Heading off to college or university this year? Chances are you’ve already stocked up on the tech essentials, like a new laptop, tablet, and smartphone. A few other items can sometimes be forgotten, but shouldn’t be overlooked. Here are 5 additional tech essentials that should be on your B2S shopping list.

1.Noise-Cancelling Headphones: Even if you aren’t commuting to school everyday, there’s still need for a good pair of noise cancelling headphones. One night in a loud dorm, or worse, with a loud roommate, and you’ll be wishing you shelled out the dough for that noise cancelling pair. While noise cancelling technology won’t totally eliminate loud music or partying next door, it will help you focus by blocking out surrounding chatter in the student centre, or the distracting hum of a vent in the room. Bose is always a safe bet when it comes to noise cancelling headphones, like the QuietComfort 25, which you can even order in a customized design.

2. Voice Recorder: With voice recorders built into most smartphones these days, and a variety of voice recording apps from which to choose, it’s tempting not to bother to invest in a separate voice recording device. But don’t forget that you’ll be using your smartphone or tablet for messaging, calendars, Web surfing, note-taking, and, of course, social media updates through the day. Which means there will be plenty of other functions competing for the device’s battery power. Why add voice recording to that list when you can pick up a relatively affordable voice recorder that operates on an AA or AAA battery? For example, the Olympus VN-7200 runs off two AAA batteries, and allows you to record up to 1,100 hours of content and play it back at regular or slow speeds for later transcribing.

3.Printer: While most schoolwork will be digital, paper is still a large part of the process. One of the biggest mistakes a cash-strapped student can make is not doing his printer research and buying a cheap model that will end up draining your funds with the recurring (and expensive) ink costs. The new Epson EcoTank line, including the smallest Expression ET-2500, might cost a bit more than you anticipated upfront, but the ink tanks reportedly only need to be replaced every two years, which eliminates both the need to replace the ink and pay for it for the first few years of your college education.

 

4.Portable Charger: As noted above, your smartphone will likely be a lifeline for everything from your communications with family,

to your daily class schedule and appointments, critical e-mails, and meetups with friends and study groups. So it’s essential that it remains fully powered up all day. And with extra-long days that include early morning classes straight through to late-night study sessions, a single battery charge won’t do it. You’ll need a portable charger. Opt for one that either has more than one input to charge multiple devices at a time, or that has a high capacity to offer multiple charges before it needs a boost. The Moshi ionbank 5K is a great option because it can charge an iPhone or tablet multiple times on a single charge.If you are bringing along a tablet as well, this will help ensure that both devices remain fully powered all day.

5.A Keyboard Case: Speaking of tablets, if you’re going to use one for note-taking in class (why not? They’re much more portable and lighter weight than most notebooks) you’ll need a handy keyboard case to make typing easier. LG will soon be offering a Rollable Keyboard that can, as the name implies, easily roll up to fit into a backpack. Then roll it out, dock your tablet, connect via Bluetooth, and get a fully functional portable workstation during class.