Ah,
him. He's the hardest to shop for in your family or circle of friends. He probably reads Engadget -- hell, he probably sent you this list to find something to buy. But when you show up with the gadget no one else in the room has ever heard of -- yet his eyes light up like a Christmas tree -- we hope to have helped do you proud. Read on.
$0 - $100
La Fonera - More than a cheap WiFi router,
Fon adds your recipient's connection to a disruptive underground VoIP network. And hey, if they're not into sticking to the big phone companies, you can always try to hack it.
$39 -
Buy from Fon
P3 Kill a WATT - Whether he's a penny-pincher or a product tester, it's nice to know how much juice your gadgets are gulping. The Kill a WATT won't really help you save power, but it'll sure let you know which gadgets to use less of.
$30 -
Shop for Kill a WATT
Points - Maybe he doesn't have a
Wii yet, but he may have an Xbox 360 -- either way, points are a great, easy way to get 'em something they'll love. On the Wii they can buy classic titles from NES, SNES, even Sega Genesis; on the 360 they can buy downloadable content ranging from expansion levels to to HDTV shows. Points, seriously, you can't go wrong here.
$5 and up - any local retailer
Holux GPSlim240 GPS receiver - It's tiny, it's cheap, and it's got Bluetooth and a SiRFStarIII chipset; there aren't even that many standalone Bluetooth GPS receivers around right now, but
Holux's GPSlim240 might be among the least expensive GPS device around.
$99 -
Shop for GPSlim240Noteworthy mention: Gears of War,
Credit card battery checker,
iLuv i903 headphones
$101 - $250
Samsung YP-T9 - PlaysForSure is down, but not out, and if he's not feeling the whole iPod thing, you might want to try the new nano competitor that actually competes.
Samsung's YP-T9 has some catching up to do with Sansa's E200 series, but it makes up in lateness with style, a clean, simple interface, and a much smaller physique. A no brainer for a PC music listener.
$150 - $200 (depending on capacity) -
Shop for Samsung YP-T9
Fossil Caller ID FX6001 - Not all watches are built equally, and Fossil's new smart watch is a cut above your run-of-the-mill Casio digital The
Fossil Caller ID FX6001 reads out text messages or tells you who's calling your Sony Ericsson mobile over Bluetooth to your ever-glanceable wrist. He may have a little trouble if he doesn't have a Sony Ericsson phone though, so be warned.
$250 -
Buy from Fossil (warning: pre-order only right now, hopefully they'll deliver as promised!)
T-Mobile Dash - Also known as the HTC Excalibur, this slim, smooth, irresistible smartphone is among the thinnest on the market. What it lacks in 3G it makes up for in WiFi, and a big, bright screen. He'll have to deal with using Windows Mobile -- not a phone OS to everyone's taste -- but there's a good chance he'll forget when he wraps his hands around that soft-touch finish.
$200 (with contract) -
Buy from T-Mobile
Xbox 360 HD DVD drive - There's pretty much no question that the Xbox 360 HD DVD player is the cheapest way to watch high def discs right now -- if you have an Xbox 360. If you don't, well, you can plug this thing into your computer, but it really just isn't the same. Either way, if he wants to rent or buy high def movies, this might be the least expensive option in town.
$199 - most local retailers, or
shop for Xbox 360 HD DVD
Noteworthy mention: Sony PSP,
Sandisk Sansa e280
$251 - $500
Canon PowerShot G7 - This latest member of the G-Unit features a 10 megapixel CCD, 6x optical zoom, and a maximum ISO of 1600. Plenty of manual settings will make him feel like a real photographer, or he can just pick one of 25 shooting modes when no one's looking.
under $500-
Shop for Canon PowerShot G7
Palm Treo 680 - Colorful, functional, and cheap: if your guy is stuck in the 90's with a Handspring Visor and cellphone module, now is the time to bring his efforts at convergence into the 21st century. The
680 delivers a color screen, full QWERTY keyboard, and compatibility with thousands of programs. And as the least expensive Treo to date, it won't break the bank.
$449 ($199 with two-year contract) -
Buy from Cingular
Sling Media Slingbox Pro - Why
Slingbox? Simple: while you're in your 10th hour of shopping at the mall, your guy can stream all of his favorite programming right to his cellphone -- including HD content. Or, more basically, Slingbox:man::pacifier:baby.
