Students may think they need the latest technology to see their way through university life — the newest iPhone, a flatscreen TV and all the rest. In reality, all you really need these days is the internet. Insist on a decent connection and then buy a device that gets you on to the web as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

Start by looking into netbooks. These are small, cheap laptops whose sole purpose is to get you on the net. If you want a large hard drive, capable of storing a lot of stuff — such as your extensive music collection — be prepared to pay more.

A cut-price option is the Dell Inspiron Mini 10, at around £199. The cheapest version has just an 8MB hard drive — less memory than some iPods. You may want to pay £50 more for a version with 160GB, enough for most needs. Either way, it is slim, sleek and small. A more costly option is the HP Mini-Note 2140, an excellent netbook with more battery power than others. However, at £380, you might be able to get a low-end laptop at the same price.

When it comes to music, iPods are still the main option for good, portable music players. But who needs a huge digital music collection these days? If you download the free music streaming service, Spotify, you can access more than six million tracks. Last.fm is also music software worth downloading. You will have to put up with hearing adverts on these services, but at least they cost nothing.

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You may need to invest in some speakers. Creative and Logitech are good brands that offer value for money but the cheapest option is a USB speaker that plugs straight into a netbook. One example is the B-Flex 2 speaker by JLab. For £22.99, it beats the tinny sound of most laptops.

What about television and movies? Well, between the BBC’s iPlayer and numerous video-streaming services just out or set to launch soon — including Hulu and the MSN video player — there should be more than enough decent programmes that you can stream and view from your PC, all free.

That said, DVDs have become as important as teabags and clean underwear to many. Some might invest in a decent laptop with a DVD player. An alternative is a portable DVD drive, which you can just plug into your computer when you want it. Samsung has a good slimline drive for around £44, or there is a slightly better one by Buffalo for about £73. Check Amazon and price comparison sites for the best deals.

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