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Last minute gifts for the student in your life

Reflecting on my time at University, there are certain gadgets that I would have dearly loved to own for their own sake, or would have been downright useful. Here is a collection of ten gifts to help your student survive University.
By Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer
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1 of 10 Charlie Osborne/ZDNET

I own one. It runs. It beeps. It gets out of your clutches on the bed stand to force you to wake up and chase it.

It is one of the most annoying alarm clocks in existence (not that any alarm clock is pleasant), but it works.

The 'Clocky' comes with wheel and as soon as the alarm goes off, it takes off and is able to jump from a height of three feet.

For the student who finds it hard to get out of bed and attend their lecture after that heavy night, this alarm clock may come in handy.

 

(Source: Menkind)

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IRISnotes is a digital pen and mobile note taker.

It captures handwritten notes and drawings -- then you are able to edit, save and export your work. Apparently, the pen also allows you to quickly convert your writing in to editable text in different languages.

Perhaps it will save you some time on writing up your exam notes, or come in handy for those who write better by hand than typing straight on to a computer.

 

(Source: Iris)

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I loved the ideas of these zipper bags. I can still remember going to the communal fridge in halls and hissing in rage that someone, yet again, had stolen my lunch.

Perhaps a bag giving the appearance of mouldy food might deter your drunken housemate looking for late-night munchables, or the sticky-fingered guy from upstairs who never has any food of his own.

They might even save the cash-strapped student  some money better spent elsewhere than on food replacement .

 

(Source: Thinkofthe)

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The essay which I should have completed a week ago is due tomorrow. I'm running out of time and the only thing that is pushing me onwards is the ready supply of caffeine. 20 minutes pass without me realizing it, I go to grab my cup of tea on the side of the desk, and it's stone cold. 

You plug this gadget in to your USB port, and it claims to extend your 'drinking time' (i.e. before the temperature requires your drink to be thrown down the sink and the kettle turned back on with a sigh) by 30 minutes.

The temperature of hot drinks can apparently be maintained at 40 degrees after an hour of use.

 

(Source: Iwantoneofthose)

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The competition between e-readers and tablets is fierce -- one of the latest battles launched in to is the fight between the Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. New models continually appear, bolstered by tablet features intended to improve the user experience and make them more enticing than standard e-reader models.

All media players are hooked up to the Amazon cloud -- anything you've ever bought is available for instant streaming, so there is little need to download anything if you don't want to.

The Kindle Fire's space capacity is nearly 7 gigs - allowing you a fair amount of room for a few movies, plenty of photos and about 1000 songs.

The tablet boosts the bookstore, a music and video store (with a Netflix-like subscription video library), and the ability to stream music from their servers. Another boost to the Kindle Fire is their Android App store, which reaches out to all Android devices and is a more attractive target for developers than some competing devices.

 

(Source: Amazon)

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A Dictaphone, like this Olympus VN-510, should be on every student wish list.

Unfortunately for me, I didn't realize how much easier these devices could make life whilst trying to either keep up with rapidly-talking lecturers, or struggling to stay awake after a heavy night or two.

The Olympus model boasts a 512 MB memory, and lets you store up to 300 hours of digital voice recordings. It also works  for up to 39 hours on a single battery charge.

 

(Source: Pix Mania)

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The PowerMat Wireless Charge Pad connects to devices such as your iPhone or MP3 player, to enable you to charge everything without the need for wires.

It can charge up to 4 devices simultaneously and only generates energy when a device is placed on it. Apart from making life a lot easier and taking out the need to keep switching ports or plugs, I also liked the fact it is a greener option for keeping devices charged.

It comes with 8 tips: Mini USB, Apple iPhone/iPod, Micro USB, Nintendo DSi, Nintendo DS Lite, LG, Sony PSP and Samsung.

 

(Source:Mobile Fun)

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There's nothing more annoying than when you're out and in the middle of a call -- just for your battery to die on you. Especially now, with smartphones dominating the mobile market.

This Veho 'Smartstick' has five different adaptor tips and can be used to charge a variety of mobile devices. These devices include the iPhone, iPod, Blackberry, Sony Ericsson and other devices that use mini or micro USB ports.

 

(Source: Firebox)

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This is probably more useful to the camping and backpacking types among us -- but what student hasn't been part of a 'I'm not washing up the dishes any more' saga?

This lightweight 'Spork' works as a combination of knife, fork and spoon in one.

Purely as a means to eat when one of your housemates has pinched all your entire cutlery collection and everything left in the sink has unidentifiable stains or slime on it, you can keep your spork in your room for use in such emergencies.

 

(Source: Amazon)

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I thought this 'Ice Breaker' pack was an incredible idea. If you look at University forums they are full of tips and things you 'must' bring -- so why not compile some of these ideas in to one gift pack?

Some of the items in this pack would certainly come in useful for a student -- such as a pack of cards, a shot glass and door stop. Some I find slightly confusing, such as the 5-foot high inflatable banana. But as a way to start talking it would be slightly more original than 'do you want a cup of tea?' whilst sitting awkwardly on the end of a bed, grasping for conversation starters.

Of course, it does contain one of the most useful items a student could want. A bottle opener.

(Source: Student Gift Packs)

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