Back to school shopping lists in my day included pens, pencils, and notebook paper. These days your list is a lot more modern and tech-related. Here are a few items that would make great additions to any back-to-school shopping list.
The USB Logitech K840 mechanical keyboard is pretty much the last keyboard you’ll need since testing claims it will last for more than 70 million keystrokes. Logitech’s exclusive and silent Romer-G mechanical switches are durable, allowing you to type away in comfort.
The full sized keyboard features a Windows lock key, media shortcuts, programmable keys, a 70-inch strain relief USB cable and an anodized aluminum top case with a modern, sand-blasted textured finish.
www.logitech.com $79.99
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The iClever BoostStrip IC-BS03 power strip will charge or power just about everything you have including smartphones, tablets, computers, and even a hair dryer. It’s built with SmartID technology to recognize devices for a safe charge while maximizing charging efficiency.
Simultaneously, you can use all six standard AC outlets and six USB ports. Each AC port is surge protected from damage caused by power surges, and an on/off switch lets you turn the power strip off completely. The USB ports are all high-speed charging and also have SmartID to recognize the maximum charging speed for each specific plugged-in device.
A 5-foot power cord is attached, and a wall mounting bracket is included along with an 18-month warranty. Available in black or white.
www.iClever.com $24.99
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Athena is a wearable safety device that can be attached to a belt, purse or worn as jewelry. It’s about the size of a quarter (1.5-inch diameter by 0.5 inches thick) and is designed to be inconspicuous but can be easily tracked to alert anyone to your whereabouts.
Roar created the Athena with women’s safety in mind, for any situation where a violent crime can occur. When trouble happens, press Athena, and it sounds an alarm alerting specific individuals in your contacts to your location. Athena connects to your smartphone with Bluetooth and tells the Roar app to send the text message with the danger alert. The emergency contacts are not required to have the Roar app.
A rechargeable battery will last for about two weeks.
www.roarforgood.com $99 in rose gold, black or silver. Available for pre-order, with a late August delivery
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The Adventure Ultra from myCharge has a 13400 mAh battery enabling you to charge anything on-the-go, including a 32-inch television for up to three hours. Most people won’t be carrying around a TV, but you probably have a laptop, smartphone, or a tablet. Almost anything can run or charge with the Adventure Ultra as long as it doesn’t need more than 45 W of power.
Two standard USB ports and a single USB-C port are available for charging. The battery alone can charge a smartphone up to eight times or power a lamp with an LED bulb for 8 hours. The portable battery is built with an insulated and rugged exterior case and inside is hyper-charge technology for ultra-fast charging along with safe-cell technology to ensure each device is powered to the highest level of battery safety.
The Ultra is 1.2-by-5.8-by-4.1 inches and weighs 1.05 pounds
https://mycharge.com $129.99
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The Yunmai Color scale will help you keep in shape or tell you how out-of-shape you are; perfect for the college years.
Stand on it, and your physical condition and other body statistics are available instantly through the scale’s smartphone app. The scale has four high precision pressure sensors and four human body sensors to measure critical health features, including bioelectrical impedance analysis of body mass index, weight, fat, muscle, visceral fat, bone mass, water, basal metabolic rate, body age, and protein.
On the scale is a 4-inch LCD screen which displays your weight and body fat percentage. Up to 16 profiles can be stored in the app. Four AAA batteries power the scale, and it has Bluetooth 4.0 to connect to Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.
www.iYunmai.us $66.95
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The Monster Firecracker portable high definition Bluetooth/NFC speaker has two high-performance full-range drivers with a passive bass radiator to produce room-filling sound with a deep bass and powerful dynamics, which is referred to as Pure Monster Sound by Monster.
A unique feature on the Firecracker is a 500 lumens photo light, which will shine for about 7 hours. The light is measured at 5000-degrees Kelvin, which translates to natural light enabling it to be a perfect light source for helping out cell phone cameras in dark situations.
It’s also splash proof (IPX-5) and has a built-in high intelligibility mic for handsfree calls. A carabiner clip lets you carry or attach it to most anything. There’s also a built in USB port to use for charging other devices and the internal battery will last for 25 hours of play life.
www.monsterproducts.com $149.99, available in black, camo, gold and red
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Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greggellman
