Tech Talk: Back to School | Video

Jerame Novak | 8/9/2012

School is starting soon, which means many retailers are busy.

"Very popular now: laptops, the graphic calculators, flash drives and tablet Pcs," said Office Depot Manager Ryan Obrigewitch.

When it comes to computers, many people are looking for speed.

"Most people want a good processor, you know, the I-3 or the AMD 6 Series laptops," Obrigewitch said.

But speed isn`t everything.

"Everyone wants the number pads now, 10 key. Makes number-crunching more affective," Obrigewitch said.

In addition to graphing calculators, Obrigewitch says flash drives are also popular.

"Back up all your photographs on that, all your important papers, you can take those with you. Take them home with you and work on your parent`s PC and take them back to college. It`s just convenient."

Another popular item: smartphones.

"Parents want something they can be connected with their children on. Also because of GPS, if their children are going to school in an unfamiliar area," said Verizon Wireless Manager Nicolle Fleck.

Fleck says students like smartphones mainly because they can be connected just about anywhere.

"Plus your e-mail`s on there, your social networking is on there, all your friends that are going away to different schools. You can always keep in touch with them."

No matter what you get, before you go shopping, you`re going to have to do your homework.

"The first thing you want to ask yourself is, `What am I going to use the laptop or potential technology item for?` What`s your field of study?" Obrigewitch said.

Making sure you have the right tools can be helpful when it`s time to hit the books.

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