The Party Room
For the college bound, this tiny, postage stamp-sized blank slate, or something like it, is where you will spend the next four years of your life.
If you, or someone you know, will soon set foot on campus, listen up: With only 25 square feet of personal space, college kids for decades have managed to find ways to enjoy themselves, even during harsh New England winters. Stay in, we say. It’s easy to turn your bitty abode into the room in which everyone down the hall wants to loiter. Whether it be an affordable HDTV, a cheesy-yet-awesome light show, a girl-and-guy friendly video game or a pack of entertaining RC helicopters, you’ll find something here to help you make friends quickly and keep you away from the library.
Feeling responsible? Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
Samsung LN22A450
$499
Yes, you can fit an LCD HDTV in a dorm room if you really want to. Were you seriously considering bringing your grandma’s old Zenith CRT? C’mon. This Samsung is only 22 inches, but it will beat watching DVDs on your laptop, no matter how great a screen it has. For under $500, you’ll get 720p resolution, a 3000:1 contrast ratio, HDMI/Component/S-Video/Composite inputs and 5.1 surround sound compatibility. Gather round, floor-mates — it’s time to watch Accepted.
Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
Flip Mino
$180
Stir-crazy college kids produce the funniest videos — we swear. So you’re going to need an easy-to-use, durable digital camcorder to capture the antics for posterity. And, er, Youtube. The Flip Mino Camcorder holds one hour worth of shenanigans at a time on 2 GB of flash storage, so be sure to dump its contents via USB onto your computer every once in a while. The Mino connects to a TV or your laptop for instant viewing.
Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
Dash Express
$299
This one’s for all the commuter students out there. We figure that the Dash Express — which uses a wireless Internet connection to get traffic data sent from other Dash Express devices on the road — could buy you at least 30 minutes more sleep per night by helping you navigate your route from home to school. Now, if only the Dash Express could help you find a great parking spot and you’d be all set.
Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
Rock Band 2
$199
The second iteration of the beloved band-simulator debuts September 14 for Xbox 360, and later in the year for PS3 and Wii. The best part about Rock Band is its ability to attract gamers, non-gamers, men, women, slackers and the studious. You’ll start out with The Donnas’ “New Kid in School,” but progress in no time to The Offspring’s “Come Out And Play.” Just don’t start thinking you should drop out of school and take the show on the road.
Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
PlayStation 3 40 GB
$399.99
If you’re in the market for the best all-around Blu-ray player, are considering the purchase of just one video game console to take with you to school, or both, the Sony PS3 is the easy choice. It’s not cheap, exactly, but it’s multifunctional. It will play nice with the Samsung 22-inch HDTV we discussed earlier, and, eventually, with the PS3 version of Rock Band 2. Not to mention, it’s a solid upscaler of standard DVDs as well. You’ll also be able to get HD movies available for download onto the PS3’s hard drive.
Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
Mario Kart Wii
$49
Although we recommend the PS3 as the one game console to bring to school, we figure many of you already have a Wii at home that you’ll bring along. If this is the case, Mario Kart can provide nearly as many hours of group entertainment as Rock Band. You can play with three players in your room, and up to 11 players over Wi-Fi (down the hall or across the country). Remember: Whoever plays as Peach gets to use the one Wii Wheel!
Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
Sony Rolly
$399.99
A pricey device whose only claim is that it’s “entertaining,” Sony’s Rolly is nothing if not fun to watch. It holds 2 GB of music (about 500 songs), but you can also stream music to it wirelessly from a computer or a mobile phone. So, what does it do? It dances, naturally. Watching the awkward robot rock out to your tunes is its whole appeal. It also can be man-handled to switch its playback mode to shuffle and other functions.
Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
Nanda Clocky Alarm Clock
$49.99
This device may look something like the Sony Rolly, but its functions are a lot simpler — it’s a funky-looking alarm clock on wheels. When it goes off, its wheels turn and it jumps off your night stand (it can handle a fall up to three feet from the ground). Then, it rolls around on the floor (either wood or carpet), emitting noisy beeps until you muster the strength to chase after it and turn it off. Okay, so no alarm clock is truly fun, but this one has to bring a smile to your face.
Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
iPhone Games
Free
When your classmates and dorm-mates see your iPhone, they will inevitably want to be impressed with it. You’ve got to show them some killer apps, so come prepared with a few freebies. In our experience, non-iPhone owners are easily wowed by two apps: Shazam (the song identification tool) and Tap Tap Revenge (the silly rhythm game), both free. We’re sure these will help you while away idle minutes spent in line at the dining hall.
Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
Brando Chromatic Square USB Hub
$12
USB hubs aren’t by default entertaining — they’re just necessary. As simply another add-on that you’re going to need to outfit your computer setup, you might as well find a fun one. Brando’s eye-catching color blocks look like toys. You can change the hub’s configuration and restack it whenever fancy strikes. Whimsical.
Check out our Back To School guide to gear that will help you take care of the academic side of school.
