Gadget Picks for MBA Students

Pursuing a post-graduate management programme often means juggling a bunch of priorities, and as prospective students, you have to ensure that you are adequately equipped for the rigours of the programme. The right balance of technology can help, and fortunately we’ve cherry-picked the gadgets you should consider to make the most of the programme, no matter what your budget is.

A smartphone is a no-brainer purchase, really…but the right choice of smartphone can mean the difference on an almost hour-by-hour basis during your MBA. Whether you scrimp or you splurge, your smartphone has to be equipped with a good camera, a solid battery backup and enough power under the hood to handle productivity apps and the occasional session of gaming!

SMARTPHONES

Budget Picks: In the sub Rs. 20,000 segment, the Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 comes highly recommended for its winning combination of pure performance and battery life, plus you save some cash as well. The slightly pricier Lenovo Vibe X3 is a great alternative as well for folks who want a good camera, a sleek design and great performance but don't want to deal with the flash sales and limited availability of the Xiaomi.

Urge to Splurge?: Samsung is playing in a league of its own in the flagship segment with the S7 series, and the S7 Edge is our no-questions-asked pick of the lot for the brilliant camera, best-inclass display and performance without forsaking basic smartphone hygiene factors—expandable storage, ample battery life and waterproof design. The iPhone 6S Plusmakes for a solid pick as well, if you prefer the simplicity and quality Smartphones of user experience.

E-BOOK Reader

For extensive reading without leaving scores of dead trees in your wake, an e-book reader is a much better choice than any tablet or laptop screen. The e-ink displays on e-book readers are far kinder on your eyes than standard backlit displays and lead to almost zero eye-strain over long duration reading sessions, including outdoors.

Budget Picks: Amazon Kindles are the iPads of the e-book reader space, so to speak, and there’s a Kindle at pretty much every price point. Our pick remains the Kindle Paperwhite with its high-resolution 300 dots per inch display, but if you’re looking for extensive file format support and expandable storage via microSD card, we highly recommend looking at the Kobo Glo HD as an alternative.

Urge to Splurge?: For the premium no-compromise e-book reader experience, may we recommend the allnew Kindle Oasis? With its featherweight design, grippy one-handed design and luxurious battery-boosting leather cover, the Oasis is the best e-reader money can buy. It’s also the most expensive, so pony up the extra cash over a Paperwhite only if you’re the most ardent of e-book readers.

AUDIO ACCESSORIES

Whether it is listening to lecture replays or course material, let’s admit it—our favorite genre of music—a good pair of speakers or headphones is vital.

Budget Picks: The JBL Go is a small portable speaker that’s perfect for casual listening (over Bluetooth or an auxiliary cable) and as a speakerphone for phone calls, and the 7-hour battery means full-day use without charging. Spend a little more and you can get the Jabra Solemate, a rugged portable speaker that’s built to take small bumps, knocks and being splashed with water. If it's headphones you’re seeking, pick up the Sony S70AP for excellent audio playback in a lightweight package.

Urge to Splurge?: Bump up your audio budget to between ten and twenty grand and you will be rewarded with excellent options. Our pick for portable premium speakers is the Bose Soundlink Mini, for its phenomenal sound quality despite its diminutive carry-everywhere size. For headphones, the Bose QuietComfort 25 is the pair to pick up if you’re looking for the best noise-cancelling set around, but you could save yourself some money and spend on the Sennheiser Momentum series which deliver signature Sennheiser audio quality without breaking the bank.

 LAPTOPS

Tablets work exceedingly well when you need to do lightweight work on the move, but even today, nothing beats the sheer productivity benefits that a laptop brings to the table.

Budget Picks: Shopping for a laptop for under forty grand? The Acer Aspire E15 and the Asus A555LF offer nearly the same specifications—large 15-inch displays, an Intel Core i3 chip with 4 gigabytes of memory, capacious 1 terabyte hard drives and a dedicated graphics card to allow for some gaming relief after extended study sessions. Consider the Dell Inspiron 15 series as well for its sturdy build quality and excellent multimedia capabilities.

Urge to Splurge?: If money is no concern, Dell’s latest XPS 13 laptops are the ones to get for their extraordinary edge-to-edge infinity displays and machined aluminum construction bodies. For quite a bit less, you could pick up a top-of-the-line Apple MacBook Air, which offers the best keyboards and trackpads in the market and a best-inclass 11-hour battery life to boot!

olmdesk@outlookindia.com