The Ultimate Mega AMAZON Back to School Tech (2024)
What You Need To Return in Style
Summer has just begun, but it’s never too early to look for great deals to bring back to school, especially since Amazon Prime Day is approaching. Here are some of my favorite tech that you might want to bring with you to your next school term.
AJazz Wireless Mouse
A simple and small bluetooth mouse is all many of us really need to get work done on our laptops and iPads. A cool looking aesthetic design is just a bonus. This A.Jazz mouse has a transparent clear shell that gives users a peek into what goes on inside of a mouse. As a plug and play rechargeable mouse, A.Jazz connects to devices via bluetooth 5.1 or a 2.4 Ghz USB receiver. The coolest thing about this design is that the face shell is magnetically connected and can be pulled off to house the USB receiver inside the structure when not in use. It’s a clever use of space and makes the hidden USB an additional design cue for the mouse.
With a 400 mAh battery that recharges with a USB-C slot at the top, the mouse can connect up to three devices at once. It’s a work mouse, which only utilizes a left and right button, a scroll wheel made out of a metal sheet, a home page back button, and a DPI key for four adjustable settings (800/1200/1600/2400). I love how silent the clicks are, which makes this a great companion for getting work done in the library.
The mouse is plastic and quite light so it isn’t the highest of quality, but for less than $20, this is a good beater mouse that you won’t mind potentially losing or having it break down.
Retail Price: $16.99
Satechi Slim X1 keyboard
I don’t always bring keyboards with me when I leave the house, but when I do the Satechi Slim X1 is the one that takes the spot in my bag. The reason for that is pretty simple. Just look at it. The slim part of the name isn’t there for no reason. The Slim X1 is light weight, built from a sleek sheet of aluminum, and easily packable into any small bag.
With a MacOS layout, and the ability to wireless connect up to three devices, this is usually my all-in-one solution for working with my Mac Mini, iPhone, and iPad if I’m working out in the field. There’s even backlighting for the 78 keys on the board.
The battery life has been excellent for me so far. It charges through a USB-C port at the top of the frame. Ultimately, this is one of the best feeling, and best looking small MacOS keyboards you can buy. It’s not only a great travel companion, but I would even say it’s a direct competitor to Apple’s Magic Keyboard.
Retail Price: $69.99
Govee Electric Space Heater
It may be hot during the dog days of summer right now, but make no mistake about it, winter is coming sooner than you think. I can’t really control the thermostat in my office building so my room is always freezing cold. The Govee Electric Space Heater is great for small rooms thanks to ceramic technology which begins to rapidly heat a 160 square ft space in only 2 seconds.
With safety protection features like an auto kill switch for when it accidentally gets tilted over, or an over-heat protection monitoring system, the Govee heater is a piece of home tech that’s perfect for a college dorm room. You can control the hardware through a well designed Govee app and there’s also Alexa and Google Assistant integration.
The best part about this heater is that it’s quiet and lightweight. I personally think it has a clean appearance that fits into what a modern piece of technology should look like. It won’t be an eyesore in any room.
Retail Price: $69.99
Anker 525 Charging Station
Getting power to your desk is more important today than it has ever been. We use so many different types of electronics to get work done now that having access to ports in front of you is vital to efficiency. Fortunately, there are a lot of clean ways to do this like the Anker 525 Charging Station.
This 7 port strip has a 5 ft cable that should be able to reach a wall outlet nearby. What the Anker 525 then supplies you with is three additional outlets on the backside, two USB-C ports, and two additional USB-A ports on the front side. This thing can power 7 devices simultaneously when plugged in.
It’s essentially an extension cord, and a surge protector power strip in the body of a small round rectangular hub. I love the look of this accessory as it matches with just about every type of desk setup you can design. For people looking for an on-desk power strip, this is the modern way to go.
Retail Price: $39.99
Govee Neon Rope Lights
Just because you’re living in a dorm or an apartment, doesn’t mean you have to leave your RGB behind. These Govee Neon Rope lights are such a simple thing, yet they completely change the dynamic of an entire room. Unlike most RGB strips where you can see the exposed bulbs, Govee already has an included glare-free diffusor laid over the RGB. This gives the lights a refined look that you really can’t get without putting some work in yourself otherwise.
The soft neon silicone material feels durable and doesn’t get too warm at all which is important as these rope lights can be inserted on the front side of the desk. In fact, I think it looks so much better wrapped around the front side of a table rather than the back end.
The Govee app is also simple to use and offers users plenty of different customization abilities to basically make the rope display and act however they want it to. I’m seriously impressed with how clean the Neon Rope lights are without it reaching crazy high dollar amounts. This is a premium product in the RGB space without a premium price tag.
Retail Price: $89.99
BongBingBoo Magnetic iPad Stand
If you use an iPad, chances are you have it integrated with your macOS work as well. I wanted a way to have my iPad Pro float next to my monitor and the BongBingBoo gave me the easiest way possible to do that. As a magnetic all-metal stand for the iPad, it’s a pretty self-explanatory product. I love how the aluminum base has absolutely no logos or lettering on it. It’s just a clean piece of metal that fits perfectly with the Apple aesthetics. The iPad mounts magnetically onto a flat surface that clips onto the back of the tablet. It curves and has a cutout to avoid the camera, but otherwise covers a majority of the iPad.
