Have you entered our back to school giveaway yet? If you've already commented on each of 15 eligible posts, you're all set -- you can only vote once on each article (15 times in all), so hang in there and wait for us to randomly select the winners. The rest of you, however, need to get a move on! There's only 24 hours remaining in the contest period, so be sure to get all 15 entries in before the clock strikes noon tomorrow. Good luck!

• Engadget's back to school 2012 sweepstakes: win one of 15 gadget-filled bags!
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: smartphones
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: tablets
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: ultraportables
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: e-readers
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: mainstream laptops
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: gaming
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: HDTV
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: digital cameras
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: portable audio
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: accessories
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: docks and clocks
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: bags and cases
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: printers
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: fun stuff!

Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile

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During the month of August, we published 14 back to school guides, covering product categories ranging from cameras and printers, to smartphones and ultraportables. With each post, we offered a selection of gadget must-haves, but we also gave you an opportunity to enter our massive back to school giveaway, including 15 identical bags stuffed to the brim (and far beyond) with some of the hottest devices of the season. You want these gadgets, and we want to help! The contest runs through noon (ET) on Friday, September 7th, so there's still plenty of time to enter -- simply leave a comment at each of our category pages, along with the giveaway post, to secure 15 chances to win. And to make things even easier, we're including links to all of our posts just below. Good luck, and have a fantastic semester!

• Engadget's back to school 2012 sweepstakes: win one of 15 gadget-filled bags!
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: smartphones
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: tablets
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: ultraportables
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: e-readers
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: mainstream laptops
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: gaming
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: HDTV
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: digital cameras
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: portable audio
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: accessories
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: docks and clocks
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: bags and cases
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: printers
• Engadget's back to school guide 2012: fun stuff!

Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile

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Laptops, phones and e-readers might be slick pieces of tech, but they'll all be used for business while you're buried in term papers during the semester. We're rounding up a set of gadgets meant purely to lift your spirits -- whether it's zapping fellow froshmates in a game of Lazer Tag or an electric motorbike to blast through the countryside on a long weekend. We've even got a few borderline sensible gadgets, such as a robot that will clean up after a wild party at the dorm. Jump past the break for our full collection of antidotes to the end-of-summer blues.

Filed under: Misc

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It's safe to say that, at some point, you'll need to print out a collection of assignments this fall. We're looking to save the environment just as much as the next set of folks, but physical outputs are still required for a number of things -- especially in the realm of academics. Now that WiFi has become a standard option on most ink-to-paper peripherals, the ability to print from mobile devices has become a hot commodity. A number of our selections offer just that, allowing you to get the job started without needing to be in front of a computer. Enough chatter, though... head on past the break to peruse our picks for the back to school season this year.

Filed under: Peripherals

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Trying to pack a load of gadgets, peripherals and a laptop into your average book bag usually isn't the most ideal setup -- especially when it's time to grab what you need throughout the day. To solve that dilemma, we've selected more than a handful of sacks and cases that'll keep your gear at hand and organized so that you'll spend less time rummaging for your gizmos and more time exploring your campus. Best of all, you can rest assured knowing many of the selections past the break are goods that we here at Engadget even rely on to get our gear in and out of the various events we attend -- jump past the break to see our picks.

Filed under: Handhelds, Wearables

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If there's any post-adolescent period that deserves its own soundtrack, it's your college years. Sure, our portable audio picks will let you jam on the go, but the best collegiate experiences are shared with friends -- and listening to music should be no exception. Even if you'd prefer to keep your playlist out of your friends' feed, be it in person or online, you'll still need to wake up each morning, and what better way to ease into the waking world than with your favorite tracks? These speaker docks offer more functionality than your average smartphone clock, and they're certainly better equipped to play DJ when it comes time to close the books. Join us past the break for our 2012 picks.

Filed under: Misc, Household

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Well, friends, back to school season is in full swing. For some, it's a time of great sorrow, but for others it's a glorious time that usually means some new tech is on the way to combat the year's upcoming workload. Lucky for all of those in the latter group, the folks here at Engadget HQ have done our homework and compiled our picks in 14 different categories for your buying reference. In this issue of our weekly, we give you the full rundown on what to look for when you're in the midst of your back to school gadget shopping. As you might expect, some of the usual suspects are here as well for your weekend reading exploits -- including a closer look at the Wacom Cintiq 24HD touch, hands-on with a few of Gamescom's gadgets and a list of "Rec Reading" for the end of this seven-day period. Don't wait any longer, though. Hit your link of choice below to grab an end of summer guide of your very own.

