Back to School Tech

 

Another September, another school semester begins. Make this year different and get a head start from the jump by taking advantage of these three neat electronics we’ve picked out below. 

 

 

The Paperwhite is Amazon’s best-selling e-reader for a reason: it’s compact in size, has built-in LEDs, a battery that lasts weeks rather than days and Wi-Fi connectivity, and is priced competitively at $139.99. Entering its third generation a couple of summers ago, the mobile device now rated at 300 pixels per inch doubles the previous resolution resulting in laser clear, easy-to-read text.  

 

 

 

Built-in features enhance the experience as well. Whispersync saves and synchronizes the last page read, bookmarks, and more; Word Wise can automatically display concise definitions above complex words; and Time to Read analyzes personalized data to estimate the time remaining to finish a chapter or the entire book.

 

Amazon.ca carries a wide variety of eTextbooks, often at fraction of the cost of their print counterparts. Simply click to purchase and watch the material appear on the screen. In addition, students receive discounted pricing for Amazon Prime, a service giving access to Prime Reading offering hundreds of free popular titles, and countless other perks including free shipping on purchases, Prime Instant Video, and Prime Music. 

 

 

 

Sony, Bose, Sennheiser. These are a trio of well-known brands that usually come to mind when talking about premium sound products. Today we’re here to introduce RHA, an independent audio company founded in 2011 and based in Glasgow, UK, specializing in beautifully crafted, high quality and high tech in-ear headphones. Example: it recently released the Bluetooth-powered MA750 Wireless, boasting an impressive 12 hours of playback and 30 days of standby, an inline remote and mic, NFC connectivity to quickly pair with compatible devices, and an IPX4-rated sweat and splash-proof stainless steel construction, perfect for stress-busting workouts or walking to and from class on a rainy day.

 

 

The earbuds fit comfortably and securely, thanks to flexible hooks that loop around the back of the ear. The connecting band rests in an ergonomic fashion around your neck and provides a bit of insurance should one of the earphones accidentally fall out during activity. The remote allows the user to pause music, skip tracks, take calls and activate a voice assistant like Siri or Google. Although not noise-cancelling, the 750s do utilize passive noise isolation through a unique driver housing shape, dubbed Aerophonic, helping remove unwanted distortions and reverberations and designed specifically for the MA series. The RHA MA750 is listed at $229.99 and can be found at Canadian retailers such as Best Buy and Staples.

 

 

 

In today’s connected world, it means students don’t have to be sitting at the kitchen table or the library to get stuff done – you can do some research or submit an assignment even while riding in a car. However, almost anything Internet-related requires a strong cell signal, and we’ve all experienced lag or data blackouts while out and about. California-headquartered SureCall is a leader in cell phone signal boosting equipment and has just launched the Fusion2Go 3.0, a voice, text and 4G LTE mobile cellular signal booster made for vehicles.

 

The technology sounds complicated but installation is a breeze. Basically, how the unit works is the outer antenna collects and then relays a signal from the cell tower to the booster, which in turn amplifies the signal sending it to the patch antenna in the cabin. From there, the signal is rebroadcast to all nearby mobile devices. Conversely, any outgoing signals are amplified back to the tower. As a result, the chance of having those important phone calls dropped or missed completely are greatly reduced, not to mention 4G LTE data transmission reliability being greatly improved. All Canadian carriers are supported, i.e. Rogers, Bell, Telus and Sasktel. The SureCall Fusion2Go 3.0 is sold at the Source for $599.99.