Once attached in the sweet spot, the iPad holds tightly onto the magnets. The display arm can be tilted and rotated to give the user a different viewing experience that really covers just about every angle possible. You can even adjust the tension of how smoothly you would want it to move. This might be a little unnecessary in the big scheme of things, but for those clean freaks who need a clean desk setup, the BongBingBoo definitely adds some flair to your setup.
Retail Price: $74.99
Memobottle Slim
Everybody needs to drink water. Everybody uses refillable water bottles to contain their liquids since more and more organizations have installed water stations. Here’s a super slim flash-like water bottle that is as premium as you can get right now. The way I classify the Memobottle is that I envision if Apple sold bottles, this is what we’d get.
This 20 fl oz water bottle does not look big enough to hold 20 fl oz of liquids, yet it does because of its funky form factor. Instead of being round, the Memobottle Slim is flat. This allows it to be more compact and surprisingly easier to store away into otherwise tighter spaces. This bottle really does slip into small spots inside of a bag much more effectively than a round traditional bottle.
The big downside is that the Slim can’t stand upright on its own due to the flat shape. The irony! Still, the trade-off of being able to transport this premium stainless steel Memobottle in just about a bag of any size might be worth having to lay it flat on a table.
Retail Price: $60.00
Mixi Suitcase
Traveling is part of the job description description of a student. Whether it’s visiting friends, or going home for the break, a good reliable suitcase will be your best friend. The Mixi Hardside PC Suitcase is one of those rare products that is surprisingly as good as it looks. Suitcases usually look bland and we don’t care much about appearances as long as it gets our stuff from one spot to another.
I have to say I caught myself looking at my suitcase and admiring how clean it was at the airport. Made from a material that is apparently some sort of German made soft steel, the Mixi is durable, yet extremely compact and light. Like other hardshell suitcases, the inside is separated into two compartments that are held in by zipped mesh pockets and zipper pockets. I love how smoothly the 4-double spinner wheels spin. I was able to get through terminal to terminal and maneuver traffic effortlessly. That’s always less stressful when you have a bag you can sneak by with in crowds.
The retractable handle felt sturdy, and the outer zippers are made of pretty good quality. And to continue our “what if Apple made this” trend, Mixi offers their suitcases in playful colors like green, pink, blue, and of course white, and black.
Retail Price: $169.99
Sharge Disk
Transferring files is a pain in the neck. You have to make sure you know what type of port something uses in order to plug a stick or drive. Then you have to think about transfer speeds and how long it’ll take to finish. This Sharge SSD Enclosure fixes all of those annoyances in an absolutely tiny body size. This is essentially a shell to house a size 2230 M Key M.2 NVMe SSD so that you can turn what was once not a USB thumb drive into one. Functioning as a USB-C thumb drive, the best part about the Sharge is that it’s as good as you want it to be as you’re the one choosing what SSD to install into it.
It’s as simple as placing the SSD in and a brand new SSD thumb stick is ready to go. There’s a built-in cooling fan that rotates at 11,000 rpm to support the SSD performance. Factor that in with the aluminum alloy case and the silicone cover that covers it and the Sharge really has that SSD kept safe and sound. The coolest part about this setup is that included with the purchase is what looks like a lanyard loop. If you look closer, it's actually a USB-C cable that can be used as an extension for the Disk. While you would need to supply your own SSD to make the Sharge Disk work, I think this thing is a game changer thanks to the form factor.
Retail Price: $45.00
Lenovo ThinkVision M14
Some folks need to have a dual monitor setup everywhere they go. I’m somewhat like that when I have to deal with anything timeline related. That’s where the Lenovo ThinkVision M14 has found its niche in my bag. This was the portable display monitor I relied on covering CES for the Sypnotix.
At a full HD 1920 x 1080p resolution, the M14 gives a wide canvas to work on as it’s 14” of solid IPS screen real estate. Out of all the portable monitors I’ve reviewed, I think I like what I see on the M14 the best. The colors seem quite accurate where I feel comfortable color editing without worrying about my charts being off. It’s also sharp enough to not make my eyes weary with a day’s worth of work.
My favorite feature that makes this display stand out is that it cleverly props up by itself. This monitor doesn’t require an origami case or a kickstand to hold it up. What Lenovo engineered is an extremely thin display, with an equally thin hub area where all the ports reside. There are 2 USB-C ports that flank each side so that you can plug it into a laptop or computer seated in any direction. The hinge rotates for it to lay flat, essentially doubling as the stand for the display in which you can then adjust the viewing angle. This is just an extremely lightweight and durable product that doesn't occupy additional space in my bag when traveling. It’s a perfect companion to take to a classroom.
Retail Price: $249.00
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