6 Cool Tech Toys that Make Life Easier

Post date: Sep 2, 2016 3:24:32 PM

6 Cool Tech Toys that Make Life Easier on the Road, Going back to School, or at Home

If you rely on mobile devices and you travel for work or fun, check out the following tools. In addition, if you have students using mobile devices in your household, here are tools that can help keep all of your devices charged up and ready to work.

1. Mini Travel Charger/Surge Protector with Dual USB Charging Ports -- Bestten (Amazon--$14.99)

If you’ve done much traveling, you know that not all hotels can accommodate our need to plug in multiple devices to charge up overnight. Newer hotels feature plenty of outlets and some now feature USB ports as well, but older hotels are not as reliable. A friend of mine and I spent a night in a hotel room in Indianapolis that had very few plugins for all of our mobile devices: we found one wobbly outlet above the sink and one outlet (without its cover) behind one bed. I came home and searched Amazon for a portable power strip. I found this one by Bestten that has three plugins and two USB plugs; it comes with an 18 inch long three prong plug. Now, I won’t travel without it! It would also work nicely for students, who generally have a couple of devices needing to be charged up.

2. TaoTronics Phone/Tablet Stand (Amazon--$8.49)

If you are doing more Facetime on your tablet and phone, you need to find a decent stand. I found an inexpensive metal and plastic one by Taotronics for under $9. It’s approximately four inches wide, and holds either my iPhone or iPad and is sturdy and portable. I can work on my PC and do some fact checking on my iPad or make phone calls or send texts while working.

3. HooToo iPhone Flash Drive USB 3.0 with Lightning Connector External Storage Memory Expansion for iPads iPod and Computers, 32GB (Amazon-- $29)

If you have ever found yourself with an IPad or IPhone full of photos that you want to back up on your computer, here is a great find with a funny name. The HooToo USB flash drive comes with a lightning connector – cool! It works with an app called IPlugMate and makes it easy to save your photos to the flash drive and then create a folder on your computer and transfer them there. Of course, if you have been backing up your iPad to iCloud, you can also simply download sets of photos from iCloud to your computer, but who can resist a flash drive that has a lightning connector?

4. Atomi Battery pack. (Bed, Bath and Beyond Bargain rack for under $10 with my $5 coupon).

I bragged about my iPhone’s fabulous battery, and never running down until a recent trip to Minnesota when I became a super user, using the navigation on my phone to get us to a play on time. Two hours later, I was low on power. My husband whipped out his sleek little battery pack and came to my rescue: amazingly fast, it charged up my phone during the last part of our drive. When we came back home, I found this one at Bed, Bath and Beyond.

5. ISelector Power Center Surge Protector (Super Charger X 5). (Amazon -- $24.99)

If you have multiple tablets and phones to charge up, you need a place on a counter or desk for a small but mighty charging station. Mike found this one on Amazon, and got several for his libraries, and one for me. I love it: mine is positioned on a low bench in my office and has plenty of room for iPads, iPhones, and other devices. There are two plug-ins and five USB ports and the base is only about four inches by four inches.

Bonus tool: IPhone belt clip (Amazon -- $16.99). When I got my new iPhone, I also got the LifeProof FRE case for it; however, later, I realized that I could not wear my phone clipped to my jean’s pocket the way that I had done with my Galaxy phone. A quick search of Amazon produced the perfect belt clip holster and it fits both iPhone 6 and 6S models.

Why wear your phone? Have you noticed the built-in Health app on the iPhone? You don’t need to buy a pricey activity tracker if you wear your phone on your body or carry it in a purse or backpack. I use the Health app to track my steps and can see at a glance how I am doing today compared to earlier in the week. I have another app, Map my Walk, that tracks how far I go on my walks and shares the data to Facebook, so if Social Media will help motivate you to walk, the belt clip is key!

So, there is my list of five tech tools, plus the bonus belt clip: what would you add? What technology tools make your life easier? Send your ideas to me, and I will include them in a future column.

cheriedargan@gmail.com