Hands on with the Kno Tablet

The Kno tablet is promising to be a breath of fresh air for students looking to lighten their backpacks and boost their productivity. Offered in both single and dual screen versions, the student companion focuses on eTextbooks and note taking, tasks many students find to be poorly executed on competing products. Handwriting on the 14” Kno screen with the battery powered stylus was fast and natural, allowing students to mark up eTextbooks purchased through the Kno store and keep up with the professor while taking notes in class. Although the large screen makes the device feel bulky, the decision to go with a larger screen was made to provide a better experience when reading large format textbooks, eliminating the need to zoom around the page. Those who make the jump to a dual screen Kno can take notes on the second screen while flipping through PDF’s on the other.

The Kno executes its primary functions, reading and writing extremely well however, browsing the web and navigating the device's menus felt cumbersome. It should be noted that the Kno is still in development and has time to grow. For now, we’re impressed with Kno’s reader application and student focused mindset, however we suspect the large, clumsy hardware will leave college students looking to alternative solutions.

Click through for a video demonstrating the Kno's silky-smooth stylus input

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CES 2011: First Half Photos

We're halfway through CES 2011, and we've walked through miles of booths and exhibits on the quest for the best student gadgets. Naturally some silly pictures were taken along the way. Click through to see some.  

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CES: Hands on with the Galaxy Tab

The Galaxy Tab showing off its beautiful screen at the incredibly hectic Samsung booth.

It's no big secret that tablets are probably the next big thing, and Samsung recently released what many consider to be the first legitimate competitor to the iPad, the Galaxy Tab. Sporting a 7 inch screen, 1 GHZ processor, a 1024x600 screen and dual cameras, it's a well-made package, at least on paper.

I both love the design and hate it at the same time.  The Tab has a very nice textured back similar to the Galaxy S line of phones, and a flat back that allows you to rest it evenly on a table, a design decision that Apple would be wise to add to future iPads.  The screen is beautiful and very bright, with a very appealing pixel density.

Unfortunately, the Tab is hamstrung, at least in my view, by the decision to use a 7 inch screen rather than something a little larger.  It's too small to really hold with two hands, but too large to hold with one hand unless you want to look like you're holding some cartoony, ridiculously huge phone.  I would also note that the touch sensitive buttons along the bottom, required on all Android devices, make little sense on a device that requires you to grip the bezel.  

The upcoming Wi-Fi-only version of the Tab, a likely choice for college students, will probably be priced very similarly to the iPad.  I may be biased, but I think a student looking for a tablet would be wise to pick a product with a large enough screen to comfortably read e-books and PDF files for class, and I just don't think the Tab meets this criteria.  It's a nice device, but I hope they come out with a larger version soon.   We'll probably have a video walkthrough of the Tab from the NBC Stage on Sunday, so be on the lookout.  

Update: Click through for a brief video of the device.

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Apple Releases App Store for Mac

The App Store...cluttering your dock, one app at a time. Photo courtesy of Flickr user Rob Boudon. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.Aah, the smell is in the air. Christmas and New Years are over, you're saying your final goodbyes to the friends back home, and the knoll is sounding for the spring semester to begin. If you're lucky, you're still sleeping till noon and watching reruns of The Office and Doctor Who. But if you're like me, you're back in lovely drop/add week - an excuse for students to go out and party without fear of consequences (just ask my suitemates!) or if you're like me, and if you're reading HackCollege, you take the drop/add week as an advantage to get organized and prepared for the semester ahead.

Guess what? We're not alone. HackCollege is out at CES this week - the trade show where every electronics manufacturer known to humankind comes out to preview their new products and debut new technologies for the year. Heard of HDTVs, Blu-Ray players, Xboxes, and DVRs? Debuted at CES.

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Guest Post: 7 Ways College Must Have Been Different When Cellphones Didn't Exist

I dunno, they look the same to me. Photo courtesy of traftery. Licensed under CC BY-2.0.

Today's guest post comes from our friends at CollegeCandy.

Nowadays, pretty much everyone has a cell phone. And if you don’t, I’m going to assume that you’re my grandma and say congrats for figuring out how to sign on the World Wide Web.  Cell phones have become a such a big part of our lives that we view them as another body part. We all know that panicky feeling that you get when you realize you left your phone at home. Seriously, I think everyone would prefer to walk out of the house without pants rather than without a fully-charged phone.

So what was life like before cell phones? (Editor’s Note: Uh….horrific?!) Like, I’m talking about life even before Zack Morris ’80s cell phone. Sure, maybe life was livable without being in constant contact with everyone, but can you imagine college without a phone in your hand at all times?

1. How did people find each other at parties or bars? My friend, for a whole semester, was sans phone. It sucked having to find her out in public places. Navigating a crowded bar with no idea where to look is the opposite of fun. We would find her an hour into our night, just when she was leaving with a new guy. The only way to be sure that we would be with her for the night was to actually arrive with her, as in make a solid gameplan and follow through, and who can do that?

2. How did they talk sh*t about people without texting? Let’s be real, we’ve all been there. Sitting in class between that weird kid who clearly hasn’t showered for weeks and your BFF.  Or talking to a creeper at a party and trying with all your might to get away from his creepy stare. Or spotting a girl’s thong sticking out of her jeans in lecture and just HAVING to share the image with someone…who happens to be sitting three rows away. Like any normal person, you take out your cell phone and text.

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Grade Your Resume with RezScore

It's that time of winter break again. You know what I'm talking about. It's after Christmas. It's after New Year's. And we're all just counting down the days, willing time to slow down before we have to go back to school. We wonder where on earth the break went. It's all so sad.

But there instead of just lying in bed and praying to the time gods to extend your winter break for just a few more weeks, you could be productive. "Productive?" you might say. "Over winter break? What is this?" However, these last few days before you head back into the chaoticness that is college is a great time to get some stuff done that you might not be able to devote the time to during the semester. For example, your resume. Sure, you might be able to spend an hour here or there on it during the school year, but these last days of your winter break where you are basically doing nothing except dreading the beginning of school are a great time to work on your resume. When you start applying to internships and summer jobs very soon in the upcoming months, you're going to want to spend your time looking for opportunities instead of laboring over your resume.

Lifehacker recently posted an article about a great resume tool called RezScore. It's a webapp that gives you a grade on your resume and tips on how to improve it. It grades on three basic criteria-- brevity, impact, and depth. It also looks at the document structure, word usage, and format. Once you've uploaded your resume, the site will also give you some tips for improving your resume.

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What Are Your Favorite Apps for the Classroom?

 Do you use apps to augment the learning process? How about your professors? Image courtesy of Flickr user Yatuka Tsutano and licensed under CC 2.0

Jeff Young from the Chronicle of Higher Education just put together a great piece on professors and students developing or adapting apps for smartphones and tablets that augment the classroom experience.  Coincidentally, I'm also quoted in said article.

So I throw it to you now. What apps help you learn?  How many of your professors use apps to enhance the learning experience, or at least help manage the classroom?  Let us know in the comments!

We're Going to CES!

Shep, Luke, and Kelly are heading to Vegas later this week for the Consumer Electronics Show.  We'll be scouting out the best upcoming gadgets for college students, so keep a close eye on the site for the latest news from the show.

On a related note, if you'll be at the show want to speak to us, send an email to Shep at shep@hackcollege.com.