The Top 3 Tech Products for College Students
Hands down the most important product that a college student can have is a Laptop. Laptops were once novelties in the dorm and in the classroom but now they have become essentials. Six years ago when I was a freshman in college in Manhattan I normally saw 2 or 3 laptops in a lecture hall or classroom a week, I was uncomfortable carrying mine around. 4 years later as I sat in a lecture typing notes on my computer it was common to see 10-15 other students doing the same thing. Now 2 years later laptops are increasingly more common in lecture halls, they are like 3 ring binders are to middle school students. If you walk it to a lecture hall its common to see half of the class or more typing away while the professor talks. The ability to get on the Internet through a wireless connection on a laptop – to find course materials during class and or to check e-mail messages during a study break is also essential. More and more colleges are equip with wireless technology through out the campus, you can now do some research while you eat breakfast in the dinning hall. Some colleges require laptops, some will only provide tech support for certain platforms and others don’t care what you have as long as it serves its purpose. Mostly all colleges will agree that any “up-to-date computer” should be able to get Internet access through Ethernet and wireless connections. Wireless is the new trend and it’s going to be a lasting technology. I would check with your university to see if there is a requirement because sometime if there is you can get discount. Also Apple and Dell give educational discounts to many colleges and universities students sometimes this can be up to 200$ of so check it out before you buy.
The next 2 products are equally important, one doesn’t win out over the other. They are a Cell Phone and some sort of MP3 Player.
Most teenagers have cell phones so it is almost expected that a college student will have one as well but with the increasing technology cell phones have become a necessities and a great pocket tool. Not only can you keep in touch with your family but also you can and it is recommended that you keep in touch with friends back home or friends across the country at college. It is helpful when transitioning to talk to people who you are familiar with and are going though the same thing. In addition to talking and text messaging cell phones act as alarm clocks, calculators, event and date calendars and most importantly watches. Cell phone times are usually set buy the company which sets their times trough satellites meaning the times are usually very accurate, utilize your cell phone as a means to judge the time and how much time you have to get to class, professors usually get angry when students are late. Also cell phone alarm clocks work great also, they aren’t too bright like a lot of alarm clocks, they are not very too loud, so they won’t disturb your roommate and they keep making noise until you turn them off. More and more cell phones are able to pay mp3, just keep in mind that they drain your battery so every college student should have a separate from phone MP3 player. Apple makes a wide Varity ranging from the very small very compact, reasonably prices shuffle all the way up to a $400 iPod that plays videos and TV shows. My recommendation is to gage what you are going to use your mp3 player for, studying? Working out? Walking around from building to building? Bus rides to and from campus? Are you going to have time to watch TV or your iPod? Do you want music or video or both? Personally I think the shuffle is perfect for college students it is under $100 it holds about 500 songs, it doesn’t need iTunes and you can take 4 songs from your friends computer if you want, with iPod’s you cant do that, its all or nothing with them. Sony and iRiver also make some mp3 players. The first step is to decide what you are going to use it for and how much you can spend and then shop around for the best deal.
