Finding products to help your child be successful in school can be a challenge, especially when you’re on a budget! David Gregg, Senior Editor of BehindTheBuy.com shows us his scholarly suggestions on how to get the best Back-to-School deals on products that make the grade!
Staples
Staples make savings easy with their Back to School 110% Lowest Price Guarantee and Less List that gives shoppers the lowest prices on their back-to-school shopping all season long.
From homework and lunch to lockers and backpacks, the Staples® Designed by Students Collection includes tools designed by students that help to address common classroom needs. Available in a variety of color combinations, the Designed by Students products include the Super Folder ($12.99) that includes storage areas, a zipper pouch, clear pockets for class schedules, a pencil sharpener, sticky notes and a writing pad, among other products in the collection.
This back-to-school shopping season, Staples is teaming up with Me to We, an innovative social enterprise, to make more happen for education by supporting their educational partner, Free The Children. Available exclusively at Staples stores nationwide, each Me to We school supply purchased at Staples makes an impact that transforms a person’s life – from clean water to school supplies and health care. This Me to We backpack ($29.99) for example, will help give students overseas school supplies.
PRICE: Super Folder, $12.99; Me to We Backpack $29.99 – www.staples.com/backtoschool
Slingbox M2
The Slingbox M2 provides uncompromised access to live and recorded home TV content from anywhere in the world on any personal device, including computers, tablets and smartphones, without monthly fees.
Unlike cable or satellite “TV Everywhere” apps or OTT services (e.g. Netflix, HBO NOW, etc.), the Slingbox M2 isn’t limited by geo-blocking and can help you access and assess your TV programming in any geographic location outside of the United States. The M2 offers free, unlimited Slingplayer app downloads on any mobile device, so you can view what you normally would at home from your dorm room, while traveling, at the library and during study breaks. Students can keep up with their favorite hometown sports and TV shows live or on-demand by tapping into their at-home cable subscriptions. The Slingbox M2 comes with a complimentary live video setup assistance service that can help students setup their new device at home before heading back to school.
PRICE: Slingbox M2 suggested retail price (MSRP) is $199.99 and is available at leading retailers including Best Buy and Amazon Marketplace, as well as at www.slingbox.com.
Seagate Backup Plus Family of HDD
The Seagate Backup Plus Drive is the simple, one-click way to protect and share your entire digital life – it makes the chore of backing up your digital assets easy.
Seagate Dashboard provides a simplified method to back up all your photos, movies and videos from Mobile devices, Social Media and your computer – including the ones you’ve shared on Facebook, Flickr and YouTube – it even backs up images you are tagged in!
Seagate Backup Plus now comes with 200GB of OneDrive cloud storage from Microsoft. And the Lyve Minds apps (on mobile and software for Mac and PC) helps keep your photo and video libraries cataloged and accessible.
Additionally, Seagate’s free Mobile app is compatible with iOS, Android and Kindle Fire.
Also available is the Seagate Backup Plus Portable – a 4TB, USB bus-powered, single drive in a compact portable package.
PRICE: Available in storage capacities from 500GB to 8TB, prices start at just $64.99. www.seagate.com/products/laptop-mobile-storage/laptop-external-drives/backup-plus-slim/
Kyocera Hydro WAVE
Most kids are hoping to head back to school this year with a new mobile device in their pocket. If one of them is yours, consider a few things before purchasing. Today’s smartphones feature many parental controls to keep kids safe, but what about keeping the fragile smartphone safe? Parents can now rest easy knowing Kyocera offers a wide variety of waterproof, drop-proof smartphones that won’t break OR break the bank.
Introducing the new Kyocera Hydro WAVE. This 4G LTE Android smartphone features a big, beautiful 5-inch, impact-resistant touchscreen and a tough, waterproof design. It can be submerged in water for up to 30 minutes and not miss a beat…or a text. In fact, the touchscreen will keep on working even when wet or operated by wet fingers. And the phone’s Military Standard 810G shock durability makes it rugged enough to withstand a tumble from a backpack.
The Hydro WAVE is a great choice for parents who want to give their kids all the slick features of today’s hottest smartphones without the worry of it breaking within the first week of school.
PRICE: Hydro WAVE is available nationwide – from T-Mobile with postpaid service for only $149.99 and from MetroPCS with flat-rate prepaid service for only $39 after rebates and promotions.
www.kyoceramobile.com/hydro-wave