When my mother graduated college in the early 80s, encyclopedias were still widely in use, and at the time, were what students used to obtain most of the information needed to write essays or study for exams. Years later, the computer was introduced as a common household item to every family that could afford the revolutionary device, and so the era of computer technology began.

While desktops are still an extremely popular commodity in the technological world, laptop sales proved to take off by the mid-2000s, due to the convenience that they could be taken anywhere. As expected, laptops have become an essential device for college-aged students who are always on the go from class to class.

The company known as AMD (News - Alert), or Advanced Micro Devices, announced the results of its national Back-to-School Technology Usage Survey, which focused on college-bound students and their technology preferences and purchase habits. The poll ultimately revealed that students’ most coveted piece of technology was their laptop. While most students do carry around at least two devices with them at all times (we can only assume one of these is their cell phone), they reported that their laptop is needed for almost every part of their collegiate life.

The survey, which was organized by Harris Poll on behalf of AMD in May, occurred among college students based in the U.S. between the ages of 18 to 26. The survey unveiled that 85 percent of these students own a laptop, bringing the device to the forefront as the most preferred piece of technology by the age group. Surprisingly, this number beat out the total amount of Smartphone owners.

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The students were then asked to rank various items they may possess in order of importance, in which case laptops beat out all other contenders again, with 41 percent of students claiming their laptop as their most important possession. Following their laptop was their car, tablet, bicycle, and television. Coming in last place, it was revealed that only one percent of college students prioritize their television. This is most likely directly correlated to another report from the survey which uncovered that 73 percent of students use devices other than the television to watch their favorite shows or movies, including their laptops.

In terms of purchasing behavior, more than one half of students surveyed reported they plan to buy new technology before heading back to college in the fall, and one third of these students revealed that buying a new laptop is at the top of their list. When students were asked what they considered to be the most important aspects when purchasing a new laptop, their main considerations included fast performance (40 percent), price (26 percent), and battery life (25 percent). "Students expect more from their computers than ever before -- they want them to be equally as good at streaming their favorite TV show as they are at crunching numbers in a math class," said Gabe Gravning, director of product marketing, Client Business Unit, AMD.

Laptops are proving to become only more popular among college-aged students, as more and more professors are starting to post study materials online, or are choosing to employ programs in which their students can submit homework online. Most textbooks are even now available in e-book form, through companies such as Chegg or Amazon. Online schooling technology is only growing, and as a result, so is the importance of laptops to the current and future generations of college-goers.