Back-To-School Tools, Kindergarten-College

BehindTheBuy.com's David Gregg Recommends Affordable Gadgets

(CBS)  Your kids or teens may not be looking forward to going back to school, but they'll find it easier with the right tools.

David Gregg, senior editor of BehindTheBuy.com, stopped by The Early Show Friday with a few of the newer back-to-school gadgets that he recommends.

There are so many out there, picking the right ones for your youngsters can be overwhelming, so Gregg offered his insight.

Incidentally, the National Retail Federation says back-to-school and back-to-college spending topped $50 billion last year. Families spent an average of $527 on supplies for children in high school, and $1,112 for incoming college freshmen.

Gregg's choices:

Editor's note: The following descriptions were prepared with information provided by, and the assistance of, the products' manufacturers.

FISHER PRICE — SMART CYCLE
The Fisher Price Smart Cycle plugs right into your TV, ready to take kids on learning adventures like no other. As they pedal, favorite character friends guide them through learning discoveries, games and even exciting races. Other activities don't require pedaling at all. Includes Learning Adventure game cartridge with three ways to play: 1) Drive, steer and learn at your own pace — visit Math Mountain, Shape Lake, Number Fields, Letter Creek and other stops along the way. 2) Learn, stop and rest, but don't stop learning! Use the joystick to reinforce important learning skills with plenty of games and activities with different levels for growing kids. 3) Race — put the pedal to the metal as you race with cars on-screen, against the clock, or with another player.
$89, www.fisherprice.com, www.amazon.com

COMPAQ PRESARIO C500T
Built to last, the reliable, value-packed Presario C500T is ready to supply solid performance to help with all your basic computing needs. For communication, personal projects, and entertainment, it's a solid student machine at a great price. Basic features include Intel Celeron M Processor 520, Vista Home Basic, 512MB memory, 15.4" WXGA BrightView widescreen, an 80GB hard drive, a DVD burner, 802.11b/g wireless LAN, a 6-cell Lithium-Ion battery, and Microsoft Works 8.0.
Pricing starts at $450, www.compaq.com

EVEREX IMPACT GC3502 17" BACK-TO-SCHOOL PC
Do it all with the Everex IMPACT GC3502. Designed to be the ideal desktop computer for students and mainstream consumers, the latest Everex model utilizes the advanced VIA C7-D processor, to provide users with ultra-low power consumption, advanced security features and 1.5GHz performance at a mere 20W peak power (2W average), potentially saving environmentally conscious users nearly $10 per month on electricity usage. The GC502 includes OpenOffice.org 2.2, the critically acclaimed open source office suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, graphics, databases and more. OpenOffice.org 2.2 is a full-featured office productivity suite with an interface familiar to most users and compatible with files created in Microsoft Office.
$298 www.everex.com

APPLE'S NEW iMAC
The all-new, all-in-one iMac packs a complete, high-performance computer into a beautifully thin design. Available in 20- and 24-inch widescreen models, it includes built-in wireless, Mac OS X, and the new iLife '08. So within minutes of opening the box, you'll be doing everything from sharing photos to creating movies to building Web sites. Thanks to the new version of iLife software (included with each new iMac) you will easily be able to turn your photos, movies, and music into blogs, podcasts, books, and calendars. All the other essentials are built in as well, including an iSight camera, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth.
Pricing starts at $1,199, www.apple.com

LEXMARK Z1420 WIRELESS PRINTER
This is convenient wireless printer for families or college students living in a dorm, and at $79.99, it's one of the most affordable wireless printers on the market. It's the perfect companion to wireless laptops and eliminates the mess of cords trailing across your living room or dorm room. In fact, you can stash a wireless printer in a closet or under the bed to free up space on your desk. And best of all, up to five computers can be networked to the printer, so the entire family can share and print from wherever they work best.
$80, www.lexmark.com

HELIO OCEAN WIRELSS DEVICEM
The Ocean is the newest communication device from Helio, one of American's newest wireless communication companies. The Ocean is the world's first dual slider device featuring a full size keyboard that can do just about anything. It is also a phone! Ocean offers the ability to have all of your e-mail accounts come to one device. Other features include an MP3 player, 2 mega pixel camera and presence detection, which means you can track which IM client your contacts are logged into. An easy Web search feature allows you type on an idle screen and instantly search the Internet for results. The Buddy Beacon feature uses GPS to allow the user to see where your friend are, and enables you to get directions from where you are to where you want to go thanks to Google maps.
Device: $295; all-inclusive service starts at $65 a month, www.helio.com

FLYING ALARM CLOCK
This digital alarm clock launches a rotor into the air that flies around the room as the alarm sounds, flying up to 9 feet in the air, and will not cease ringing until the rotor is returned to the alarm clock base, compelling even the most stubborn sleepers to get out of bed on time. The alarm clock has a continuous snooze function that rings every seven minutes for an entire hour, an easy to read LCD, and a six-button control panel for ease of programming. Runs on 4 AA batteries (not included).
$25, www.giftsandgadgetsonline.com

[michellem99-2009]

Handicapped can get talking books..Ever looked into that. Library of Congress has a site. Am legally blind. I went to sp ed years ago and they were very dumb in the needs of blind as we pay for schools that just won''t step upto the plate in sp ed. It was called the dumby class by non handicapped when I went which was age 10 I first enered school to age 19 sp ed grad. There was no ADA. No computer. I don''t know the basics. Would you find yer needs in a book store in children''s dept. It is sad that a child can''t get an education cos of money. Yet it is used to start wars,sents to 3 world nations who can''t underand what that aid is or could careless. Yet the schools fail millions of us with sp needs. Think nothing of it. I could never keep up with my peers and they were very happy in that. A BLIND GIRL WAS JUST A WASTE AS THEY SAW IT. 64 to 74. So at 52 am so poorly shcooled the school system ouaght be ashamed. The handicapped were and maybe are still left behind as it will be as the non disbled are flavoured and boys over girls, That how is was in my day.

[kaiyo4u]

Audio books are a great help. I learned to read at a young age using them. Mom bought them for me and I loved them. "Puff the Magic Dragon" is still a favorite.

[puzzler125]

Pam would audiobooks help? The children could listen and see the words even if they can''t yet or can''t read them? Does anyone write picture books for older children?

[pennyk2]

$398 For a computer sounds awesome. :)

[anglpie2]

I think that this info was great and I will definitely consider getting some of these items for my kids and I. Great prices too!!!

[parksport1]

What do you recommend for special ed. students ages 10 - 11 who can''t read? We need phonics for older children!!! Any suggestions, funds are not available to Aides???
Pam Parks /Special Ed. Aide
Cypress School Dist.

[iaspook]

Great information here! Very informative!! I was looking for a new computer when I saw this. Helpful