Daniel Marsula, Post-Gazette Click ilustration for larger image.

Head buried in a calculus text book at the library, Jared Ebanchec warrants a double-take not because of his loden green Lacoste sports shirt or perfectly mussed hair, but rather for the electronics spread neatly on the table before him: sleek Motorola Razr phone, video iPod with maximum memory, and Texas Instruments' scientific calculator.

They all set him back $700 -- "nothing compared to other people I know," said the 18-year-old Duquesne University freshman. "I'm the only person I know who doesn't have a plasma TV in their home."

College students have become the creme de la creme for electronics makers and retailers. They are expected to spend more than $10.5 billion gearing-up for campus this year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Back to school isn't what it used to be 20 years ago when a Sony Walkman cassette player and a leather day planner were considered high-end accessories.

Today, top-notch technology -- such as the wireless Compaq Tablet PC that Chatham College is distributing to incoming freshman for the second year -- is required in some classrooms.

Chatham freshmen walked away with their computers for less than half what it's retailing, thanks to a $530 "technology assessment" fee tacked on to their tuition bill. Still, sales of laptop computers and the other electronics must-haves such as digital cameras, flat screen televisions, flash memory devices and Microsoft Xboxes, have pushed this year's spending on back-to-school electronics up more than 27 percent from last year.

		Gearing up for school Chances are your college-age child has saved up or asked for these popular gadgets: iPod Video with 30 gigabytes or 60 gigabytes of storage. College students can hear music from popular bands such as the Flaming Lips and hot TV Shows like the mystery/drama "Lost." -- $299 to $$399 depending upon storage capacity. USB Flash Drive. You don't have to be a latch-key kid to dig this touch-and-go portable disk drive that allows students to store just about anything -- pictures, music, term papers, and take it with them, on a trinket as small as a key chain -- $13 and up, also depending upon storage capacity. FujiFilm A360 Digital Camera w/ Bonus Deluxe Digital Photo Kit. This one's so hot it's out-of-stock at Walmart.com -- and is retailing at about $134.

It helps to explain why the aisle typically chock full of MP3 players and music accessories at the McCandless Target was sparse earlier this month, and the Best Buy in Ross has seen a surge in cell phone sales since late July.

You can tell when it's back-to-campus time, said Best Buy employee Jim Lukitsch, because in addition to the gadgets flying off store shelves, sales of services -- such as calling plans for cell phones and Internet connections -- spike too.

Best Buy's technical support team, known as the Geek Squad, also has been swamped with requests for computer checkups and repairs, Mr. Lukitsch said, making computer "tune-ups" the replacement for the car tune-ups that used to top students' back-to-school to-do list.

Retailers relish this month's back-to-school frenzy -- stocking their shelves with the electronics and the accoutrements with the goal of securing these younger customers for life, said Tracy Mullin, the National Retail Federation's president and chief executive officer.

This month's back-to-campus sales and promotions are geared toward a trendier, style-conscious crowd that aims for more chic than geek.

Target's big seller, a $69.99 iPack backpack equipped with a special pocket and remote control for an iPod, didn't win over Mr. Ebanchec, who opted instead for a Dolce & Gabanna bag. His purchases put him beyond the $1,200 the average college freshman is shelling out for school supplies this year.

But as students spend more money on ever-more-expensive items, they're increasingly clever about stretching their dollars -- or their parents' -- by seeking student discounts at campus retailers and scouring the Internet for deals, according to Phil Rist of Big Research, the consumer research firm that compiled the National Retail Federation's results.

Retailers are meeting the challenge by beefing up their Web sites to reel in this discerning crowd.

Mr. Ebanchec fits the bill of the discriminating college-age consumer.

His back-to-school shopping spree began in July when he spent $1,900 on his Dell laptop computer and software. Mr. Ebanchec snagged the video iPod, which tops industry watchers' list as the big seller for students this season, for $40 less than its $299 suggested retail price at a campus retailer last week, the place where 56 percent of college consumers go in search of deals on electronics and software.

Next on his shopping list are a Blackberry and a flat screen TV, two big ticket items that he'll choose carefully.

"When I buy things I pretty much know what I'm getting into. I don't go into things blindly," he said matter-of-factly -- perhaps because he shops with his own money, not his parents'.

But sometimes being well-equipped backfires, such as when the pricey graphing calculator Mr. Ebanchec bought for his calculus class was banned by a professor who said it could be used for cheating.

It's a scenario that's surprisingly not uncommon on college campuses.

Self-described "early adopter" Dan Martin is by no means an anti-technology Luddite but he doesn't think the students in his classroom always benefit from the technology they bring along.

"I love the gadgets and toys but they do drive me crazy in the classroom sometimes," said the associate dean and professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Heinz School of Public Policy.

He's known for vocalizing his strong dislike of cell phones ringing during his lectures. But he hasn't gone as far as University of Memphis law professor June Entman, who captured headlines this spring after students protested her ban on laptops during class.

Mr. Martin said he's conflicted about the utility and futility of technology.

Laptops aren't a problem for students taking notes, he said; it's what else people do on them -- Web surfing, e-mailing and instant messaging -- that are a distraction for everyone.

Mr. Martin knows first hand the temptations of technology. "I've sat in faculty meetings and read my e-mail. I wasn't into the meeting, I was into my e-mail."

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Correction/Clarification: (Published Sept. 1, 2006) Microsoft makes the Xbox. This story as originally published Aug. 31, 2006 about gadgets that college students buy for school incorrectly said the entertainment system was made by Sony. Sony makes the PlayStation.