$250 -
Buy from Sling
$501 - $1000
Nikon D40 - If he's not quite ready to go pro-photog on you, but he'd still like to fiddle around with a decent DSLR on the weekends, you can't go far wrong with
Nikon's new D40. The specs and build are hard to beat at this price, and its size and weight actually makes it fairly portable for an SLR of any sort.
$600 -
Shop for the D40
BenQ MP510 - While there are certainly snazzier projectors to be had,
BenQ's MP510 is practically
free (ok, not really), and the specs don't suck all that much either. 720p / 1080i support (sorry, downsampling only) and 1500 lumens for $500? Sign him up!
about $500 -
Shop for an MP510
Cingular 8525 - UMTS / HSDPA, WiFi, and QWERTY -- oh my! If his phone has to have it all, and somebody is willing to pony up for those Cingular data charges, there's plenty to love about Cingular's new flagship smartphone, the
8525. It's a little brick-like, however, so you may have second thoughts if he's emo-tastic and wears super tight jeans.
$399.99 - $549.99 -
Buy from CingularNoteworthy mention: Monster Controller 300 remote control
$1000+
Dell 3007WFP - If there's any bit of computer hardware that we can say with definitive certainty will make using a computer more enjoyable, it's a bigger monitor. For the time being, mainstream monitors don't get much sweeter (and larger) than Dell's
3007WFP.
$1369 -
Buy from Dell, or
shop for a Dell 3007WFP
Quad-core gaming rig - Assuming that 2006 was the year of dual-core machines, 2007 is sure to be the year of quad-core (and octo-core) machines. Get a jump on this trend of increased horsepower with any one of many fine multi-cored gaming rigs, such as the
VoodooPC OMEN PC,
Vadim Computer's rig,
Polywell's Poly i680SLI,
Dell's XPS 710, and
Alienware's Area-51 7500 and ALX models. All are loaded to the brim with hardware that will surely make his enemies cower under their old-and-busted models.
Starts at a few grand -
Buy from VoodooPC
Sony Vaio ultraportable - Does he crave lightweight lappies? Or perhaps you just want to lighten his back-breaking load? Consider the
Sony Vaio G (if you live in Japan), one of the few sub-two pound laptops that we've seen this year. It's pretty substantial under the hood, though, with its Core Solo chip, 80GB of storage and 1.5GB of RAM. For those of us Stateside, take a look at the James Bond model: the TX. Not quite as small, but if it's good enough for 007, it's good enough for him.
$2,300 -
Buy from Sony
Leica M8 - This rangefinder is probably one of the best combinations of a classic design combined with contemporary components that we've seen in awhile. The
M8 comes in the traditional Leica compact case, but nonetheless is loaded up with everything that a serious camera should have, including a 10.3 megapixel resolution and a low-noise CCD image sensor that ranges from ISO 160 to ISO 2500. We promise, this digital camera will never, ever go out of style.
$4,795 -
Shop for a Leica M8Noteworthy mention: Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro
posted Nov 24th 2006 3:10AM
BenQ MP510 DLP is listed as 720p here but your link to your own announcement said 800x600 (SVGA). Got me all excited for nothing.
Where's the zune, i think thats makes a pretty good present for the anti-ipod in all of us. ( if you dont use the store, its a great product)
Don't worry, we have more than one gift guide! The Zune will make an appearance.
Where is the Zune?
Zune = good anti-iPod device?
Huh? I don't get it. I don't see the Zune being any better than the iPod, and *I* really don't like iPods. The Zune is just a re-branded Toshiba (http://www.twice.com/article/CA6366785.html) and not even a great one at that.
I'll give you one thing... Zune has hype, and marketing, and a sleek interface, but common, style should never win over substance. (Hence the reason I dislike iPod's so much.)
I say, if you do some research, you can find some damn good mp3 players that do more, cost less and will help you stray from the evil-empires (M$, Sony, Apple et al.). But that's just my opinion.
Thank you Engadget for the gift buying guide, I thought it was quite well done... and thanks also for not including too many obvious gifts (eg: 7th gen consoles, mp3 players that everyone knows about, etc)...
An engadget writer read my comment :D.
you guys rock, i love these gift guides.
