1.  WiFi detector T-Shirt

Hunt for hotspots before taking a seat in your favorite coffee shop.

A WiFi detector t-shirt displays the wireless signal strength in the area. So instead of unpacking your notebook, waiting for it to unload, typing in the password to access wireless then realizing that signal strength is either “limited or no connectivity” you can just check your t-shirt.

2.  Wizzcom Info Scan IS1000

Wizzcom Info Scan IS1000 is a digital note-taker, which enables you to scan up to 500 pages to any Windows application for you to edit.

The Wizzcom, which resembles a highlighter, takes the effort out of photocopying pages from books and you can scan several texts in various foreign languages.

3. Pulse Smartpen from Livescribe

This Smartpen allows you to record as you write on specialized dotted paper. Once you have saved your notes to your PC via the Smartpen you can search through your notes, share them and play them back.

Compatible with Windows and Mac.

4.  Fold-Up card mini iPod speakers

The 80’s meets the iPod generation.

These cardboard speakers, in the shape of a Boom Box, actually come with a fully functioning audio system. The flat-pack speakers, which are also compatible with MP3 Players, mean you can evoke the spirit of the 80’s by sauntering into your lectures or walking around the campus with them on your shoulders.

5.  Business books

How I Caused the Credit Crunch is a tongue-in-cheek account by Tetsuya Ishikawa, a former Goldman Sachs banker. His insider tale of how the markets went bottoms-up confirms how the taxpayer has picked up the tab for bankers’ champagne lifestyles.

Whereas Ishikawa’s novel is a semi-autobiographical account of the current financial collapse, Liaquat Ahamed’s Lords of Finance is a retrospective financial journey from World War I to the Crash of 1929 the subsequent Great Depression, through to the end of World War II. Ahamed is the winner of the Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award 2009. 

6. Kindle 

The jury is still out on whether Amazon’s Kindle and similar e-books will replace books in the future.

Physically, it is lighter than an average paperback and having access to over 360,000 books means that you could have a library in your backpack. 

Functions include a ‘read-to-me’ feature, a PDF reader, 3G wireless and the ability to store up to 1,500 books. 

7. Scholarship to a b-school

So you’ve written the perfect personal statement, glowing letters of recommendation have been written in your honor, you have received top marks in your GMAT and secured a coveted place at a top b-school. All that is missing are the funds to actually start your degree. Hopefully, Santa will reward your hard work by slipping a scholarship into your Christmas stocking.

8. Samsung N310 Netbook/ Sony VAIO X Series 

Apart from the usual specs of a 10.1” screen, 1GB of RAM, 160GB hard drive and 5 hours of battery life, the N310 also doubles up as a germ-busting bacteria killer! Silver Nano Technology battles bacteria while you type by releasing tiny “silver ion powder on the keyboard,” according to Samsung.

Alternatively, Sony claims its VAIO X series is the thinnest laptop in the world, so you can sling it into your bag along with your books. It has an 11” screen and the standard battery averages 8 hours of use with wireless off. Output can be increased by an extra 8 hours by using the extended battery. However, with a hefty price tag you will have to have been especially good to find this treat under the tree.

9. The next iPhone: Google Smartphone- Nexus One

Technophiles have been speculating furiously over the release date of Google’s debut mobile phone. General consensus is that it will probably be available during early January, making it an ideal New Year present. So far, Google are remaining tight-lipped about the phone’s specs but blogs are speculating that it could be a sleeker rival to the iPhone. 

10. Book an appointment with a personal shopper 

Sometimes having the bog standard MBA plus 3 years experience is not enough to stand out from a sea of grey-suited applicants. Booking an appointment with a personal shopper ensures that you will look the part for the interview and give you tips on tailoring that suits your body shape. 

11. Bankers’ bonuses

Bankers’ bonuses are getting a battering at the moment, but for those of you still lucky enough to have a job at a bank not subsidized by the state, a six-figure bonus would make a pleasant stocking filler-and a gift that you could share amongst less fortunate friends.

Log onto Facebook and tell us what you would add to BusinessBecause’s Christmas wish list.