1. Neverlate 7-day Alarm Clock, by American Innovative

One of the most important gadgets to any student’s life is the alarm clock.  This is no ordinary clock by any means.  This retro styled alarm clock comes with 7 independent daily alarms, one for each day of the week!  Everything on this alarm clock is customizable from Snooze duration, Sleep timer, and even Nap timer.  It is AC-powered but may also be powered by batteries in case you need to take it on the road.  This alarm clock is perfect for those students or anyone with busy schedules.  This has an AM/FM radio tuner so you can set it to use the alarm radio or regular alarm.

3.  Eee PC 900, by ASUS *Total Tech Pros Recommended*

What a better way to accomplish school work then doing it on a laptop.  Your student will love and enjoy the ease of use with its compact size and lightweight of under 2lbs.  This ASUS Eee PC laptop comes with 900MHz, 1GB Ram, 20 GB Solid State Drive, 4 Cell Battery, and Linux OS.  Yes I said Linux OS, but have no fear this laptop comes pre-loaded with over 40 built-in applications.  It is also compatible with Microsoft XP operating system.  The main software would be OpenOffice suite, which is comparable to Microsoft Office.  Major difference between the two is a couple hundred dollars.  With OpenOffice you have everything you need from typing documents, creating spreadsheets and presentations, and even databases.  Again all of these documents may be saved as a normal .doc or .xls, which may be, used anywhere that uses Microsoft Office even on a MAC.  Other features included are the 1.3 megapixal webcam that’s built into the laptop, SD memory card slot, multiple USB ports, VGA output for monitors, and Wi-Fi connectivity.  This ASUS Eee PC also comes with wired Ethernet port and a 56k modem.  It includes Dictionary perfect for students, Mozilla Firefox for web browsing, email, software for digital images, movies, music, Internet radio, and many more.  Even better is the price at about $500, it’s so much cheaper then the MacBook Air that’s around $2000.

4. Sidekick Slide, by T-Mobile

The nice part about this cell phone is it comes with the full QWERTY keyboard, which makes texting an easy task.  The Sidekick Slide comes with a built-in 1.3 megapixal camera for picture messaging, printing, and even upload to your MySpace.  Have a conversation over AIM, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Messenger all at your fingertips.  It includes an easy to access email feature with up to 4 email accounts.  Stay connected with its web-browsing feature, which means you get to have internet access anyway at anytime.  It comes with several other features such as an MP3 player, store photos, play games, and much more.  The best part about all of this is it’s only about $20 to have all of these features along with your monthly T-Mobile subscription.

5.  Flash Drive

There are hundreds of brands out there and one is not necessarily better then others.  Flash drives cost between $8 to $125 depending on brand and capacity.  Most students only need at least a 2GB flash drive, which may be bought for as low as $10.  I would recommend finding one that has a swivel top so it’s all one piece.  The ones with the pull off top have the tendency to disappear.

 6.  WiFi Detector Watch

This is not an ordinary wristwatch that tells time.  It’s a WiFi detector watch that helps you find out if there is a wireless connection available.  This is great for those that are on the go and need wireless access fast.  No need to turn on your laptop and wait to only find out that there is no wireless access.  Save the time (no pun intended) from those disappointments.  This watch also comes with a daily and single alarm, countdown timer, backlight, world time zone mode, and calendar.

7.     Smartpen Pulse, by Livescribe

This pen is shape like a regular pen but has some special features added to it.  Its main purpose is for any type of note taking whether it be for classroom, meetings, or etc.  The Smartpen allows you to record audio while you jot down notes on your 100 sheet dot paper notebook that is provided.  This provides you with live audio as well as a Paper Replay action that allows you to place your pen over any part of your notes and the pen will play back what was said when you wrote those notes.  No more wondering what your notes meant, you can just listen to exactly why you wrote them.  This pen is a miniature computer, which is bundled with Smartpen software such as Quick Record, Quick Calc, and other utilities for example time, date, storage and other settings.  It does come with a 3-D Recording Headset, which allows you to record if you’re further away from the teacher or speaker.  The Smartpen comes with a desktop software that helps manage your applications and notes.  It even comes with 250mb of online storage so you can share your content or use it as backup.

8.     Kindle, by Amazon

The Kindle is a portable reading device designed to carry over 150,000 books, newspapers, magazines, and even blogs.  Why bother with bulky, heavy books when you can carry this 10-ounce device anywhere you go?  It has a 6” diagonal display with their “electronic paper” display, which makes the screen look sharp and reads like a real paper.  This device is self-sufficient so there’s no need for a computer, cables or syncing.   The best part it comes with free wireless access that allows you to download books, newspapers, blogs, and etc.  It uses the Sprint’s national high-speed network; the same network for their cell phones so there’s no need to find hotspots.  There is no service plan, contracts or any wireless bill at all.  Amazon takes care of all of those expenses.  You can even email Word documents and pictures in various formats to Kindle for easy viewing.  There’s a built-in dictionary and a wireless access to Wikipdeia great for everyone especially students.  Battery life is exceptional with wireless on you will only need to recharge every other day while wireless is off battery life is good for over a week.

9.     Photosmart C4385, By HP

This printer is an all-in-one solution for color printing, color copies, and color scanning.  I’m not a big fan of all-in-one devices but for the price and quality of this devise it’s well worth it.  It handles printing and copying up to 30ppm with black & white printing and 23ppm for color printing.  There are slots for Compact Flash, Memory Stick Duo, SD, MMC, and xD memory cards for direct picture printing that is borderless.  There is even an auto red-eye remover by HP Adaptive Lighting.  Scanner is up to 1200 dpi, which is very good.  It is setup for networking with standard wired and WiFi.  This printer is perfect for student needs. 

10.  PXC 250 Active Noise Canceling Headphones, by Sennheiser

You probably already have some sort of MP3 device but with this headphone, you’ll be able to block out those annoying noise around you for peaceful studying.  Sennheiser’s NoiseGard active noise reduction technology fights any low-frequency noise.  This headphone comes with a 6-foot Kevlar-reinforced cord, .25-inch stereo adapter, airline adapter, and belt pouch. 

That’s it for the 2008 Top 10 Back to School Tekkie Guide brought to you by Total Tech Pros.  So go ahead, relax, listen to some great tunes, charge up your devices with your solar backpack, read a good e-book and get ready for school.  As always be smart, be safe, and stay cool Arizona.