Top Tech for Back-To-School

Back to school shopping means revisiting a lot of basics: pens, pencils, and notebooks.

But what about the high tech stuff?

What are the best computers, printers, flash drives and printers? If you were going to get your kid an e-reader, which have been shown to be best?

Kicking off our series "Early Goes Back to School" Monday, CNET Senior Editor and "Early Show" contributor Natali Del Conte spotlighted the latest and greatest gadgets, from steal to splurge, to get your kid technologically ready for September:

LAPTOPS
Steal:
Sony Vaio W
Price: $499
Where to Buy: Sony Style stores and at other major retailers

This is a product that just came stateside at the beginning of July '09. It's got a nice price for those looking for a quick computer fix. It's a 10.1 inch netbo0ok, with an Intel Atom N280 CPU, 1 GB of RAM, Windows XP, and a 160 GB hard drive. The screen has a high resolution at 1,366x768. There is a separate memory stick slot (which is on top fo the standard SD card slot), and Bluetooth. As per most of Sony's typical fits and finish, this computer includes excellent keyboards and touchpads. It's also very lightweight: .3 inches thick, it weighs 2.6 pounds and comes in three colors-berry pink, sugar white, and cocoa brown.

Splurge:
Sony Vaio NW160J
Price: $929
Where to Buy: Sony Style stores and at other major retailers

Now this model is a little more expensive, but it comes with a lot of bells and whistles. First of all, this computer gives you a blue ray drive for less than $1,000. It's got a 15.4 inch glossy 16:9 LED screen, which means great but also discrete graphics. It's a little heavier than the smaller version above, but still lightweight. The system weight/weight with AC adapter is 5.84/6.66 pounds. It has an excellent keyboard, and touch pad with a really attractive design. It has an above average, gaming capable ATI graphics and midrange Core 2 Duo Processor (the processor helps your computer save and process things smoothly and efficiently).

STORAGE
Steal:
SanDisk Ultra Cruzer Titanium USB Flash Drive
Price: $34-$98
Where to Buy: Amazon, Walmart, Buy.com

This is going to be a cheaper flash drive for you that still has plenty of capabilities. You and your kids can feel secure knowing that your drive password is protected. It is crush resistant casing and a cap-less design, so your kids can shove it into their book bag without worrying. It's idea for video, it makes it easier to store, share and play your favorite video files. And it's available in a variety of storage sizes-4 GB, 8 GB and 16GB.

Steal:
Clickfree Transformer for iPod/iPhone
Price: $49
Where to Buy: Amazon, Walmart, Buy.com

With this device, you can back up your data to the unused space on your iPod or iPhone. The transformer also transfers data from your iPod/iPhone to your computer. And it works on any Windows machine.

Splurge:
Iomega eGo Portable BlackBelt Hard Drive 500 GB High Speed USB
Price: $115-$150
Where to Buy: Amazon

This device is going to be the splurge drive for your child's back to school needs. It is pre-formatted and hot plug and play (meaning it will coordinate software with the capabilities of your hardware quickly and efficiently). There is no AC adapter needed for it. This high functioning hard drive is compatible with both MAC and PC. The Iomega is super rugged-The Iomega Drop Guard Xtreme feature raises the bar on drop protection (it protects the drive when it is dropped up to 84 feet!). It is stylish with a compact black design with included black Iomega Power Grip band slips easily into a back pack. It is very secure. It has a high transfer rate and is .48 pounds for easy carry and go.

PRINTERS
Steal:
Canon Pixma iP3600
Price: $65-$100
Where to Buy: Amazon, CompUSA.com, Staples

This printer is a compact, affordable home photo printer with class leading specification that delivers superior photo lab quality prints. It has crisp text printing thanks to a dedicated black pigment ink cartridge, making it appropriate for all kinds of web and document printing. All 5 single inks can be replaced individually, minimizing unnecessary ink wastage. A smart LED indicates when a cartridge is running low or needs replacing and keeps you informed. Two paper trays enhance media flexibility, allowing both photo paper and plain paper to be loaded at the same time without having to swap them manually. Digital camera users will also benefit from the ability to print directly from their camera without using a PC using a PictBridge.

Splurge:
HP Photosmart Premium with Touchsmart Web
Price: $400
Where to Buy: AVAILABLE AT THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER
at Hp.com
The Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web is poised to become HP's flagship printer when it is released at the beginning of September. It's got all of the common features we expect to find in an HP Photosmart All-in-One, including printer/fax/copier/scanner, USB 2.0, Wireless, Ethernet and Bluetooth connectivity. The printer has paper feed technology that automatically senses the size of media needed to complete a job, five individual ink cartridges, and the ability to print screen shots directly from a PlayStation 3. The real crowning feature of the Touchsmart printer is the Touchsmart Web control panel that lets it's users connect to the web and use custom apps from Fandango, Google and Coupons Inc. This allows you to print directly without ever having to turn on your computer. It has a large 4.33 inch LCD touch screen for this purpose.

E-READERS
Steal:
Sony Reader Pocket Edition
Price: $199
Where to Buy: AVAILABLE AT THE BEGINNING OF SEPTEMBER

E-readers are fairly new to the market, but basically they are devices that allow you to store and read books in a light high tech device. Not sure which books to bring on your trip? With the Reader Pocket Edition, you will never have to make that choice again. 512MB of onboard memory lets you carry up to 350 of your favorite books at a time. The Reader Pocket Edition features a 5" display and an elegant, lightweight design that's easy to slip into a purse or jacket pocket for convenient, on-the-go reading. It's relatively cheap, and with it's lightweight and small size will allow your child to carry books just about anywhere they want to go. Enjoy up to two full weeks of reading (7,500 continuous page turns) on a single battery charge. Enjoy access to a wider number of books from a wider number of places. By supporting both industry standard formats, ePub and PDF, you can access books at ebookstore.sony.com, check out books from public libraries, access over one million free public domain titles from Google, as well as sharing sites, online aggregators and personal publishers.

Splurge:
Amazon Kindle 2
Price: $299
Where to Buy: Amazon

It's slim, just over 1/3 of an inch, which is as think as most magazines. It is also only 10.2 ounces, which is lighter than most paperback books. The 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots. With this device, you can get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required. Amazon claims it reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images. The new Kindle model has 25% longer battery life; which means you can read for days without recharging. It holds over 1,500 books. With the new text-to-speech feature, Kindle can read every newspaper, magazine, blog, and book out loud to you, unless the book's rights holder made the feature unavailable. For this device, there are over 300,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are about $9.99, unless marked otherwise.