Top five back-to-school and work gadgets to keep you productive in 2017

HOLIDAYS are ending and it’s time to get back to business. Luckily, there are gadgets that can help ease the pain of your return.

The holidays are nearly over and you might need tech, like the Brother P-Touch PT-P300BT connected label maker, to get back in the swing of things. Picture: Supplied

SUMMER holidays are dwindling, and you’ll have to work out what day it is shortly.

You might also need some gear when going back to school or work.

We’ve scanned the market for the most useful new devices and present five to get you back in work mode.

ClamCase for iPad Pro 9.7-inch

ClamCase / 4.5/5 / $230 / syntricate.com.au

The ClamCase for iPad can make Apple’s most popular tablet more useful. Picture: Supplied

The 9.7-inch Apple iPad Pro already is the ultimate compromise between a compact size and productivity, but this Bluetooth keyboard makes it greater. The full QWERTY keyboard is well-spaced for touch-typing and the 360-degree hinge lets you position the screen at any angle to the keyboard. It has the option of LED back-lighting but if you switch off the lighting you can get up to 100 hours of keyboard use on a single charge. With a keyboard like this, the iPad becomes a serious MacBook alternative.

Brother P-Touch PT-P300BT

Brother / 3.5/5 / $79 / www.brother.com.au

The old label maker has come a long way from the classic rotary dial, and this one could help you label books quickly. This small label maker prints on 3.5mm to 12mm tape but instead of buttons for inputting numbers and letters, you connect it to an Apple or Google-based smartphone or tablet. It is easy to set up and using your phone to type out your label information is convenient, although you’ll need to buy 6 AAA batteries or invest in the power cord that is an optional extra.

Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro

Western Digital / 4/5 / $389-$449 / wdc.com

The Western Digital My Passport Wireless Pro is a wireless hard drive capable of backing up photos on the go, and streaming movies to other devices. Picture: Supplied

Finished your holiday? Time to save your memories. This little black box could be the difference between remembering your time away or losing them to dodgy hard drives. The new version of the My Passport Wireless Pro can store up to three terabytes of photos and videos, copying them from any memory card inserted into its side. Users must set up the device using an Apple or Google device first, but they can then use its wireless smarts to view all of its content, even streaming video from the device on the road thanks to its built-in battery. It lacks a CompactFlash port, and it won’t let you preview RAW files on Apple devices, but it’s a potential photo-saver.

Belkin Valet Charger

Belkin / $150 / 4/5 / belkin.com/au

The Belkin Valet Charger is a 6700mAh battery pack that can charge your smartphone and Apple Watch at the same time. Picture: Supplied

With our reliance on gadgets, a battery pack has become one of life’s essentials. This clever 6700mAh pack lets you charge a smartphone and Apple Watch simultaneously, with a USB port and built-in magnetic Watch charging module. The battery pack has enough power to charge a Watch eight times or an iPhone about three times. It’s small enough to fit in a pocket and has a row of LEDs to indicate the amount of remaining charge.

Apple MacBook Pro with Touch Bar

Apple / from $2699 / 4/5/ apple.com/au

Apple’s new MacBook Pro adds a Touch Bar. Picture: Supplied

This MacBook Pro is, as expected, the most powerful, lightest and smallest MacBook Pro yet but the standout feature is the Touch Bar that replaces the function keys and offers shortcuts relevant to the program you’re using. There are some frustrations with the design, with the Touch Bar’s ever-changing display making it another screen you need to look at, and four USB-C ports necessitating a lot of dongle purchases, but the good outweighs the bad.