Top 10 Tech Gadgets for College Students

Technology use around campus has ballooned in the last decade. With tech gadgets helping students with course work and leisure time, technology has become an integrated part of almost every student's life. Our list of top 10 tech gadgets for college students are all picked by a current college student based on price, usefulness and overall value.

iPad 16GB Wi-Fi Model $500 (Link)

The iPad is a product that utilizes a large 9.7" touch screen for watching video, surfing the web, viewing email, using apps from the Apple apps store, listening to music and much more. The iPad is perfect for college students looking for a multimedia device that is relatively affordable and ultraportable. We picked the Wi-Fi edition as opposed to the 3G Wi-Fi edition because most campuses offer Wi-Fi throughout campus and the price was nearly $130 less.

iPod Touch 8GB $200 (Link)

The iPod Touch is a cool multimedia device that plays games, videos, music and even surfs the web and checks email. We picked the iPod touch for our list over other iPod devices because of its wide array of features and low cost. Pair the built-in Bluetooth wireless with wireless Bluetooth speakers for a great wireless music experience in your dorm room.

Insignia 42" 720p Plasma HDTV $430 (Link)

No dorm room is complete without the latest HDTV. However, affordability often gets in the way of students owning large TVs. The Insignia 42" plasma TV is great for students on a budget; it retails less than $500 and offers some of the best picture quality at the price point. The 720p resolution is not the best in HDTV technology, but keep in mind that almost no college dorm rooms provide HD cable, thus eliminating the need for stunning HD picture quality. This TV is perfect for watching the game or playing weekend video games with friends.

Asus Laptop with Intel Pentium Processor K50I-RBBGR05 $490 (Link)

Computers are an absolute necessity for college students. This Asus laptop includes some excellent features such as 3GB of memory, webcam, 4 USB ports, Wi-Fi and a 320GB hard drive at a very affordable price.

BlackBerry Curve 8530 Virgin Mobile $300 (Link)

Smartphones are all the rage for college students and young adults alike. However, they can be expensive, as a college student, I pay nearly $100/month for my BlackBerry Bold 9700 phone bill. The BlackBerry Curve 8530 from Virgin Mobile is a unique device because of the plans offered for the phone. Virgin Mobile starts at $35/month for phone plans for the BlackBerry device, including unlimited text and data, and requires no contract! This deal is recent, and unfortunately was not around when I got my smartphone.

Sony Cyber Shot 14.1MP Digital Camera $180 (Link)

The 14.1MP Sony Cyber Shot camera takes excellent pictures at a very affordable price. I currently own one of these cameras and love the ease of use for transferring photos to the computer (plug the memory card directly into my multi-card reader) and the great picture quality for the price. The camera also includes a large 2.7" LCD display for viewing photos and video in real time and a 4X optical zoom. Overall, this camera is a great value and perfect for college students looking to capture all their wild adventures.

Garmin - nüvi 255WT GPS $140 (Link)

If you are one of those students lucky enough to get a parking space on campus, then a great GPS system is a must have. The device comes with free real-time traffic updates, a large 4.3" color touch-screen, removable memory card slot, voice prompt directions with street names, speed limit indicator and a variety of other features. The speed limit indicator is an amazing feature; it informs you the speed limit based on your current location, which reduces the likelihood of getting a ticket from speeding.

Xbox 360 250GB $300 (Link)

Enjoy that new plasma TV with the tried and tested Microsoft Xbox 360. The Xbox offers some of the best selection of video games available and is a great game system for integrating multiplayer gaming with your roommates and friends. The device has built-in Wi-Fi, but keep in mind that college campuses vary with supporting Wi-Fi in dorm rooms.

NETGEAR - RangeMax Wireless-N 150 Router $50 (Link)

Most dorm rooms do not have integrated Wi-Fi yet and actually penalize students who bring their own Wi-Fi routers. Although we are not recommending that you break your colleges' rules, you can use a wireless router for your wireless devices by setting up the router to only detect devices that you manually program it to. This not only stops others from stealing your internet, but also makes the device virtually undetectable.

Sharp - 250W Mini Component Stereo System with Apple® iPod® Dock $187 (Link)

This speaker system provides some great sound with its 250W total power. The system has a variety of features such as a color FL display, various outputs, CD player, digital AM/FM tuner and built-in iPod dock. This speaker system is great for college students because it provides excellent sound quality and is relatively affordable.