MEGATech News Back to School Buyer’s Guide Dylan Duarte August 25, 2015 Guides Have you wandered into your local department store lately and noticed that you can get fifteen composition notebooks for a shiny nickel? Or maybe a pack of 300 number two pencils for a pair of pennies? That’s right! It’s back-to-school time and as always we’re here to help you make the important purchasing decisions when it comes to MEGATech gadgets. So go ahead and pick up that Trapper Keeper and those sports-themed pencil toppers and leave the electronic stuff to us. We’re going to cover laptops, tablets, smartphones, fitness trackers, and even cameras. For each category we’ll give you our top pick, as well as a few honorable mentions, just to give you more choices. Laptops Every kid going back to school wants a shiny new laptop. Everyone adult going back to school probably needs one. If you have the budget to spend, than dude, you should get a Dell. Dell XPS 13 Starting at $799, it’s not cheap. It’s also only 13-inches, and some people may take issue with the idea of spending so much for so little real estate. Remember, though, that this for school, so portability is definitely a big concern and at 13-inches the XPS 13 strikes the perfect balance between the slightly-too-tiny netbooks and the bigger, heavier laptops. It’s also got it where it counts with a speedy Core i5 processor, strong speakers, and a gorgeous screen. Buy a Dell XPS 13 ($859.99) Apple MacBook Pro 13.3-inch with Retina Display If you’re an Apple fan, this is the way to go, but know that you’re taking a huge step up in terms of price. This particular MacBook starts at $1,449, but Apple isn’t known for putting out cheap products – in price nor in quality. If you decide to fork over the cash, know that you’re getting portability, power, long battery life, and one of the best screens on the market. Buy an Apple MacBook Pro 13.3-inch with Retina Display ($1,449) Lenovo Thinkpad E555 If you don’t have money coming out of your ears, don’t fret. Welcome to the cheaper side of laptops, where things don’t look quite as pretty or run quite as fast, but the job gets done all the same. The Lenovo Thinkpad E555 should set you back less than $400 and you’ll get a 2.20GHz processor, 4GB of RAM, and a comfortable keyboard, which is arguably the most important thing when it comes to typing that 30-page thesis. Buy a Lenovo ThinkPad E555 ($369.99) Smartphones While many parents might prefer giving their kid a barebones cellphone for the singular purpose of making and receiving phone calls, smartphones can be a wonderful productivity tool. For those getting their high education, smartphones are practically a must. Might I recommend the 2015 Moto G? Motorola Moto G (2015) First off, why the Moto G instead of an iPhone or something from Samsung? While the Moto G may not have all the bells and whistles you’d find in an iPhone 6 or a Samsung Galaxy S6, it’s a really great smartphone for a fraction of the cost. And if you’re buying anything else on this list, you’re going to need those savings. For around $179.99, the Moto G gives you great battery life, an effective suite of software, and a phone that can survive a bump or two. If you’re a stressed out college student, the last thing you want is a broken smartphone. Buy a Motorola Moto G ($179.99) Apple iPhone 6 Plus Of course, if you have the money, why not go high end? Apple’s first phablet has been a knockout (save for a little bending issue) and by getting that big 1920 x 1080 5.5-inch screen, your smartphone may be able to perform a few tablet tasks as well. You have your choice of 16, 64, or 128GB of storage, but be warned: if you get one off-contract, they start around $800. Buy an Apple iPhone 6 Plus ($806.24) HTC One M9 The HTC One M9 starts at $199 on contract, which is a great price for a pretty great phone. You’ll get a 5-inch screen, a Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (with MicroSD slot), and a 20-megapixel camera on the back. Best of all, HTC will replace your phone for free if it suffers water or screen damage. Buy an HTC One M9 ($696.60) Tablets Tablets have been popular with adults for quite some time, but it’s getting to the point where it’s not unusual to see little kids using them, either. While they certainly aren’t a requirement for school, at least not in the way computers are, they certainly serve a purpose, and that purpose is still quite adequately served by the nearly two-year-old iPad Mini 2. Apple iPad Mini 2 Apple’s tiny tablet is a wondrous little machine and the reason we’re