T.Summer is over and the new semester has begun. The learning landscape certainly looks brighter than in years past, but with many universities offering a mix of face-to-face and online learning, the need to have the right equipment is growing as well. increase.
From laptops and cell phones to headphones and note-taking tools, here are some of the technologies that can help students make the most of their experience during times of tight finances.
laptop and tablet
Most of the work will end up on your laptop, so getting the right machine can make your student life a little easier.
Portability and screen size are important tradeoffs. The larger the screen, the easier it is to work with, but the heavier it is to carry around between lectures. We recommend a 13-inch to 14-inch screen as a satisfactory medium, but a smaller machine may be preferable if you will be connecting to a monitor frequently. Make sure your display resolution is 1080p or higher.
Look for an 11th Gen or latest 12th Gen Intel i5 or i7 processor, at least 8GB of RAM, and 128GB or more of SSD storage.
Don’t be tempted by the cheap prices and large storage capacities of laptops with traditional magnetic hard drives. Because it slows down.
A stable Windows 11 laptop usually costs around £500-600. Note that at this price point, you’ll be sacrificing your typing and mouse experience, screen, speakers, webcam quality, and possibly even battery life. acer aspire 5, HP Pavilion 14 When Dell Inspiron 14 Worth considering with proper specs.
But for portable machines under £600, the midrange is my go-to. Surface Laptop Go 2 Around £566 with student discount.
If you have a bigger budget and want better screens, keyboards, trackpads, speakers and performance, choosing a laptop under £1,000 is a stretch. Apple M1 MacBook Air At £898 with a student discount, it has an innovative 16-hour battery life so you don’t have to carry a charger. If you need Windows, Microsoft Surface Laptop 4 £849 with student discount is also very good.
smartphone
The good news is that great smartphones are available for well under £500.
recently released google pixel 6a Costing £360 with student discount, it’s the best budget phone of the year. More than double the price.
or, iPhone SE If you’re within Apple’s ecosystem, the 2022 version at around £419 is worth it as well. It looks outdated, but it is the best performer and can last up to 7 years with software updates, whereas most others last about 5 years.
tablet
If you can get your hands on a tablet, it can also be a very useful addition to your computing arsenal, providing utility for learning and entertainment.
apple basics iPadFor example, it costs under £319 with a student discount and has a great 10.2-inch screen that lets you take notes with your Apple Pencil (£85) or use it as a portable second screen for your Mac when you need it on the go. Second monitor ahead. If you want to use it as a small replacement for your laptop, there are many educational and productivity apps available as well as keyboard cases. Become.
Amazon’s budget focus fire Starting at £60, tablets offer entertainment options but aren’t great for productivity.Samsung’s Galaxy Tab A8 Starting at £219, it’s more convenient, but it lacks stylus support and the plethora of productivity and education apps available for the iPad.
headphone
Focusing in the hustle and bustle of a busy library, cafe, or dormitory can be difficult without a good set of noise-blocking headphones.
Wireless earbuds are great for listening on the go. empty ear 1 It has noise cancellation, great sound, long battery life, a funky transparent design, and a comfortable fit. It works with Androids, iPhones and laptops and costs around £89.
Apple airpods 3 is also good, but it relies solely on drowning out noise rather than blocking it. Great for calls and can be purchased for around £180. Just beware of fakes.
If focus is your priority, nothing beats a large set of over-ear noise-cancelling headphones.my top pick is the old one Sony WH-1000XM4, excellent at blocking out most noise and great sound. It connects to your laptop and phone at the same time, folds up for travel, and is very sturdy. You can find them for well under £250 if you shop around.
note taking app
Keeping your digital notes, lectures, and ideas organized and easily accessible on the go can be a daunting task, but thankfully, there are many tools that can help.
I am a longtime fan of Evernote As a cross-platform tool for collecting notes, images, voice recordings, and virtually anything else in one cloud-syncable place with apps for nearly any device. It’s free to use on up to 2 devices, such as mobile phones and laptops, and allows for 60 MB of monthly uploads, enough for text notes and weird photos. Evernote Personal costs £5.99 per month and students get his 40-50% discount on annual subscriptions.
Microsoft’s OneNote is a great alternative with similar features and apps on most devices. It’s free to use, but your notes are stored in OneDrive. OneDrive is free with Microsoft accounts with 5 GB of free space. Adding OneDrive storage costs £1.99 per month for 100 GB. Alternatively, you can purchase with your Microsoft 365 account. This includes 1 TB of storage and Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook apps.
Apple Note It’s very good, especially for handwritten notes on the iPad, but it’s not cross-platform and can’t handle a lot of attachments and advanced features. It’s free to use on iPhones, iPads, Macs, and browsers, but uses free 5 GB of iCloud storage space, with 50 GB of storage at 79 pence per month.
