The Korea Communications Commission said it had sent a list of questions asking Apple Korea to clarify why location data was collected from mobile device users and how frequently such data was recorded. – AFP Photo

NEW YORK: What's on top of the school supply list this year? It isn't T-shirts and tennis shoes. It's the other T, for mobile tech.

Kids as young as elementary age are looking for smartphone upgrades, while the college set is sussing out the explosion in tablets, said Craig Johnson, president of the retail consulting and research firm Customer Growth Partners in New Canaan, Connecticut.

''The single most important thing is the acceleration of technology for back to school. Kids don't get excited about a new lunch box these days, or a new backpack. Cool means technology,'' he said.

That means e-readers with high functionality like highlighting, underlining, pagination and touchscreens. ''All of the features are out now or in the process of coming out,'' he said.

The new Nook has a 6-inch (15.2-centimeter) touchscreen and crisp, clear print for reading in bright light, tech analyst Andrea Smith told reporters at a recent Consumer Electronics Association trade show. It also indicates how many pages to the end of a chapter and has received praise for long battery life.

Back-to-school tech also means tablets. Once hallowed Apple ground, iPad 2 competitors are everywhere this season. Apple's still the big kid but Android technology is in pursuit. Some of the new tablets run Adobe Flash software, which Apple doesn't have.

In addition to the iPad 2, Smith suggests the 10-inch (25.4-centimeter) Toshiba Thrive for back to school. It runs on Android, has two USB ports and an South Dakota card reader. The new TouchPad by Hewlett-Packard, she said, runs on webOS, has a 9.7-inch (24.6-centimeter) screen and touts easy multitasking among open apps.

For analyst Natali Morris, iPad 2 ''really is the only tablet on the market that kids are coveting,'' though she added that some Android technology is good for note-taking and syncing.

Tablets are cool, but are they practical for actual schoolwork? That might have everything to do with the popularity of bluetooth-enabled keyboard add-ons, including the new one Smith and Morris like from Logitech with a case that easily turns into a tablet stand. Toshiba has a keyboard, too, also sold separately.

Morris' picks for student laptops: MacBook Air with an 11-inch (27.9-centimeter) or 14-inch (35.5-centimeter) screen. They weigh as little as 2.3 pounds (1 kilo) and boot up in about five seconds, she said at the CEA line shows in June. Those features are good for students moving from class to class.

Going head to head with MacBook Air for PC-prone students is the sleek new Samsung Series 9, Morris said. It's light, boots Windows in 20 seconds and offers 160-degree viewing for group work.

Christine Mallon, vice president of retail marketing for Staples, agrees that mobile tech is leading the back-to-school drive and creeping onto supply lists for ever-younger kids.

''One of the biggest trends that we've seen is that technology is becoming a school supply,'' she said. ''Kids need laptops, they need flash drives. We're seeing it in a very big way this year.''

Flash drives shaped like animals – safari to farm – have taken off, she said. Also look for Tony Hawk-branded skateboard drives this year.