The Tech Essentials List for College Students

Heading off to college for the first time and not sure what gadgets you’ll need? Sending your child to school and want them to succeed? This list has the essential gadgets you need, with no unnecessary extras, and picks out the best in each category.

After a year of interning with zBoost, I head back to college for the last time. Only one more year of school and I will be a real adult! Ah scary! Now you can benefit from the years of college under my belt, and take note of which gadgets you need to ace classes.

By: Idea Go
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Obviously you are going to need a laptop. There are school computers you can use, but are you really going to walk all the way to the library to take your 5 minute homework quiz that’s due at midnight? Your laptop will become your baby and go with you everywhere; to class for notes, home for Netflix and uhh homework. So now the question is: do you save money and go with a nice Windows laptop or get fancy with a Macbook Pro?  I am in no way a diehard Apple fanatic but I truly love my Macbook Pro. It turned 5 years old this month and is still going strong. Never having to worry about viruses, along with all the features Mac includes, makes the Apple Macbook Pro the recommendation for me. Long-term this is the best bang for your buck.

Life Uninterrupted Survey Reveals 69 Percent of Smartphone Owners Experience Service Problems

A reliable indoor cell phone signal is a must for today’s connected lifestyle, in fact according to the Life Uninterrupted Survey, commissioned by zBoost and conducted by Harris Poll in August 2014, 69 percent of smartphone owners who use data have experienced service problems including slow data, poor signal reception or dead zones in their home and/or dropped calls or dead zone on the go. Wilson Electronics (www.wilsonelectronics.com), manufacturer of North America’s top-selling line of cellular signal boosters and zBoost (www.zboost.com), a leading provider of consumer cell phone signal booster kits, showcased today the Wilson Electronics and zBoost line of cell phone boosters at MobileFocus at CTIA Super Mobility in Las Vegas.

Wilson Electronics (www.wilsonelectronics.com), manufacturer of North America’s top-selling line of cellular signal boosters and zBoost (www.zboost.com), a leading provider of consumer cell phone signal booster kits, showcased today the companies’ line of cell phone boosters at Pepcom’s MobileFocus at CTIA Super Mobility in Las Vegas.

“The Life Uninterrupted Survey revealed something we all knew: a reliable indoor cell phone signal is a must for today’s connected lifestyle,” said Jonathan Bacon, director of marketing at Wilson Electronics. “The explosive growth and adoption of 4G LTE technology by consumers using smartphones and tablets is driving our move towards true Connected Living. With the vast majority of smartphone owners experiencing service problems, a reliable indoor cell phone signal is an essential tool for making Connected Living a reality. At Wilson Electronics and zBoost we’re dedicated to developing the highest quality, best value and most affordable signal booster solutions on the market to keep consumers connected.”

Residential Systems: zBoost Trio Soho Cell/Data Booster

Residential Systems, John Sciacca had a great review of the zBoost TRIO SOHO.  John states:

“Ultimately zBoost worked as promised and definitely improved cell reception, but set up and installation are crucial and can be tricky.”

We all have clients married to their cell phones, but they receive spotty reception inside of their homes. Whether the home has a metal roof or concrete walls or is just in a fringe area, reception inside many homes is terrible. In fact at my company’s CI showroom, my desk is located in a periodic cell dead spot where the signal just totally drops. A cellular booster is a relatively simple system that consists of an external antenna that grabs a stronger signal and then carries it via coax cabling to an amplifier that boosts the signal for better coverage. While the ZB575 boosts cell signals for all carriers, it is available in specific AT&T and Verizon models to boost 4G LTE data for those carriers.

Antenna positioning is critical. In fact, positioning the antenna is the single most important thing in the entire install. Fortunately there are a variety of tools to help with this. iPhone users can dial *3001#12345#* and then press “call,” which places the iPhone into field test mode and measures signal strength in dB–a far finer measurement than the five bars. (Android signal strength is found under Settings – About Phone and then either under Network or Status depending on the model.) Now you can walk around and locate the strongest (lowest –dB rating) signal.

Please read the entire review at http://www.residentialsystems.com/new-products/0019/zboost-trio-soho-cell/data-booster/86111
zBoost TRIO SOHO Set up Overview

Back To School Apps & Tech

As the kids go back to school this year, be sure to check out some of the great Apps and Tech available for students. Mary Cantwell shares this great inforgraphic with us.

Mary is a DEEP design thinker in the K12 Arena. Homebase Atlanta, GA Thankful playing field, Mount Vernon Presbyterian School Creator of DEEPdt methodology, Discover. Empathize. Experiment. Produce. Center 4 Design Thinking: a thinker, a doer, a dreamer, a maker, a tinker, a rough around the edges learner @scitechyedu

To interact with each of the icons go to https://magic.piktochart.com/output/2624459-back-to-school-apps

Rick Broida and the Cheapskate blog mention zBoost SOHO Max on CNET

Thanks Rick Broida and the Cheapskate blog for your mention of the zBoost SOHO Max on CNET.  Rick’s blog Get a zBoost Soho Max cell-phone signal booster for $199.99,  describes how zBoost Soho Max is a great solution for poor signal indoors.

Normally $100 more, this dual-band booster promises much better indoor signal strength for both CDMA and GSM phones,

How’s the cellular coverage in your home or office? Depending on your proximity to your carrier’s towers and the composition of your walls, it might be sufficient — or it might drive you to dropped-call madness.

If you fall into the latter category, consider a signal booster. Like this one: for a limited time, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the zBoost Soho Max ZB545M cellular signal booster for $199.99 shipped (plus tax). Regular price: $299.99. Price at Amazon: $285.

