How to find the best tech for back-to-school
Meet Montreal native Karl Morin — he’s a 19-year-old whiz kid who does product reviews, demos and technology tutorials on his popular YouTube channel, Mr TechQC. Morin has developed a huge YouTube fan following and continues to provide advice to a growing audience week after week. Lately, he’s been talking a lot about trends like Big Data and artificial intelligence, and how massive data sets and algorithms can create customized technology experiences — whether it’s recommending songs and movies or providing you with a personalized customer experience. Morin also recognizes the importance of personalizing our own technology to best meet our needs — especially for those heading back to school this month. “Technology for students is insanely important. Communication is a must,” says Morin, who is also an IT student. “More and more group work in school is done from a distance. Teamwork can be eased by having the right tools at your disposal. You also need them to be supported by a fast and reliable network to avoid delays in sharing information with teammates, or in submitting your term papers.” With the staggering amount of tech gadgets and apps available today, students (and their parents) might need help identifying the latest must-have tech for the school year ahead. Fear not, as Morin and others are on deck to help with advice on their favourites to help everyone in the family have the most connected school year yet. Morin is not the only one who is busy providing advice to students and family. Michael Duvalsaint is also a busy man these days. As manager of the TELUS Connected Experience Store in Fairview Pointe-Claire, Duvalsaint is fielding not only a surge of back-to-school traffic but also a dizzying influx of new products designed to address customers’ increasingly digital lives. Meeting demands and expectations of every single customer who walks through the doors takes more than offering smartphones. It also encompasses increasingly sophisticated applications and hardware that can simplify, diversify and enrich customers’ day-to-day lives in ways unimaginable just a few short years ago. Among them are Google Home and other smart-home products, health-and-fitness monitors and connected toys. “Yes, we offer cellphones,” says Duvalsaint. “But we also help customers discover what other products we have and the potential that is there waiting for them.” The West Island location is the second Connected Experience store in Quebec. (The other is in Quebec City.) The tech playground provides customers with a hands-on experience where they can experiment with new technology and discover new products. There’s even a lounge area with a screen for demonstrations and tutorials. Once equipped with the latest and greatest tech, and having received onsite expert advice, customers will be able to go about their day with the peace of mind that their new devices will be powered by TELUS’s network, which has been recognized by industry experts as the fastest and most reliable network in Canada. “My team and I get why technology matters so much to students and their families. Some of us are parents, others go to school parttime,” says Duvalsaint. “Having the right technology can have a huge impact on a student’s success, but finding the right devices can seem daunting,” he adds. “That’s why we’re here to help.”