Distro Issue 54 PDF
Distro in the iTunes App Store
Distro in the Google Play Store
Distro APK (for sideloading)
Like Distro on Facebook
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Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile

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Source: iTunes, Google Play

Sure, you may need ultraportables and such to get the bulk of your work done, but you also need a few add-ons to make tasks just a bit easier. In this installment of the back to school guide, we'll offer a collection of accessories that will do just that. From extra batteries to external hard drives and peripherals, what you'll find here should help you get through a day of back-to-back classes, without the need to worry about losing all those term papers if something goes wrong with the SSD. Of course, not all of these are meant to aid in serious, head-down studies. We also tackle a few options for keeping fit and iPad-powered study breaks, too. So head on past the break for the rundown on a gadget stash that'll help you ease back into the flow of things this fall.

Filed under: Misc, Household, Peripherals, Wearables, Storage

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With all of the studying and on-campus traveling you're about to delve into, sometimes adding a bit of music to your step can spice up those mundane times in your daily routine. That's why we've rounded up a selection of portable speakers and headphones that'll not only help you rock out whenever the mood strikes, but also go a step further by letting you take phone calls without skipping a beat. It may not be audiophile-grade gear in the official sense, but it won't matter when you're enjoying good sound just about anywhere your smartphone-connected life takes you.

Filed under: Wearables

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Hear those school bells in the distance? It's hard to believe, but the start of the school year is just a few weeks away -- and all week we've been rounding up some of our favorite eco-friendly back-to-school essentials. From green school supplies to sustainable backpacks, we've got all your back-to-school needs covered. And to top it off, we're giving away a laptop-charging Voltaic solar-powered backpack (worth $389) stuffed with green school supplies for a total prize package worth over $500. If we could go back to school and live in any dorm, we'd probably choose Copenhagen's Tietgenkollegiet dorm, a circular building with community kitchens, cafes, music rooms and a central courtyard. And if we could choose any gadget to take with us, it would have to be the P&P Office Waste Processor, which can transform a basket full of waste paper into fully-formed pencils.

Filed under: Misc

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Your smartphone can take pictures, you say? Well, sure it can, but try snapping away at a frat party -- you're likely to walk away with a blurry mess. Your Facebook friends and future employers deserve an accurate account of those glory days, and you'll need a proper snapper to get the job done. College is as good a time as any to learn responsibility, but don't expect to walk out of the experience with all your gear unscathed. To that end, freshmen should look long and hard at our point-and-shoot picks, which include models that you won't be afraid to toss around, or drop in the jungle juice. After that come the mirrorless ILCs, which should satisfy the more advanced photogs in the bunch, followed by our digital SLR picks, which, sadly, may be out of reach of all but photography majors and deep-pocketed private school types. Finally, you'll have yet another opportunity to enter our fantastic giveaway at the bottom of the page, just after the break.

Filed under: Cameras

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Students today can catch high-quality video on a variety of screens -- computers, phones and tablets are probably always within reach -- but nothing can truly replace a TV's role as the center of entertainment. Whether it's a quick Madden or Call of Duty session, inviting a friend over to catch a flick or just zoning out after class, having the proper setup makes all the difference, and there are plenty of options at every price point. Of course, walking into any big-box electronics store to peer down aisles of seemingly identical flat screens could drive anyone mad before they ever step on campus, so we've narrowed down the list for you, and even suggested a few other items to plug into those HDTVs. Expanding feature sets and universal pricing have raised average prices a bit over last year, but we can find something to fit whether your budget ranges from a couple of hundred to a couple of thousand dollars.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

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It's time to balance out that daily grind at school with some well-deserved leisure. Fortunately, many of our choices walk that fine line between work and play -- if you're willing to stump up some more cash beyond a normal laptop, you could get something capable of handling the latest PC titles. Some of our other choices may be a harder sell in the education stakes, but we all need some stress relief, right? And with bigger consoles nearing the end of their life cycles, there's never been a more wallet-friendly time to get involved. Jump in after the break for our favorite gaming choices. If all your money's been earmarked for learnin', then you should certainly enter our sweepstakes. Leave a comment after the break for a chance to win, and visit our giveaway page for all the details.

