These days it's hard to find that perfect gift.  I recommend a palm pilot with features such as a digital camera, voice recorder, video camera and an incorporated Mp3 player.  I like the Zire 72 a lot.  It has these features and is about as cheap as one of the new Gameboy SP's.  You can justify this purchase by knowing it combines entertainment without sacrificing an perfect tool for school.  Imagine your kid recording the teacher with a video clips, then syncing it with his computer and then burning it to a DVD.  That's right, a whole semester's worth of classes can be burned to a simple DVD with a couple clicks on the computer.  The digital camera is suffice as long as you don't need it a night for usage.  It's great to keep track of events you have throughout the month.  You can even surf the net using a wifi chip added to it.  You will spend between $75 to $150 for such a purchase.  There are collge books that cost more than that yet it can do so much more.  It's also great for church if you want to carry the Bible at a touch of a button and find quicky' verses.