College students can organize their life with Lifeworks and iHome accessories
Thankfully for college students, and iHome accessories help students stay on the go. Being constantly on the go is hard enough when you’re a student, but when you start piling on other stress unnecessarily, you run the risk of forgetting something important. Running between classes, visiting home, studying, and still making time to have a social life can run you ragged, but there are tools available to help make your life a little easier. Aimed at those of you with an active lifestyle, Lifeworks and iHome are two companies creating products to help ensure you can access anything you need, any time you need it.
First, iHome specializes in mobile accessories, mostly for Android and iOS devices. If you’ve ever been stuck somewhere with your phone nearing critical levels of battery life, the iHome PowerClip would be just the item to provide technological life support. At only $29.99, the smallest version of the PowerClip is the perfect cross between size and power and looks sleek and stylish as well.
The iHome PowerClip is easily charged while you’re at home, then you simply carry it with you for those emergency situations. At 2,600 mAh, it doesn’t take long to charge, even when it’s running low on juice, and testing showed that it maintained a near-full charge even after days of no use. To put it in perspective, most smartphones have batteries between 1,900-3,000 mAh, depending on the make and model, which means the PowerClip can charge your phone to nearly full, allowing you that precious extra time you need to get home or to a wall charger.
From a design standpoint, it’s small enough to fit in a pocket or a bag, but can also be clipped onto something using the included carabineer. It comes in black, blue, silver, red, and green, which means it can match nearly any color carrying bag or purse you might have. It’s easy to use, not gaudy or overly noticeable and, if you’re someone who needs more power than the 2,600 mAh, has options for 5,200 and 7,800 mAh models. You can see their full lineup at iHomeCases.com.
Carrying a mobile battery, smartphone, laptop, tablet, or any number of devices is pretty difficult though, so you’re going to need something to make that easier, too. This is where Lifeworks steps in, with their Shoulder Bag. For those familiar with messenger bags, the Lifeworks Shoulder Bag is every bit your typical carrying accessory, but is sized smaller than you might think. Upon first glance, there’s concern that everything you need may not fit safely inside, but as you spend time with it, it’s clear that whoever designed it is clearly a space-saving genius.
It weighs less than two pounds and measures 18.5” x 13.75” x 5.8”, clearly not a massive accessory. However, it boasts pockets and storage galore. The top-front pocket is one of the smaller spaces, but fits anything you might need to access quickly, like, perhaps, a mobile battery. Below that is a much larger area where you can store pens, business cards, headphones or earbuds, and other items that don’t require lots of protection. With no external padding, putting a phone or tablet in those pockets isn’t wise.
Inside you’ll find a padded, lined sleeve for your mobile devices. It sits up from the bottom of the bag to ensure accidental drops don’t result in cracked screens, a saving grace for those who bring their bag everywhere and pack it with everything. You can also fit a laptop (up to 15”) inside, but that will begin to limit the additional storage you have.
Without a laptop, you’ll be able to fit a textbook, tablet or iPad, notebook, day planner, and still have room for a novel or something akin to that size without overstuffing the Shoulder Bag and straining the zippers. With a laptop inside, the day planner and perhaps the “novel-sized whatever” will have to go. The zippers can certainly handle the strain, should you require it to be stuffed full, but as with any bag, too much of that can cause damage to both your items and the bag.
There’s a pocket on each side as well, one to hold a small drink and one that zips up. The pocket that zips up is perfect for any medication you may have, but the drink pouch is very small and you’ll find yourself rarely using it because of that fact. Carrying the bag is easy though, as the strap is adjustable and comes with a fairly well-made pad to prevent hurting yourself. If you’d rather, the size of the Lifeworks Shoulder Bag allows you to forego the strap altogether and carry the bag like a briefcase. First impressions would tell you that you could get something bigger than the Lifeworks Shoulder Bag for the $59.99 price it demands, but the design keeps your items safe, gives you plenty of options for storage, and isn’t overly bulky, making that price a fantastic deal. You can see the bag, and other accessories, at GoLifeWorks.com