We (try to) read everybody's comments. We just don't always have the time to reply. Thanks for reading, and happy holidays!
That is an AWESOME gift guide. Keep up the GREAT work Engadget!
Good gift guide, I want all of them... xD
thats true, apple certainly has a big market share because of timing and a pretty good product.
I saw the zune, and i could see myself using it, and using it more then the ipod at that.
I really dislike the apple rumors and fanboyism that you see everywhere.
The zune is customizeable ( unlike the ipod) has a sleek interface, and has the right vibe. I haven't gotten the sence of, useablelity, from other products till the zune.
you can argue all you want the the marketplace is bad yadah yadah. but i havent used the apple marketplace much either, and also have qutie a few probelms with it.
anyway, its holdiay season. Put away your fanboyism, product favors, and opinions.
and love the people around you
The Zune sure is unsurpassed in its useablelity and socialnesitude.
And Zune users are also the type to make up words like "socialnesitude."
Even though the point system is very smart, most don't realize how much $$ they are actually spending sometimes, I still hate it. Just leave it USD $$$!
"Even though the point system is very smart, most don't realize how much $$ they are actually spending sometimes, I still hate it. Just leave it USD $$$!"
But surely they have a plan to use the same store beyond the borders of the USA. Not everyone pays with US$ out there. I think it's a clever move. Let's see if they'll double the prices in Europe like they do for basically anything out there.
i think he was making fun of the zune-fan's poor spelling.
Yeah, Leica needs help selling the M8, baaaaaad.
The M8 has got some serious IR related color shift issues.
Not such a good camera.
I just found not so enthusiastic words about the M8:
http://www.majid.info/mylos/weblog/2006/11/23-1.html
I think the Canon 400D is better than the Nikon. It's cheaper and it has that sweet dust removal aswell as the full support for those awesome EFS lense.
I wish I could afford one.
Yeah, the M8 reviews have all pretty much cited the same issue.
I don't know if the Epson RD1 is a suitable alternative for most, but it's an option. But if you're dropping upwards and over 5 grand on the cam you'll get something nice, as long as it isn't the M8. That's for sure.
Gil, you don't know what you're talking about.
Yes I do
Yes it is a smart move, but it is to confuse you from knowing how much you are actually spending.
Sure not everyone uses USD $. But it is a world known currency, where a decent amount of what is sold online is often converted or at least shows the USD price.
You can easily implement different prices with different currencies, the iTunes Store does it. Again, the point system is just a cover of how much you are really spending. Honestly, doesn't 79 points sound better than 99 cents?
In any case, the Zune Marketplace is still retarded. How are you going to offer a subscription service, then require you purchase certain albums/songs only?
"anyway, its holdiay season. Put away your fanboyism, product favors, and opinions."
that's pretty funny in light of your comments in this article, which certainly paint you as zune and anti-apple fanboy, posting your fanboyism, product favor and opinions.
talk about irony...it's like a fly in your chardonnay.
The Zune is unsurpassed in its WIFI cripled-tude and DRM-agnificence.
Ipod doesn't have WIFI and iTunes got DRM, too. So, STFU. Thanks.
In response to Ricardo's reply (since I can't reply directly to a reply...?) - True, the iPod doesn't have wifi at all, and it also has DRM.
The problem is it could have been so much *better* - It has the technology. If they want to kill the iPod it needs to beat it hands down, not just match it or even slightly better it.
When the Zune started out they talked about it being friendly with 'underground' and then they go giving a share of every product sold to the record company, and have the sharing of music from device so difficult and locked down no one is using it.
You guys put up the Dell 3007fpw for $1300+ ... why not include a link one of the MANY sites listing Dell coupons to get that same monitor for $900ish.
Here I was thinking Engadget cared about its comsumer crowd ...
People who know where to look will be able to get it with coupons; we can't guarantee prices with coupons, so we give an approximated price or MSRP.
plus dell sucks
The iPod doesn't ADD DRM to your own existing music you rip and want to do anything with, so you STFU thank you.
So, um, where do you look?
slickdeals.net, techbargains.com, ben's bargains, etc.
OK apple fanboy & microsoft fanboys lets realex the gift guide is not all about the zune or the ipod. The zune could use its WiFi for better things like surfing the web and the DRM thing is a big pain. But ipods dont have many features like FM radio and has a small screen compared to the zune's They are both nice Media players and both have there pros and cons.
