It's about that time for another school year to begin. We wanted to make sure students are ready for the new school year to be ready to tackle whatever gets thrown at them. No matter what school you're attending (middle school, high school, or college), we got you covered.
Whether its headphones, laptops, smartphones, and/or accessories; we've got you covered. Instead of going through the as per usual price points, we have a collective one-stop shop of our picks for this year. Our complete Back To School guide awaits.
HP Omen Backpack
HP knows how to make more than just computers. They also know how to make great backpacks. Take the Omen Gaming backpack for example. As the name suggests that it's a gaming laptop but it has tons of compartments to use for regular use. Big enough to carry a 17.3inch laptop, mice, keyboard, notepad/folder, adapter, exterior padding for comfort, and matte shell. Can carry the damn kitchen sink and all for under $100.
$58 | Buy
Texas Instruments TI-36X Pro Calculator
Whether taking advanced classes in high school or in college, you're gonna eventually need a good calculator to handle the big stuff. I know there are tons of calculator apps out there on Apple's & Google's App Stores but some of you might want a real one to work on. This is the best in the business as this can offer up multiple calculations via converting Pi/fractions/decimals/terms, symbols, stacked fractions throughout Algebra 1 + 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, Statistics, Calculus, Biology and more. All of this in a nice package under $20.
$19 | Buy
Logitech MX Master Mouse
I can easily say this: Logitech makes the best mice. Whether it's the MX Anywhere 2 or the MX Master, you can't go wrong. I would go for the higher-end model w/ the MX Master. You got a finger wheel you can alternative between clicky + smooth rotation, a thumb wheel that customizable, 5 programmable buttons, up to 40 days of power on a single charge, and can work w/ up to 3 computers at a time.
$74 | Buy
Amazon Tap
Amazon seemed to have come out of nowhere w/ their Alexa intelligent assistant. It all started w/ the Echo and they have released 2 other products since. Our pick is the Amazon Tap: the smaller Echo speaker. You can tap and ask to play music, news, weather order food and more. It plays music via Bluetooth powered by dual stereo speakers w/ Dolby Sound and up to 9 hours of juice per charge. All of this as Alexa keeps learning and getting smarter to be better for you.
$115 | Buy
Sonos Play: 1
If you're interested in a bit more premium sound, you don't get any better than Sonos. More specifically, the Play:1 speakers. They are small and wall-mountable that can be paired w/ other Sonos speakers. Inside, you have a digital amp, tweeter, and mid-woofer that work together to pump out Hi-Fi audio sound. Whether you go single or snatch up a pair of them, this is always the right move.
$199 | Buy
Philips Hue 2nd-Gen Kit
Whether it's for your room at home or for your college dorm, Philips Hue is the smart light bulb for you. These new generation lights can shine bright white or a variety of colors via their LED lights and the Hue app. To get specific, these lights go up to 800 lumens, 10 watts, and 120 volts. You can easily add lights to your system as well as it working hand-in-hand w/ Alexa (Amazon) and Siri voice control (iOS).
$185 | Buy
Yi 4K Action Camera
This surprisingly small, GoPro competitor is a great pick for those of you looking to vlog your school days, snap photos, etc. This offers you everything you would get from the GoPro Hero 4 Black but at half the cost. You got a 2.19inch LCD touchscreen, rocking a f/2.8 12MP Sony sensor capable of 4K @30fps/1080p @120fps/720p @240fps, electronics image stabilization, high-speed Wi-Fi, a 1400 mAh battery, and microSd card support for storage. This little camera is good enough for stills as well as video.
$250 | Buy
Plantronics BackBeat SE
Need some new cans to listen to music or audiobooks? We got you covered w/ that as well. For something lightweight, wireless, and a great battery; we'll point you in the direction of Plantronics. More specifically, the BackBeat Sense SE headphones. You get up to 330ft of Bluetooth range, splashproof coating, smart sensors that automatically pause your media when you take them off of your ears, and an 18-hour battery life. You can't go wrong w/ these.
