When I started writing this I was thinking of taking the easy way out and just recommend you buy an Iphone, Ipad and MacBook. Your shopping is done, and so is my article—-which seemed pretty sweet. So I was on my way to the beach when I realized “the itrio is not for all needs and certainly not for all budgets.” I guess the beach will have to wait. It is impressive that Apple makes that lineup which can satisfy most users. But there are two problems —Mac’s proprietary system means there are some programs that you cannot get, and the price—2 to 3 times more than what I am recommending here, is prohibitive for many budgets these days. I think the following is the best tech for the money.
For students that need a calculator the following are some good choices. You may think you don’t need a calculator when you have so many great apps for your phone, but teachers won’t let you use a phone or laptop for a test because you might be doing more than calculating!
For graphing needs the Texas Instruments TI-83 Plus for about $80. The Texas Instruments TI-34 MultiView is a fine Scientific Calculator for about $20. If you are a finance major you will want to consider the HP 12C Financial Calculator, otherwise business majors will be happy with the Texas Instruments BAII Plus for about $35.
For phones I like the Motorola Droids. I think the Droids are a great option because competition has made some very fine Droids like the Droid X and Droid 2 with slide out keyboard very affordable. For exact pricing you will need to see what plans are available in your area. Android apps are plentiful. My experience is Motorola makes top quality phones.
For laptop computers ASUS, LENOVO and TOSHIBA have been found to be extremely reliable. I use ASUS. I can tell you that all 3 brands have recently had Intel Pentium Dual Core models available under $400. All three companies offer these as well as the latest chips if you want the fastest computers (handy if your an engineering student or prefer gaming to class work). However, if you are on a budget, a dual core Pentium with 4 gigs sdram and a 320 or 500 gig hard drive for under $450.00 is a deal that is hard to pass up. After all, you’ll want to save your money for all the phone apps that will keep you busy when the work is finally done!