60 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • AUGUST 31, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
kids & education
5 must-have gadgets for heading back to school
Summer is almost over and the school
bell is about to ring. To make sure you
and your family are set up for success,
equip your home with the best technology
devices on the market. Consider this your
gadget guide for the best school year yet.
Big sound
Studies show that listening to music
while studying can help with concentration.
Th e new Sonos Play:5 is small
but packs a powerful punch, giving your
kids a soundtrack to homework time.
Th e Sonos Play:5 streams over WiFi, not
Bluetooth, so the music never stops -
unless, of course you want it to.
Wi-Fi that works
With a bunch of new gadgets and more
time spent on the internet, you’re going to
need a strong Wi-Fi signal to make sure
everything works properly. Gone are the
days where a basic spider-looking router
was the go-to networking solution.
With smartphones, laptops and all kinds
of connected home devices, it’s crucial to
purchase a robust Wi-Fi system that will
support all your gadgets. With the eero
Home WiFi System you never have to
think about Wi-Fi again. It ensures every
room is covered with a fast, reliable Wi-Fi
signal. Additionally, it comes with parental
controls built into the smartphone app
so kids won’t get distracted when doing
their homework. eero also released eero
Plus, a subscription service that at $9.99
a month (or $99 a year), off ers enhanced
security and advanced parental controls.
As the number of connected devices in the
home increases, so does the potential for
network insecurities. eero Plus protects
users from viruses, malware and phishing
scams and allows parents to have confi -
dence that their children can’t access anything
inappropriate while surfi ng the web.
Dependable computer
With a new school year comes book
reports, research projects and presentations.
Gone are the days of notebook
paper and library books, now it’s all about
online resources. It might be time to
invest in a new computer, like a MacBook
Pro. It’s razor thin and feather light so
your kids can easily transport it to and
from school, plus it’s even faster and
more powerful than before.
Home assistant
Th e newly released Amazon Echo Dot
is just the sidekick you need to help get
you through the school year. With a builtin
speaker, it functions as an alarm clock
in the bedroom, a homework assistant
in the offi ce and it can even order you a
Domino’s pizza in the kitchen for your
kids’ study sessions. Th e Echo Dot controls
many of your smart home devices,
makes calls, sends and receives messages,
and provides information so you’ll never
question the capital of California or how
many centimeters are in an inch again.
Watchful eye
Now that school is back in session, it’s
likely that your kids will be coming home
while you are at work. To help give you a
little more peace of mind, install Ring, the
video doorbell that allows you to see, hear
and speak with visitors at your front door,
all from your phone, tablet or computer.
Now, at 2:45 p.m. you can actually see
your kids walking through the front door.
Courtesy BPT