Tech-savvy students, or their reluctant parents, are purchasing Internet-ready laptops and other high-tech gadgets and gizmos that can help in the classroom or with homework. Other items can help blow off steam after a tough exam.

In fact, we looked at a backpack-full of great gear for students here, but the following are a few others that make the grade.

Now and Zen

Nothing beats listening to your favourite music while walking between classes - but some of these portable media players can help a student in other ways. The credit card-sized 4GB Creative Zen (starting at $89.99 on Sympatico / MSN Shopping), for example, not only plays music, videos and displays photos, but it also houses a voice recorder (ideal for capturing lectures); can store computer files for safe keeping (with its built-in memory and SD expansion slot); and helps you stay organized as it syncs with your Outlook calendar, tasks and contacts. Other features include a 2.5-inch LCD screen, FM radio and long battery life.

Show those pearly whites

Not that long ago, it wasn't uncommon for a student away at university to rack up hundreds of dollars in long distance bills to keep in touch with Mom and Dad back home. Today, all you need is an inexpensive webcam and an Internet connection and you can chat all you like without incurring charges - and you get the inherent benefit of video, too. Available for Windows XP and Vista laptops or desktops, the Microsoft VX-5000 LifeCam ($40.19 on Sympatico / MSN Shopping) offers 640x480 resolution, a built-in microphone (with noise-cancellation) and a photo swap feature that lets you share photos during a live video call.

The write stuff

Old technology gets a digital makeover with the Leapfrog Fly Fusion ($79.99; leapfrog.ca), a "smart pen" for high-school students that remembers everything you write or draw on special paper (included). Once the pen is docked into its USB-connected charger, all handwritten pages are copied over to a PC's hard drive - and if you prefer, even transcribed into text for your word processing documents. This pen also talks to you with its onboard calculator, interactive games and optional language dictionary (French or Spanish), available via snap-on cartridges. For fun, the Fly Fusion can also play about a CDs worth of music. Replacement paper costs $12.99 for 160 8x11-inch lined pages and comes in notebook form.

All aboard

Many students, certainly those at the post-secondary level, need a reliable computer printer for book reports, essays and web materials. The HP Officejet J6480 All-in-One (starting at $169.06 on Sympatico / MSN Shopping) can print, scan, copy and fax - and offers a few bells and whistles not found in many other products in this price range. For one, it's wireless-ready so you can print (at 31 pages per minute for black, or 25 for colour) from multiple PCs over the same Wi-Fi network. A two-sided print option helps save you paper (and the environment). You can also tackle big print jobs with a 250-sheet paper tray. This space-saving machine works with both Windows and Macs.

Back it up

Whether you're a student heading back into the classroom or a digital music packrat, it's the right time to buy an external hard drive to back up your important files; these paperback-sized devices plug into a laptop or desktop's USB port and don't require any software to be used. The good news is prices have dropped considerably while capacity is on the rise - you can now pick up the Seagate FreeAgent 1-terabyte (1TB) external drive, which is about 1,000 gigabytes, for $169.99 on Sympatico / MSN Shopping. A drive of this size can store hundreds of hours of video, many millions of documents or about 880 days of music without hearing the same song twice.

 Shop for everything you need this fall on Sympatico / MSN Shopping's Back to School Guide