound —and giving bass a boost despite the compact size. Big sound…not just loud but can fill a space up with room-filling sound. With a built-in multicolored line light, speaker lights and a flashing strobe, you’ll be able to see and hear the beat. …bringing extra life to the party…with an app that lets you control lights, change colors, and so on. This water-resistant speaker ships in multiple colors and has battery life up to 24 hours. Speaking of batteries…

#8: Backup Battery Pack

Not all backup battery boosters are created equal. From Mophie, the new powerstation USB-C XXL not only charges up smartphones, tablets, Bluetooth headphones, and smart watches, but they can also power up laptops, including the latest Windows notebooks and MacBooks with USB-C or USB-A connectors. As the name suggests, the powerstation USB-C XXL is a high-capacity universal battery with enough power to charge up all your gear, thanks to its 19,500 milliamp charge. According to Mophie, it can provide USB-C laptops with up to 14 hours of extra battery, and this battery pack isn’t even that big, so can easily slip into a backpack.

#9: USB Stick

As many college students can attest to, you cant always count on the Wi-Fi on campus, and so while cloud backup is still ideal, it’s highly recommended to back up your school work on a regular basis. The SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C is a high-speed USB 3.1 drive that’s versatile because not only can you plug it into a regular USB port but it also has a reversible USB Type-C connector so you can quickly and easily transfer files between smartphones, tablets and computers. Plus the SanDisk Ultra Dual Drive USB Type-C is the perfect liaison between your new USB Type-C device and your devices with traditional USB ports. Capacity of these small gadget ranges from 16 gigabytes on the low end to up to 256 gigs.

#10: Something Fun! (An All-in-One Breakfast Machine)

Have a small space but a big appetite? The Maxi-Matic EBK-200 Elite Cuisine Station is an ideal dorm room accessory – especially for starting your school day off right with breakfast -- as it’s a 3-in-1 toaster oven, coffee maker and griddle. That’s right – despite its small footprint of only 27 x 27 x 43 centimetres, this white multitasking gadget features a 4-cup coffee maker, single-slice toaster oven (which can also hold a muffin, bagel, or croissant), and 6-inch griddle for a fried eggs, sausage or bacon. Hmmmmm….bacon….

Hey, thanks for watching Gear Up; I'm Marc Saltzman. Let us know in the comments section what tech products you’d like us to review going forward on WatchMojo. And for more tech-tastic lists, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com. Ciao for now.