MSN Tech & Gadgets’ Holiday Gift Guide
Thrill the gadget-freak in your family with one of these choice offerings.
With the winter holiday shopping season upon us, our stress levels start to tick up. Finding the right gift isn’t always easy, zeroing in on a great gift for the gadget-obsessed is even more of a head-scratcher. Buying presents for this set is tough because new products appear and older models get seem to get updated everyday. It’s impossible to keep up. But don’t fret. We’re here to help with are a few sure-to-please suggestions for the tech nut in your life.
For the Class of 2007
More and more schools, from elementary on up, require students have a portable USB flash memory drive to go along with the three-ring binders and ballpoint pens. Give the student in your life the ultra-hip Mimobot flash drive to carry files to and from school. For this holiday season, a favorite is the "BIGBY" model, with a curiously likable creature in a bear suit. Along with amusing designs, these drives have ample storage space—ranging from 254 MB ($44.95) to 4GB ($169.95).
The limited edition Star Wars series is available for preorder now, though comes out in January 2007. Yes, it just misses the holiday shopping season, but an IOU under the Christmas tree for one of these won’t disappoint any George Lucas fanatic.
Holiday Gift Guide slide show
For the tech-obsessed student who lives away from home, consider getting him the Logitech QuickCam Fusion, which retails for $99. This webcam is compatible with many varieties of monitors, and can take both still pictures and videos. The included software application allows you to e-mail video, too. CNET gave this webcam high marksfor how it interfaced with the MSN Messenger video-chat function. However, be warned, seeing the state of your child’s dorm room is only for the strong of stomach.
The Road More Traveled
For a loved one who’s frequently on the road for work, there are gadgets out there to make her life easier. For example, take the Latitude D420 Dell laptop. This small laptop weighs a mere 3 pounds, comes with a 12.1-inch screen, and the Strike Zone shock absorber to help protect the hard drive during a bumpy ride. The basic X1 starts at $1,605.
Bring on the Video
Among travelers, portable music and video devices are always popular items. The $399 80GB video iPod plays 20,000 songs or 100 hours of video, making journeys of any length more pleasurable.
Also this holiday, seasoned travelers may be lucky enough to receive the new music and video device from Microsoft, the Zune. For the tech savvy, the most exciting feature is the ability to wirelessly swap files from one Zune to another. The Zune went on sale on Nov. 14 for $249.
Fans of these devices will lust after I-O Data’s wiREVO wireless headphones, which start at $99. Small and compact, they come with earbuds, microphone and remote control, and they work with cell phones and MP3 and CD players.