$155 | Buy
Bose QuietComfort 35
Looking for a great pair of headphones that can block out the outside world w/o going deaf? Look no further than Bose QuietComfort 35s. You get a great balance of music thanks to their EQ, can connect via Bluetooth or NFC, a 20-hour battery life, and the best in class for noise cancellation. If you travel a lot, these are gonna be the cans you want to avoid loud talking and ears popping. These are the best are you're gonna have to pay for the best. In other words, these ain't no $200 cans.
$349 | Buy
Surface Pro 4
When it comes to the best in lightweight portability w/ power for Windows, look no further than the Surface Pro 4. Small enough to carried like a tablet but powerful enough to run apps like Adobe Premiere on Windows 10. The built-in kickstand makes anywhere good enough to take this out to use. Cameras are good enough to Skype call family back home. And who needs pens when you got the Surface Pen as a stylus to handle anything you can't/don't want to type up. With chipset starting w/ the latest Intel Core M all the way up to a Core i7, there is a Surface for any price point. However, we would recommend the mid-level model w/ an i5/8GB RAM/256GB SSD.
$1100 | Buy
Toshiba Chromebook 2
Google did an amazing thing when they came out w/ Chrome OS a few years back. It is essentially the Chrome browser w/ apps + a file explorer making it ideal for those who just want to get online. Chromebooks aren't gonna be for everyone but for students of a certain age, it will be. Every year, they've been getting better and better. Our pick for is still the Toshiba Chromebook 2 as it offers a 13.3inch 1080p IPS screen, an Intel Celeron CPU, 4GB of RAM, 16GB SSD + 100GB of Google Drive cloud storage, SD card slot, HDMI out, USB 2.0 + 3.0 ports, and an 8-hour battery life. It's no surprise that Chromebooks are running the education sector.
$300 | Buy
Retina MacBook Pro 13inch
If you require something w/ a bit more power, we're gonna have to point you towards Apple's 13.3inch Retina MacBook Pro. With this, you have a higher resolution screen at 2560 x 1600. Our mid-tier pick offers up a dual-core Intel Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, 256GB SSD, and Intel's Iris graphics card. It can handle high-end stuff like Adobe Creative Suite, AutoCAD, Final Cut, and more as well as the simple stuff like browsing, email, etc. Though w/ more power, you will be sacrificing weight as this has a larger display, more powerful chipset, and a longer battery life.
$1400 | Buy
Alcatel IDOL 4S
While mid-range or budget Android phones are becoming more of a good thing, there are still so many to choose from. Our pick for the best bang for your buck is the Idol 4S from Alcatel. It offers a beautiful 5.5inch QHD AMOLED display, powered by Snapdragon's 652 CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage w/ microSD slot, glass body, dual front-facing speakers w/ Hi-Fi audio, 3000 mAh battery, and pretty good 16MP camera. You also get a pair JBL earbuds, an Incipio case for your device, and a nice pair of VR goggles. Great power w/ breaking the wallet.
$400 | Buy
iPhone SE
For those of you who need to have iOS in your life and don't care for the larger sizes, that's why Apple created the iPhone SE. Although it resembles that of the iPhone 5/5S w/ a 4inch display, it has the internals of the 6s so you wouldn't be missing a beat. So you can get the same 12MP rear-shooter capable of 4K video + Live Photos, a more powerful Siri, and a fingerprint reader; all powered by Apple's 64-bit A9 CPU. Never buy a 16GB iPhone. That's why we've chosen the only other storage option at 64GB.
$499 | Buy
Samsung Galaxy S7
And for our final pick, the creme de la creme of all of the smartphone land & platforms (in our humble opinion): the Samsung Galaxy S7. Glass body, 5.1inch QHD Super AMOLED display, Snapdragon 820, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of storage w/ microSD slot, best-in-class Dual Pixel f/1.7 12 MP rear-facing camera, and a 3000 mAh battery. Did we mention that it was dust/water-resistant too? Yeah, it has all of that. Of course, if you want the best, you're gonna have to pay for it. But if you can, it is well worth it.
$565 | Buy
