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Back to school shopping doesn't always mean things you can hold in your hand. Downloads of all kinds are out there to make the student's life smarter, better, and cushier. And they run on a wider variety of devices than ever before. Brian Cooley runs down the hottest in the Top 5 device categories of back to school downloads.

For everything back to school related in tech this year, head over to CNET's Back to School 2011 guide.

As you step into the new school year, we know you'll have lots of adjusting to do--new friends, classes, professors, and eating habits (hello, Top Ramen)--so we'd like to make at least one thing easy for you: setting up your gadgets.

With these helpful tips crafted by our How To team, you'll be setting up your TV, exploring new places around campus, mastering your computer skills, and collaborating with other students in no time.

Step 1: Set up the bachelor(ette) pad If you're moving into a new place, get your TV connected with this simple guide. … Read more

It's a simple idea: an iPad holder that fits in a three-ring binder. Now you can carry your tablet computer like the paper it ostensibly replaces.

Or, to put it another way, you can spend $1.99 at your local office supply store and get a serviceable protective case for your iPad (once you've laid out the $29.99 for the binder-ready holder).

BinderPad is a slim polyester cover for your iPad. A tab along one edge has three grommets spaced to fit a standard three-ring binder. BinderPad's maker, ZooGue, is pitching the holder to students who are required to use tablet computers instead of textbooks.… Read more

Whether you are the student in question or the parent of one who is being leaned on to help get the gear lined up, this is our essential guide to what's hot in backpacks for back to school 2011.

And you may also want to peruse our full CNET Back to School 2011 tech guide.

Formulas Lite is a collection of important information and tools to help students get through some of the tougher subjects in school.

The meat of the Formulas Lite app is in the Subjects tab, where you'll find a huge database of must-know formulas for mathematics, physics, and chemistry. Within each of these top-level subjects, formulas are further organized by topic. For instance, under mathematics you'll see formulas organized in branches from algebra to statistics. Under physics, you'll see formulas organized in branches from relativity to torque. Within the chemistry section, you'll also find a functional periodic … Read more

StudyDroid 2.0 is like an infinite deck of digital flash cards for your Android mobile device. With this app, you can create and study from flash cards on the go, without being weighed down or limited by the constraints of a traditional, physical deck.

With StudyDroid 2.0, you can create as many flash cards as you like and organize them into Packs. When you open a Pack, studying is as easy as swiping left or right to move between cards, or tapping a card to reveal its other side. If you feel like you've sufficiently memorized a … Read more

Is the MacBook Air the new mainstream MacBook?

The White MacBook is dead. The cheaper, plastic $999 legacy to iBooks and PowerBooks of old has finally been removed from the spectrum of Apple laptops, and suddenly the decision spectrum has narrowed to two choices: the MacBook Pro, and the thinner MacBook Air, updated this morning with a faster processor and preinstalled with OSX Lion.

The MacBook Air has walked an interesting path since 2008, first as a high-end executive plaything, then a more attainable but still specialty interest ultraportable. Last year's MacBook Airs debuted in October, well after back-to-school shopping.

This year, however, the new Airs have emerged in late July, perfectly timed for students planning their computer purchases. The MacBook Pro, meanwhile, last saw an update back in February.

A $999 MacBook still remains; the 11-inch Air's base model costs the same as that older white MacBook. Its 1.6GHz Core i5 processor feels far zippier than last year's Air, but its limited storage (64GB of flash memory) presents a limit to hold-everything-on-your-hard-drive people. On first boot-up, 48GB of drive space was free to use, which limits what you'd permanently keep on your computer. That 64GB of storage can be expanded up to 256GB at the time of purchase, but that drives the price up, too, by several hundred dollars.

Or, does that matter anymore?… Read more

GeoGebra, the free, open-source mathematics software is designed for math classrooms in secondary schools, but anyone who uses geometry, algebra, or calculus should check it out. It combines a flexible, easy-to-use geometry tool with direct input of equations and coordinates. It can create points, vectors, lines, segments, conic sections, and more using preconfigured tools and handle variables for vectors, numbers, and points. It's available in many languages and is supported by a community of users and developers as well as a useful Web-based Help file, a forum, and a wiki. It requires the Java Runtime Environment.

GeoGebra's default … Read more

Instead of offering student Mac buyers a free iPod--as it's done for the past several years--Apple this morning launched its annual back-to-school promotion with a $100 credit for digital downloads.

That $100 can be spent in iTunes, the iBookstore, and in the iOS and Mac App Stores. One trend you might notice there is that Apple's found a way to get a return on that $100, which could be the whole amount if someone ends up buying Apple's own software like iWork and Aperture, which can be found in the Mac App Store. Apple makes 30 percent … Read more