The new academic year is here and what better way to go back to school than to do it in true 2011 style. TEENage brings to you the top tech gadgets for students to kick start the new semester.

E Reader

Available from Kindle, Barnes and Noble or any other tablet with a wireless interface, e-readers are immensely popular and are driving physical books to extinction. Lightweight, highly portable and with long battery lives, e-readers are capable of storing thousands of digital books, making the transportation of reading materials much easier and cheaper. Electronic copies of textbooks are also notably cheaper than their hardcover counterparts and so present an opportunity to save.

External Hard Drive

Though costly, externals are the saving grace for a student whose computer has just crashed and all those assignments have disappeared. Back up important projects, files and research on these drives and keep them in a cool, dry place to maximise protection. Ensure that the hard drive has a strong outer shell to protect the inner circuitry.

Mikey Portable Recorder

Your iPod has more uses than you think. With the Mikey Portable Recorder attachment that is easily plugged into the earphone port you can now digitally record lectures, study sessions or classes and store the date for easy review later. Perfect for supplementing regular notes and study cards.

Jump Drive

Also called a Flash Drive or a Data Stick, this is a strict necessity for the average TEEN. Jump drives are highly portable and necessary for the easy transfer of information, especially assignments. For those who don’t have a personal printer these drives allow for the material to be taken anywhere for printing. Unfortunately, flash drives are highly susceptible to viruses and malware, so make sure to scan and format your drives regularly to prevent transfer of malicious software.

Electronic Dictionary

Like the e-reader, electronic dictionaries are taking over the traditional bulky ones. Software packages for foreign languages may also be added to help language students who are traditionally cursed with enormous dictionaries. Thesaurus software is also on the device so it replaces the need to buy one separately. Light, portable and easy to manipulate with friendly user interface and full QWERTY keyboard, the electronic dictionary is a must have for both language buffs and the average user.