Back-to-school electronics buyers face choices

Indeed, a fully serviceable PC laptop from any of a variety of makers will run about $500, during a Mac laptop from Apple Inc. with similar capabilities will cost $1,000 or more.

Your student probably thinks a tablet would be cool, nevertheless it is hardly a necessity, particularly if she or he has a fairly new laptop. And it's after all a significant expense: Apple Inc.' iPad2 starts at $499; other popular tablets include Motorola Xoom, which costs $800 and the $500 Samsung Galaxy.

"What we're starting to see is some movement towards kids in a college setting having a second computing device," says Stephen Baker, an analyst with innovation firm NPD Group.

Despite the rising popularity of e-book forms of textbooks on some campuses, e-book readers themselves simply aren't necessary because e-book software is free, and it will work on your PC, smartphone, laptop or tablet.

Some as well are smaller than some tablets. The Kindle starts at $114 with ads and $139 without; other versions that can connect to 3G networks run up to $379. The NookColor is $249, during a black-and-white, Wi-Fi-only version is $139. A variety of other e-book readers cost about the same.

Many students heading off to college probably already have a smartphone. Furthermore than a lifeline for students addressing their day in day out needs, smartphones can be helpful educational tools, says Jim Barry, spokesman for the trade group the Consumer Electronics Association.

"They have alarm clocks, dictionary apps, apps for flash cards," and many other uses, he says. "You could go back to school with a laptop and a smartphone and you would probably be actually covered."

And they are getting less expensive to own. Parents footing smartphone bills because they want to keep lines of communication open will want to look into prepaid data plans, which can wind up costing less than a monthly individual contract. Virgin Mobile, Sprint, T-Mobile and others all offer prepaid plans that work out to only $30 or $35 a month for unlimited talk, text and data, about half the monthly fee for a contract, as long as you buy the phone, according to Alex Goldfayn, a consumer electronics marketing consultant.

At about $1 or $2 per gigabyte, a USB flash drive can make it easy to carry files and data back and forth to class or to a printer. And a Bluetooth headset or other earpiece, which cost $20 to $50, will help your student cut down on the radiation generated by a cellphone held to the ear.

GPS devices and video recorders are likely unnecessary for most students because smartphones perform those functions as so then or better.