In the 21st century the pen is truly mightier than the sword. Knowledge can unlock so many possibilities in today’s world that it pays to invest in products that can boost your brain power. These 7 gadgets won’t get you automatic membership to Mensa, but they’ll certainly make realising your potential a little easier.
Bose QuietComfort 20i
If you’re working on something that requires all your attention, the faintest of noises can prove to be a distraction. Whether it is office chitchat or the hushed whispers of other students in the library, there are times when you’ll just want a bit of silence.
While that won’t always be possible, with a pair of noise cancelling headphones you can at least block out those annoying distractions with music that helps engage your brain – whether that’s via Mozart or Mos Def is up to you.
C-Pen TS1 Handheld Scanner
If you regularly have to copy chunks of texts from documents or books for later reference, a handheld scanner like the C-Pen TS1 could save you time and prevent wrist-ache. This particular model is able to scan printed text at 25cm a second – making it about 30 times faster than writing by hand. If you’re willing to spend a little more you can find wi-fi or Bluetooth models for wire-free scanning.
Livescribe 4GB Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen
Whether you’re in a meeting or a lecture, unless you have the memory of an elephant you’ll probably need to take notes at some point. While paper and pen does an adequate job, if you want to take smarter notes you could invest in a pen from Livescribe. The Livescribe 4GB Sky Wi-Fi Smartpen isn’t just a pen, but also a Dictaphone – it records audio so you can spend less time writing and more time listening. The notes you do take can be converted into digital text for your convenience. It even links your notes to the audio, so you can hear what was said while you were making notes.
Easy-read Book Holder
This book and document holder works with books up to 42cm wide and 4.7cm thick with an adjustable reading angle and a design that allows easy page turning. Freeing your hands allows you to read in comfort, but also to easily take notes (if you’d rather not use a pen scanner!). Unlike some other hands free book holders, the Easy-read will also hold documents up to A3 size and has a monitor attachment that makes working with physical documents side by side with your computer hassle-free.
Nespresso Magimix Citiz
This compact coffee machine has a 19 bar pressure system that helps make delicious coffee to keep your brain working harder for longer. While studies have shown that coffee can make your brain work more efficiently in the short-term, there’s also evidence that coffee consumption can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.
Withings Aura
Few things are more important for your brain than a good night’s sleep, but even when you get more than your fair share of 40 winks you can wake up feeling groggy and unprepared for the day ahead. It’s all to do with your sleep cycle – wake up during the deepest part of sleep and you can feel awful. The Withings Aura, which was shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January and is due to be released this year, logs your body movement, breathing and heart rate to wake you up at the perfect time.
iPad Air
It would be impossible to make a list of gadgets that can help you be smarter without including a tablet. So what makes the iPad Air a better choice than the other tablets? For a start it’s incredibly portable without sacrificing screen size and has 64-bit processing power. More importantly, however, it provides access to the largest app store available – which apps can make you smarter? Well that would need a list all of its own…