Also, unlike some boosters, this one is dual-band — it works with both CDMA and GSM networks, meaning it should help regardless of which Big Four carrier you use.

Please read the entire blog at http://www.cnet.com/news/get-a-zboost-soho-max-cell-phone-signal-booster-for-199-99/

zBoost Accepts ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Karen Reynolds, President of zBoost officially accepted Wilson Electronics ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  The zBoost team also nominated Dave Graveline and the Into Tomorrow Team, The Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce, and Communicorp Inc. to take the challenge. 

Along with a donation to the charity for more research and to help communities learn about ALS, the team took their turns with the ice buckets.  See the youtube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lt50eJzb8bw&feature=youtu.be

 

 

Inside My Head.. Reviews zBoost Connect

Kelli Avery with Inside My Head had major problems in her home getting good signal.  As she puts it;   “I’m lucky if I get up to 2 bars while I’m sitting inside and whenever any of us get a call we have to do the walk around the house and figure out where it’s gonna decide to work today. It switches all the time. Most times, for important calls, I usually end up outside.”

She decided to try out zBoost Connect in her home and provided the following review.

The zBoost CONNECT ZB540 boosts cell phone signals for voice calls and text for all major carriers.  It captures the reliable cellular signal at an interior window and rebroadcasts it further indoors, so you can enjoy clearer, faster and more reliable service without interruption. And you don’t need roof access or an attic for good performance – just attach the signal antenna to an inside window using the supplied suction cups.

The zBoost CONNECT is worth every penny. I have not had a single lost call, static conversation or eternally long download time in my data performance since the day I installed the signal booster.  I went from no bars in my dead zone to almost 3 full bars!

zBoost CONNECT ZB540 is my new best friend. It’s strangely relaxing knowing your not missing as many calls as you have in the past and quite relieving to know I have added security of my kids, family, school etc etc being able to reach me.

Please read the entire article at http://www.insidemyheadwithkelli.com

Password Changes Needed after Russian Crime Ring Theft

The New York Times reported that a Russian crime ring has stolen 4.5 billion Internet credentials. These include 1.2 billion username and password combinations and more than 500 million email addresses.  To make this all more complex, people tend to use the same password on multiple sites,  magnifying the threat.

It is critical that people protect their information by changing their passwords on sites that have key information such as email accounts, bank and credit card accounts and other sensitive sites.  Unfortunately many do not change passwords frequently enough, even after a breach such as this and the recent HeartBleed bug.

Mike Snider of USA Today recently wrote Massive security breach: Time to change your password practices.He recommends the following tips for setting new passwords:

1. Mix it up – Create passwords that are 10 characters or longer and include uppercase letters, lowercase letters, symbols and numbers, says Adam Tyler, chief innovation officer for identity protection firmCSID.
2. Be more creative – Use a unique password for each account, and vary the e-mail addresses you use for accounts.
3. Split social media and money – Do not use the same password for credit cards and bank accounts that you use for social media or websites.

Gimme a boost: 3 ways to make calls when your cellular signal is terrible

TechHive’s, Eric Geier reviews zBoost ZB545.

In our increasingly connected age, it’s frustrating to find yourself in a place where the cellular connectivity is weak to nonexistent. And that frustration only magnifies when you have to struggle with poor voice quality and dropped calls in your very own home.

Geier outlines 3 solutions to boost cellular signal, one of which is to use a repeater.  Below is an excerpt from the review.

If your home or office offers some trace of a cell signal, you can amplify or boost it with a repeater. Though the exact solutions vary, all typically consist of either putting a repeater near a window or an antenna on the roof where the cell tower signals are the best. The repeater then amplifies your signal, acting as a middleman between the cell towers and nearby phones.

zBoost offers a variety of indoor and outdoor signal boosters. I tested the $350ZB545, which supports up to 3G with the 800 and 1,900 MHz frequencies from all major carriers (except Nextel). It consists of an outdoor omni-directional antenna that you can mount where the cell signal is the best (attic or roof), coaxial cable, and an amplifier unit you place inside. That can complicate installation, but the omni-directional outdoor antenna makes it easy to place since you don’t have to figure out which direction to point the antenna.

To read the entire review go to http://www.techhive.com/article/2460600/gimme-a-boost-3-ways-to-make-calls-when-your-cellular-signal-is-terrible.html

 

The Most Powerful Cellular Signal Booster Yet: zBoost’s ZB575-A

TrulyGadgets.com just reviewed zBoost TRIO SOHO!

“It’s getting easier and easier to rely on your smartphone for so many of your everyday tasks. They are getting large enough to be similar to tablets, offering processors and graphics capable of competing head-to-head with last generation video game consoles or fairly recent laptops, and the battery life and screens are decent enough. You could almost cut another cord- your internet- and save some money if you have a large or unlimited data plan. Simply use your mobile and share it as a hotspot, especially if you are reliant on satellite or in an area with poor or expensive ISPs. But there’s a catch- you’ll need cellular signal.”
“And that’s where a booster comes in, like the new zBoost ZB575-A Trio SOHO, which we first heard about at CES earlier this year and is now making it’s way to consumers. We’ve seen several previous zBoost models, large and small, and always found them easy to use and consistent, though they do rely on antennas that can require a bit of work to set up, adjust, and optimize. This one is their newest tri-band model, capable of not only boosting your calls, but internet as well though it is constrained to specific carriers. Ours was built for use with AT&T and helped with 4G LTE, CEL (800 MHz) and PCS (1900 MHz). Verizon versions are available too, and they look and function pretty much identically (and similar to older models as well).”

Please see the entire review at TrulyGadgets.com  http://www.trulygadgets.com/6411/gadgets/powerful-cellular-signal-booster-yet-zboosts-zb575-a/