Fingerprint Scanning Laptops and RAZRS and iPods! Oh My!

With the beginning of the school year already behind us, many students across the campus are exhibiting the latest trends in technological gizmos and gadgets in full force.

It is important to note that back-to-school shopping now includes the traditional items to survive the school year as well as the much-hyped industry term of “must-haves” that make all that college learning go down a whole lot smoother. After all, the saying is “work hard, play hard,” right? Whether it be the latest cell phone with Bluetooth technology, a digital camera and video recorder as well as the ability to play MP3’s or the latest innovation in the line of iPods, the importance of technology has arrived to the once secluded realms of Northwest Tennessee with students standing at the forefront.

Jennifer James, a junior health and human performance major, is one of the many students infected with the technology epidemic easily seen around the campus. “My cell phone is always with me so I didn’t have to pack it when I was getting ready to come back to school. [MP3 players] are a lot easier to carry around and they holds more music that a regular CD player,” said James.

With some retailers seeing this shopping frenzy as second only to the Holiday shopping season, it is no wonder that technology and department stores market the college student in their advertising campaigns. According to the National Retail Foundation, an industry trade group, college freshmen are expected to spend an average of $1,152 on all the goodies needed for their introduction into the collegiate arena. The total amount of money coming from college students is anticipated to be around $36.6 billion on items like furniture, supplies and books.

This disposable income is fueling purchases on the “must-have” items like the newest innovation from the cellular phone arena; with Motorola RAZR in the various available colors leading the pack on cellular goodies, according to Wirefly.com. Any phone that allows students to have the latest technology at their disposal is a good place to start because cell phones are replacing land-line phones as the primary means of communication while away at college. With that said, why not eliminate other technology devices by incorporating the ability to take good quality digital pictures or listen to downloaded music from the same phone you talk to your mother with.

After learning the importance of packing lightly their subsequent years in college, many students have discovered the possibilities behind the MP3 player phenomenon, mainly the iPod model in particular as it is the most popular with college-age students, according to a report by the Post-Crescent. Sure, that small fortune of CDs was cool when you were young and technologically-inexperienced in high school, but now it isn’t as easy to carry all those things around with you and still maintain a living space within the confines of a small dorm room.

With the “I want it now” revolution vastly overtaking the world, MP3 players are allowing students access to more music that they will actually listen to and can be socially acceptable to take anywhere. In the same report by the Post-Crescent, universities in various locations in the country are providing iPods to incoming freshmen in order to allow all students to be on the same technological foot as their older, broke counterparts. Who knows, that iPod could someday be the future of textbooks as we know it.

However, there are a few students holding on to the somewhat antiquated technology of the CD player. Cassy Morris, a sophomore communications major, said that she always brings a CD player with her wherever she goes because she “likes listening to music, even if it is on the go.” For Morris, a cell phone isn’t an essential must-have but more a modern convenience in a somewhat complicated life. “If I need to make a phone call or if something comes up, I want to make sure I can make a call if I need to, so I keep my phone with me,” said Morris.

Another student independent of the clutches within the MP3 player phenomenon is Sam McDaniel, a junior finance major. Instead of relying on a small device, he prefers to still make a more modern version of the mix tapes of our techie predecessors. “I don’t have a need for an MP3 player because all my music is on my computer. I knew I would need all the multimedia stuff on my computer at some point while I was here in order to make my CDs,” said McDaniel.

Laptop computers are replacing the desktop computers of just a few years ago because of their versatility and accessibility to internet via wireless internet hubs across campus. Our very own campus is incorporating this technology in various buildings and even fast food chains like Burger King and McDonald’s are joining in on this phenomenon. The newest craze and perk for purchasing a laptop, according to a New York Times article, is for students to have fingerprint recognition software imbedded in their laptop in order to demonstrate a security benefit most appealing to parents as well as their children.

Parents and children alike flock to the stores that are marketing their goods to the college-minded in order to appeal to that nagging voice of ensuring that the best and most reliable products are at their disposal. Students at UTM are no exception and the sky is the limit to the amounts of technology being seen and discovered while attending classes this school year.