recommending it over its successor, the more-recent iPad Mini 3, is because the iPad Mini 2 does largely the same things but now at a reduced cost. A brand new, Wi-Fi-only 16GB model will cost you $299 brand new, but you can certainly get one on sale or refurbished for a much lower price. You have to be familiar with iOS, but even if you aren’t, the iPad Mini 2 is a good reason to learn. Buy an Apple iPad Mini 2 ($299) Google Nexus 9 Google’s Nexus 9 tablet is an 8.9-inch beauty. It’s thin and light, making it easy to carry around, but it’s also packed with a quad-core processor, making it more than capable of handling your favorite apps. And if you go with the 16GB Wi-Fi model, you’ll only pay $369 for Google’s biggest tablet. Buy a Google Nexus 9 ($369.99) Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 If you’re looking for a reliable budget tablet, Samsung has you covered. The Galaxy Tab A 8.0 boasts an 8-inch screen, 1.5GB of RAM, and 16GB of built-in storage (with a MicroSD card slot). It’s not a beast, but it works, and you can get a new tablet for just over $200. Buy a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 8.0 ($227.99) Fitness Trackers While fitness trackers won’t help you with your school work, they will help you stay healthy, which is even more important. Depending on your class load, you might not have a lot of time to exercise, but a fitness tracker can show you just how many calories you’re burning just walking around campus. And if you’re a starving college student, look no further than the $15 Xiaomi Mi Band. Xiaomi Mi Band The Xiaomi Mi Band is a fitness band made of thermoplastic elastomer, so it’s super comfy, and it uses a nifty app to track all sorts of things including your step count and even your sleep schedule (though apparently it’s not very good at this). Did I mention it costs $15? It’s not a smartwatch, but it will vibrate when you have a call coming in. Oh, and the battery can go for over two months on a single charge. Did I mention it costs $15? Our own Michael Kwan tried one out back when it was $20 and was impressed by the bang-to-buck ratio. Buy the Xiaomi Mi Band ($15.99) Fitbit Charge HR The Fitbit Charge HR is considered by some to be the king of fitness bands at the moment. It costs a hundred and fifty bucks, but that’s not too pricey for the best of the best. You also can’t put a price on your health, so if one of the cheaper trackers isn’t doing it for you, the Fitbit Charge may be the way to go. It’s discreet, it’s comfy, and for the most part it’s very accurate. Buy a Fitbit Charge HR ($149.95) The Jawbone UP 3 The Jawbone UP 3 costs the same as the Fitbit at $149.99, but it seems like all of the people who don’t consider the Fitbit Charge HR to be the best fitness band around instead consider this to the best you can get. It’s comfy and accurate, but the best thing the Jawbone has going for it is its sleep tracker, which just plain works better than other fitness bands. Buy a Jawbone UP 3 ($149.99) Cameras Again, a fancy digital camera isn’t going to help you with your schoolwork. It’s not going to help you stay in shape, either. However, a camera will help you capture memories during what are arguably the most important years of your life. Sure, a smartphone can take pictures, but the act of pulling it out of your pocket and firing up your camera app is not only tedious but slow, putting you at risk of missing key moments. You need a real camera, and you should consider the Sony Alpha a6000. Sony Alpha a6000 The Sony Alpha a6000 is around $700 new, which is honestly a fair price for a solid digital camera. It shoots fast and clear and has a nice variety of features to augment your photography. It’s not going to satisfy those looking for a professional setup, but that’s not who this guide is for. Buy the Sony Alpha a6000 ($679.01) Canon PowerShot SX600 HS Maybe you don’t have $700 just lying around. That’s okay! Check out the Canon PowerShot SX600 HS, which for three hundred bucks will give you excellent photo and video quality that’s easy to shoot. It’s even further from a professional setup than the Sony Alpha a6000, but it’s a definite step up from a smartphone. Buy the Canon PowerShot SX600 HS ($299.98) Nikon Coolpix L830 Here’s something slightly in the middle. You can get the Nikon Cool L830 for under $200 and it gives you not only good picture quality but higher-end features like a high-res tilting LCD so you can get that perfect shot. It’s easy to use and gives you a solid 34x zoom. Buy a Nikon Coolpix L830 ($169.95) Share This With The World!