Yes, They are both nice Media players and both have there pros and cons.
http://mindsplice.com
Enough fanboy talk, nobody will convince the other to change to their respective dark side...
It's a great holiday guide. Thanks Engadget.
I love how you guys can turn a post that doesn't even include the Zune into a bloodthirsty argument that takes up most of the comment space. I mean come on, let's just buy what we think is right for us and not criticize others' decisions. Just because you're a little insecure about your last MP3 player purchase doesn't mean you have to take it out on other Engadget readers. I'm an owner of an second generation iPod Nano, but that doesn't mean I have to yell at everyone who owns a Sansa. I quote the comment adding briefing text: "Please keep your comments relevant to this blog entry." I don't mean to be rude, but please consider what you're writing in the comment box.
The Zune should definitely be on here: in brown. Everyone wants brown for Christmas.
Can Fossil please make a caller ID watch to work with my craptastic Audiovox phone? That's about the sweetest thing I've ever seen.
I was thinkin Thanko's new MP4 watch would be a cool gadget for guys, for the novelty factor if nothing else... But you HAD to stop somewhere, otherwise the list could go on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on... well, you get the idea!
KC
ah hem... what about a gift guide for "her"? who says we don't love high tech gadgets?!?!
You didn't read our gift guide announcement. We're doing eight guides, and "her" is next up.
Great gift guide, now lets just hope the wife is reading this too :D
hey engadget - it makes me sad that this holiday guide is labelled "for him." How about "for that gadget-loving person in your family." Not to be all pc on you, but I'm a her and check your website far more than most of my male friends. Even if you post a "for her" holiday guide, it still makes me sad that people find a need for two different lists. As one of the big gadget sites on the internet, I would think you'd have a large enough female audience that you'd realize that there's quite a few of us double-x gamer/programmer/gadget-loving types and that we salivate over the same features that you males do (at least for gadgets).
Same to you, Judy -- you didn't read our gift guide announcement. "Her" is next up out of our 8 guides.
What about some apparel?
www.cafepress.com/inktees
www.cafepress.com/sysadmin
Might want to mention that if they spring for the 3007WFP they need a capable videocard.
samsung M610! there's no written rule that guys can't have thin phones!
and nothing involving HDDVD or blu-ray? I wouldn't mind a BD burner drive.
Yeah, Leica has already RECALLED the M8.
http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/content_page.asp?cid=7-7900-8686
I'll stick with my M6 and shoot film (or D200 for digital) until they can figure it out. It looked promising, but I've come to have a healthy skepticism when it comes to Leica digital. Was Panasonic still involved with this one?
I thought there'd be more stuff.
zune!
Brought to you by Verizon Wireless yet suggesting to buy T-mobile and Cingular Phones...nice way shoot yourself in the wallet
I wonder if Verizon is kicking itself for sponsoring this list when Endadget picked a Cingular and a T-Mobile phone in this list...
where the heck can you purchase that air guitar tee shirt????????? thanks
That Holux GPS reciever kicks ass!!!!
Sweet gift guide!!
The D40 isn't such a great camera...it lacks a bunch of features that a lower end photographer would want (support for *most* Nikon lenses, second LCD, etc.). The Canon or Pentax (K100D) models are much better value and take just as good pictures...
another good gift ideas would be a USB fingerprint scanners. I think this is what I'm going to buy to my father it looks science fiction and it costs about 80$ and he won't have to remember passwords at home...
Hi there,
I need a gift idea for my boyfriend who is very much into electronics-but I have no idea what to get him-nothing too expensive, as he already has a bunch of things on the way! Please help!
What about storing all these MP3's and 10 MegaPixel photos? Those photos can be quite large, and securely storing them is important. RAID and NAS technology has come down in price to be as affordable as the camera above...check out www.infrant.com and email me with your thoughts. I've been a user for months and my ReadyNAS NV+ - http://www.infrant.com/products/products_details.php?name=ReadyNAS%20NVPlus - is as cool as anything in this list!
KDog!
i never got sidekick 2. i really want free getting sidekick 2, because i need conact with my mom and dad for the Ememgrcy. and also that i want chatt with my friend on line