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Smarthome to Smart Dorm: 10 Back to School Must Haves
It’s that time of year again! Time for books, classes, and bringing your dorm room into the digital age!
1. Join your campus’ Green Initiative with a Surge Protector that Conserves Energy
Belkin F7C01110q Conserve Switch AV – Surge Protector with Remote
We are well into the Green Age. Sustainability is an important part of university living. With this Belkin Surge Protector, you can not only plug in many different appliances and surge-protect those expensive electronics, but you can also conserve energy while doing it!
Product Benefits:
-10 total outlets to plug in your computer, printer, lamp, minifridge, alarm clock and more!
-Remote-switched outlets let you eliminate standby power to up to 8 outlets
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2. Lock Up your Laptop in a Security Lock Box
First Alert 3040DF Digital Security Box with Security Cable
Dorm rooms get a lot of foot traffic. With multiple roommates, with multiple friend groups, you may not always know who is coming in and out of your dorm room. Lock up all those valuables when you are out on campus with First Alert’s Digital Security Box!
Product Benefits:
-Fits a laptop up to 17 inches
-Perfect for storing 8.5 x 11 inch documents
-Fireproof
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3. Forget Tangled Cords with a Wireless Device Backup Charger
Scosche Industries IBAT1800 flipCHARGE rogue Backup Battery and Charger for Wireless Devices
Your backpack is already full of books and your laptop, so why worry about that tangled mess of chargers and their cords. Instead carry around this compact Backup Battery Charger that fits in your pocket!
Product Benefits:
-Extremely powerful lithium-polymer rechargeable battery
-Fully recharges a completely dead iPhone battery
-Four LED lights display charge level
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4. Combat the Germy Dorm Air while Lighting Up your Room
Vortex Enterprise VE1001-A LED Lamp with Air Purifier
Getting sick in the dorms is easy. With so many people in such close quarters, Dorm Halls are a haven for bacteria- and virus- spread illnesses. This Vortex Enterprise LED Dimming Desk Lamp has a built in Air Purifier to help keep your room Germ Free!
Product Benefits:
-Built in air purifier eliminates odors and destroys bacteria
-50,000 hour LED lifespan
-3 Dimming Levels perfect for those late nights studying while your roommate sleeps!
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5. What acts as an alarm clock, spy cam, music player that talks to you AND looks like a rabbit?
Violet KAROTZ-US KAROTZ Smart Rabbit
This cool device will be the talk of your hall! A hybrid alarm clock and music player that brings the internet to life by making it talk and looks like a rabbit is sure to make your friends jealous. But little do they know, you can also keep a watchful eye on your dorm room when you are away! Safety never looked so adorable!
Product Benefits:
-Connects to internet via WiFi or Ethernet
-Works as alarm clock
-Webcam acts as security video feed for safety
-Plays music and brings internet to life by making it talk
-Smartphone and tablet controlled
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6. Wirelessly Stream Media to your Phone, Laptop and Tablet from a Flash Drive
Maxell 666602 AirStash, 8GB
This little USB flash drive not only serves as additional memory, but can also stream media from your computer to your mobile device wirelessly! This little drive is so efficient it can stream videos to as many as 3 devices at once! The Maxell AirStash is the perfect little tool for media sharing.
Product Benefits:
-Wirelessly stream media to your phone, laptop, tablet, computer and more
-Additional memory for non-expandable devices
-Rechargeable battery lasts up to 7 hours. Perfect on the go!
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7. Safety First! Keep yourself protected with 3-in-1 Mace Protection
Mace 80238 3-in-1 Sport Strobe/Alarm Personal Protection Device
Keep yourself protected on your nighttime walks to and from the dorms with the Mace 3 in 1 Personal Protection Device. It is not your typical can of mace. It comes complete with a high powered strobe to blind your attacker. The strobe can also be turned off to enable a flashlight to light your way. But wait! That’s not all! This Strobe-Mace combo would not be complete without a loud alarm to call attention to your situation! This 3 in 1 device is not only cheap, but it can easily fit in a pocket or purse. The perfect safety accessory!
Product Benefits:
-130dB personal alarm with flashing emergency strobe light
-Pull pin on top to activate alarm and strobe
-Strobe can be turned off to double as a flashlight
-Fits in pocket or purse!
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8. All-nighter? Dining halls closed? Fret not with this Desktop Mini Fridge!
