Olympus DS-330

Quick Take: Writer's cramp isn't fun, but you're at risk for it if you're scribbling notes for hours on end, class after class. And since college should be about studying smarter, if not necessarily harder, Olympus's DS-330 digital voice recorder is just the tool to help you. Weighing a bit more than 2.5 ounces and measuring less than 4.5 inches long, this basic-looking black device is minute compared to everything else you'll be lugging around in your backpack. Even better, it boasts a wealth of useful features. The DS-330 includes 16MB of internal flash memory (for more than five hours of voice recording); five internal folders for organizing files; an ample, backlit LCD; and a USB docking station for easily transferring audio files to your computer. Unfortunately, although it has a jack for headphones, this voice recorder doesn't come with any, which would be handy for listening to recordings on the way to an exam.