Filed under: Gaming

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Freshman year of college may no longer be the gateway to the magical world of laptop ownership, but even if you already have a notebook, who can resist a new machine in the spirit of starting fresh when September rolls around? Whether you're looking for a Core i5 companion to get you through semesters of paper-writing, Facebooking and WoWing, or a super-sleek centerpiece to your bare-bones dorm, there's a vast playing field of machines to choose from. While sifting through the countless options would surely get you back in the academic research frame of mind, it's a daunting task. We're here to take some of the work off your plate with nine solid mainstream laptops that should satisfy every budget.

Filed under: Laptops

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Most of us are still walking around hunchbacked from years of carrying heavy textbooks in our overstuffed backpacks. Thankfully, an e-reader can significantly lighten the loads for students everywhere. Sure, we've still got a ways to go before electronic devices can replace textbooks altogether, but in the long run, they could significantly impact the postures of backpack wearers all over. Jump past the break for our recommendations, and another opportunity to enter our back to school giveaway. Simply leave a comment at the bottom to be entered to win, and head over to our giveaway page for more details.

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Given their roots -- luxury machines like the original MacBook Air ($1,800) and last year's Samsung Series 9 ($1,649) -- you'd be forgiven if you initially dismissed Ultrabooks as being too extravagant for a college-bound student. Thankfully, though, prices have sunk so low that you can now find a thin, fast, ultraportable laptop for as little as $700. The only problem, perhaps, is a paradox of choice: the selection is already crowded with dozens of contenders, and there are 100-some-odd more models in the pipeline, according to Intel. Fortunately for you, dear readers, we've had the chance to handle or even review many of them, and were able to whittle down the offerings to a handful of promising contenders. Whether you're prepared to spend $750 or $1,400, we have something that'll fit the bill.

Filed under: Laptops

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Your back may be straining from the textbooks, laptop, gym gear and lunch in that dangling overstuffed messenger, but you're still gonna want to save room for one more item -- a tablet. After all, while you can surf, tweet, play games and watch video from your other devices, there's nothing like doing it from a simple glass window that sits in the palm of your hand. As the hardware gets more powerful, these devices are rapidly becoming versatile enough to let you justify leaving the laptop at home on less-intensive days, so why not check out our picks of the finest devices you should be using and abusing before, during and after class.

Filed under: Tablets

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Welcome to Engadget's back to school hub for 2012! With the payment plan locked in for tuition and fees, you're now free to spend on the fun stuff, and we're here to help! Throughout August, we'll be posting three guides each week, covering all of the categories you see represented below. Whether you're dropping a few grand or pinching pennies when it comes to tech, we've got the gear for you. Each guide includes three sections, organized by price, letting you make the best picks while staying within budget. Then, after after you see the very last guide go live at the end of the month, we'll be drawing the names of 15 lucky readers -- each will head back to campus this fall with a bag of gadgets stuffed to the brim! For now, click on over to our available category pages, and stay tuned for those to come -- identified by a faded graphic for now.

Accessories	Bags and Cases	Cameras	Docks
.	.	.	.
E-readers	Fun Stuff!	Gaming	HDTV
.	.	.	.
Laptops	Portable Audio	Printers	Smartphones
.	.	.	.
	Tablets	Ultraportables

Filed under: Announcements

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It's a good time to be a student. Last year, there were some solid picks, but it was still very clear that those willing to scrimp and save a little longer had a much better experience. This year, it's a people's revolution. Thanks to cutthroat competition, there are some exceptional phones out there, even for those of you hoping to avoid eating ramen noodles for a month. Software has taken a leap forward too, with many phones now offering a vital way to remember when that term paper is due... or to procrastinate at the pub. We have nine choices of phones in our shortlist, spread out across three categories to serve everyone from the I-just-need-a-phone freshman to the overloaded doctoral candidate. While you're eying the selection, don't forget to enter our giveaway and potentially ease the burden -- who knows, you may get a phone you want rather than the one dictated by your student loan.