Dream Cheeky 019 USB Mini Desktop Fridge
Late night studying is a way of life in the dorms, but unfortunately the dining hall hours don’t always match up with your study schedule. With the Dream Cheeky USB Mini Desktop Fridge you can make sure you have a cool beverage (energy drinks, anyone?) at your fingertips for that late night cram session.
Product Benefits:
-Holds a 12 oz can.
-Powered by USB port
-Quiet Operation
-4 ft. USB cable
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9. Relieve Eye Fatigue from Staring at your Laptop All Day
GUNNAR Computer Eyewear G005-C001 Sheadog Onyx Frame
From lecture halls and libraries to your dorm room, you will be spending countless hours staring at that dimly lit computer screen of yours. Gunnar Optiks glasses are designed to relieve digital eye fatigue and prevent computer vision syndrome caused by long hours spent in front of a monitor. Protect your 20/20 vision!
Product Benefits:
-Protects eyes from damaging effects of digital displays
-Offers an optically pure viewing experience
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10. Relieve Backpack-Induced Pain with a Daily Massage
Carepeutic KH261 Deluxe Shiatsu Back Massager
Wind down after a long day of studies with a nightly massage. Textbooks not only weigh on your wallet, but their heavy weight puts a lot of strain on your back! Relieve your back pains with Carepeutic’s Back Massager that turns any ordinary chair into a massage chair!
Product Benefits:
-3 massage types with heat therapy option
-Massages lower, upper or full back
-Strap system allows it to fit over most chairs
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Convert Your Computer’s Digital Audio To High-Quality Analog Sound Goodness
- Converts a PC or Mac’s audio signal to high-quality analog sound
- Four separate inputs allows multiple devices to be plugged in simultaneously
- Source selector allows you to choose the device you wish to listen to
- Acts as a high-performance headphone amplifier
- Can be used to drive tweeters or rear-channel speakers in a surround-sound setup
Awesome time…Smarthome.com is now carrying Nuforce products. Those in the know have probably heard of that name and if you haven’t chances are pretty good that a quick Google search on Nuforce products will get you equally as excited as I am right now. So what is it about this particular Nuforce product that is so awesome? Well for starters it introduces analog back in to the mix. Essentially it takes your computer’s digital signal and converts it over to Analog sound. Digital is great, something we’ve all come to love (after all it is 2012) however, there is just something about analog sound that makes music and movies come to life! The NF-ICON2 in lovely blue, is a USB Digital Analog Converter (DAC). It can convert your les than spectacular sound into a cleaner more high-end 24-bit signal. It can operate as a high performance headphone amplifier or can even be used to help drive some tweeters or a rear-channel in your home audio’s surround sound system. To be honest, the best thing to do is to visit the product page. If I continue to write about how awesome this thing is, I’d be here forever. Go here: Read More
Mini Digital/Analog Converter Makes Your Audio Listening Experience Better
Upgrade the Sound of Your Digital Music Stored on Your Computer:
Improving the sound quality of your listening experience can be an important thing for most people, especially if their using headphones as a means to entertain their ears. Not all notebooks and desktop computers come with a great soundcard, as usually the on-board integrated audio experience can lack luster leaving you wanting more. HiFiMAN has decided it’s time for that to change. Enter the HM-101, a USB Digital/Analog Converter (DAC) that takes the music stored on your notebook or desktop computer and reconverts it into an experience worth listening to. The HM-101 is extremely tiny (seriously, look at how small it is) and yet manages to do an amazing job at making your audio sound huge whether you’re using headphones, or are sending the signal to an amplifer or a set of speakers. One of the best features is that it utilizes USB and requires no battery, quickly making this external soundcard a more than valuable replacement for that pathetic integrated/onboard audio card you’ve been dealing with.
More information continues below:
The majority of computers today have decent on-board sound cards, however they provide a very lean and metallic sound. Perhaps this sound may work for some people but definitely not everyone. For those people who listen to music from their computer or laptop and demand a higher quality sound, replacing the sound card can be a quite an ordeal to replace and even then you may not achieve the sound that you are looking for. The HM-101 Sound Card by HiFiMan is an external USB sound card and a Digital Analog Converter (DAC). A DAC is a device that converts a digital, compressed music file and converts it to an analog signal. The DAC takes the digital output of a compatible audio player and converts the signal into an analog line-level output that can be fed into an amplifier to drive speakers.
