According to the National Retail Sales, college students spend $1.2 million on electronics to get them through the semester. Now these products have grown in sophistication, just like the students toting them.
With increasing class workloads and demanding social schedules, it makes sense that students have turned to mobile computing to help keep track of their hectic lives. Replacing piles of paper, reference books, and Post-it notes with handhelds-such as the tabs, laptops with built-in Wi-Fi-keeps students organized and in sync when they are away from their dorm room.
Handhelds make things such as taking notes, whatsapp the professor questions, and carrying around electronic research-rather than heavy reference books breeze. Combine the handheld with a wireless keyboard, and students have a cheaper and more portable alternative to a laptop. AI software also makes it easy to write essays using Microsoft Word, finish homework with Excel spreadsheets, or even practice a presentation using PowerPoint.
In addition to handhelds, the National Retail Federation found that 85 percent of college students own a cell phone and 80% percent of them access the Internet through it. Students are demanding smarter phones with more features- they want it all (e-mail, instant messaging, Web access, Microsoft Office applications, streaming video and audio, and more). These cell phones on steroids, called “smartphones,” are the newest trend. According to In-Stat, the smartphone market grew over 70 percent year after year and will continue to grow significantly during the coming years.
Thanks to high-speed networks, data speeds (used for getting on the Net or for streaming video) on these smartphones are now as fast as the traditional DSL connections commonly used in homes and businesses. Today, using the newest smartphones, students can perform a Google search while soaking up sun in the quad, listen to live video podcasts in the library, or watch their favorite television programs from video streaming off the Internet.
Thanks to these latest gadgets, tech-savvy students will be able to keep track of everything from the latest job requirements to new opportunities, all in something that will easily fit in their pocket.