Filed under: Cellphones

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Ready to pack away the swim trunks and sunscreen and head back to school? If you're a lucky winner of our annual back to school sweepstakes, you'll surely be itching to make the return to campus. With last year's contest deemed an incredible success, we're stepping up the offering for 2012, adding higher-end devices in almost every category. There's an Ultrabook from HP, Sony's new mirrorless camera and a Samsung Galaxy S III, just to name a few. If your name is drawn, we'll be shipping you an overstuffed Engadget-branded Timbuk2 messenger bag, filled with prizes worth more than $3,000 in all. And to increase your chances of winning, we'll be giving away a total of 15 identical bags! That means 15 laptops, 15 cameras, 15 smartphones and 15 very happy Engadget readers. So what are you waiting for? Jump past the break to see the prizes, and be sure to enter in the comments below, and another 14 times on each of our back to school category pages, launching throughout the month.

Filed under: Announcements, HD, Mobile

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You know how some philosophical folks say that great things always come in pairs? Well, as it turns out, sometimes that is indeed the case. Not content with handing its fans a free trip towards the promised Ivy Bridge land, Origin PC's kicking off its 2012 back-to-school promotion with a couple of solid-state goodies to help you save some time during your every-day computer activities. The deal is quite simple: shell out some cash on one of the outfit's qualifying machines and you've got yourself a gratis 128GB or 256GB SSD -- this, naturally, includes the EON11-S, EON15-S, EON17-S and that beastly GENESIS, just to mention a few. As Origin PC points out, the worldwide deal's limited to one per customer, can't be combined with any other offer and it'll run until there's no more supplies to give. If all that sounds good, then head over to the company's site to get in on it, as well as check out the full list of units involved in the BTS promo.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

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While parent company Acer eyes deeper pockets and higher margins, Packard Bell is soldiering on with its EasyNote range of laptops for thrifty Europeans. Spotted by the friendly folk at Pocket-lint, the EasyNote TE has just reached stores and should scrape under the €400 (£300, $500) mark -- thanks partly to its avoidance of the premium Intel processor found in the EasyNote TV. Instead, the TE relies on AMD's updated E-Series processor (the slower 1.4GHz E1-1200 version, to be precise), which comes with capable Radeon HD 7310 onboard graphics and supports a USB 3.0 port (in addition to twin USB 2.0) and HDMI output. You'll also find a 15.6-inch 1366 x 768 display, 750GB of storage and a "multi-in-1" card slot -- which means the only spec we're missing is the RAM. Who'll take a bet on 4GB?

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Back in March at CeBIT, Acer unveiled a slew of new laptops, among which the Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 Ultrabook was easily the most celebrated. But while slim designs and instant-on technology are shoo-ins for media attention, slightly thicker machines with revved-up internals and discrete graphics are champions of the "don't judge a book by its cover" philosophy. And besides, not everyone is willing to part with a DVD drive, much less spend $1,000-plus on their next PC.

Hence Acer's Aspire V3, which is available in sizes ranging from 14 to 17.3 inches (for the purposes of this review, we took a look at the middleweight 15.6-inch version). While it weighs a hefty 5.8 pounds and looks positively bloated next to 0.8-inch-thick laptops such as the M3, the V3 packs serious power in the form of NVIDIA Kepler graphics and a Core i7 Ivy Bridge CPU. And unlike many Ultrabooks trickling their way into the market, this guy is priced to compete, making it a viable choice for the back-to-school season. But is it the best mainstream notebook $850 can buy? Let's see.

Gallery: Acer Aspire V3 review

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Remember how it seemed too good to be true that Sony's back to school promo would let you buy a VAIO T and get a free PlayStation 3 or Vita worth a third of the value of the Ultrabook you just bought? Well, it was. Sony has quietly dropped the $750 laptop from the PCs that qualify for the deal, raising the real qualifying price to $970 for a 15.5-inch VAIO S. Some will cry foul at being denied such a killer bargain without warning, but it's easy to see why Sony backed out: that's a lot of gear to give away for little in return. Dreams of heading to class with an ultraportable in hand and a PS3 at the dorm will have to be postponed, then, even if it's still an ample discount.

[Thanks, Gabriel]

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Not to be outdone by Microsoft offering a free Xbox 360 to students buying a new PC, Sony has now come out with a back to school promotion of its own that could net folks their choice of a free PlayStation 3 (160GB) or PlayStation Vita (the WiFi-only model). Unlike Microsoft's promo, though, you can't just buy any PC -- you'll need to purchase an eligible Sony VAIO computer, which includes a range of the company's laptops and all-in-one desktops starting at around $750. Alternatively, you can also choose to get $200 off your choice of other PlayStation gear, or simply get eight percent off the purchase price of the computer itself. Complete details on the offer (which is for college students and faculty only) can be found at the source link below.

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