The HM-101 is approximately half the size of a standard business card and does not require any batteries or charging. By simply plugging in the HM-101 into a USB drive, you will hear a noticeably cleaner, warmer, and fuller sounding audio. This unit is the perfect solution to making cheaper headphones sound better. If you’re in need of a simple, portable, no-frills audio solution to greatly improve the quality of your digital music- look no further. Read More
- USB Digital Analog Converter (DAC)
- Compact and portable
- External USB soundcard
Power of the Sun Charges Your Power-Hungry Devices
Versatile Charger Protects You from Being Stuck with a Dead Cell Phone Battery:
Dead mobile device got you down? Well perk up as the Sun is here to quench the thirst of your power-dehydrated mobile device. Hopefully some day human beings will obtain the ability to develop infinite energy (along with time travel), but until that day arrives we will have to rely on our big warm friend up in the sky for its glorious rays of sunshine. Keystone ECO knows this, so to take advantage of the Sun’s hospitality, they’ve developed the SC1500-001 Solar and USB Power PAK Charger. Simply put, the solar panel absorbs sunlight charging the built-in 15000mAh Lithium-Polymer battery which will then distribute its own life to your mobile device. Isn’t that nice? It’s small enough to fit in your pocket and comes with an assortment of adapters so you can be sure it can cover all your devices’ unique power-plug inserts. It also features an onboard battery check button and LED status light, as well as an integrated USB flip key so you can also charge via USB if the Sun doesn’t feel like showing itself on that day.
Here’s more lowdown on this modern day marvel:
If you’ve ever found yourself stuck with a dead cell phone battery and without a way to charge it in the foreseeable future then the Solar and USB Power PAK Charger from Keystone ECO is here to save the day. Most modern day handheld electronics have amazing features and capabilities but the downfall of all the increased technology in each device has been the fact that using it drains the battery quickly. Having a backup power source to recharge all of these devices now-a-days is a must especially for those always on the move who live on their handheld electronics. This Solar and USB Charger is roughly the size of Smartphone so it will easily fit in a pocket or purse while on the go. It can be charged either by exposing the solar panel to the sun or via USB port. To fully charge the Power PAK using only the sun will take roughly 5-6 hours making it ideal for strapping to a backpack while hiking or for a quicker charge full power can be reached in 3-4 hours via USB. The Power PAK Charger offers great peace of mind that you won’t be stuck with a dead phone because it can be pre-charged and stored in a convenient spot until needed. The charger is Apple certified to work with an iPod and iPhone and comes with a total of 5 connector tips allowing it to work with many more devices. It has a rated input and output of 5.0V, 600mA Max and battery capacity of 1500mAh. Read More
- Apple certified to work with iPod and iPhone
- Charges via solar panel or USB
- LED status indicator to show charge
- 5 included handheld electronic connector tips
- Small enough for a pocket or purse
Show Your Notebook Some Love by Cooling it Down
Keep Your Notebook From Overheating While You Work
Let’s face it, electronics get hot and unfortunately your hardworking notebook computer is stuffed with them! However, thanks to the ingenuity of the fine folks over at 2Cool, this problem with heat can be dealt with easily and affectively. The Chill Station Cooling Fan features a portable, quality design weighing in at only ½ a pound and is made of durable ABS plastic. Its unique design allows it to expand and attach itself to many different sized notebooks making it quite the versatile accessory. The best thing about this device is that it’s USB powered so there’s no having to deal with batteries or power cords coming from out of the wall. You’ll have the coolest notebook on the block and you know it will look awesome attached to your mobile command center.
Read on for more cool details:
If you spend long hours working or playing on your laptop, then you have experienced how hot they can get over time. Unfortunately, laptops are prone to overheating and unlike desktop PCs, a laptop’s hardware components are all in close proximity to each other with close to zero room for air circulation to keep them cool. If your laptop overheats it can do some serious damage to your internal hardware and possibly fail, resulting in the loss of your information. High temperatures in your laptop can lead to the failure of the video card, motherboard, memory modules, and hard drive and will decrease the lifespan. Hot laptops have also been known to be a fire hazard. The Chill Station Cooling Fan from 2Cool is a USB powered cooling fan that was designed to help ventilate and cool your computer while you work and is expandable to accomodate different size notebooks. The fan is protected with a metal mesh and the bottom of the unit has adjustable risers that elevate your notebook to a comfortable, ergonomic working position. Read More
- USB powered cooling fan
- Extremely portable, only weighs a 1/2 pound
- Expandable to accomodate different sized notebooks
- Made from durable ABS plastic
