Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: for mom

Hi mom, we love you. Here are some gadgets we might like to buy you, which, in turn, could be gadgets your pal moms might get from their Engadget reading children. Please, try to have some patience with tech, the payoff is usually pretty good (or so we'd like to think). And hey, if not, that's totally fine. You can return it for some loot, or give it to dad.

Note to buyers: gadgets are good, but gadgets and flowers are way better. Gadget's flowers, and chocolate? Get outta here.

See also: for him, for her, for son, for daughter, for dad.

$0 - $100

JVC HA-NC80 noise canceling headphones - Seriously, kids, will you shut the hell up a minute? Mommy needs to think. Then the headphones go on and the world fades away -- see why noise-canceling is the only way to live? Give mom a break this year with the JVC HA-NC80 cans, with differing modes for wide frequency noise (screaming children) or low frequency noise (plane taking her away from it all).
~$60 - Shop for JVC HA-NC80

Solid Alliance USB Snowman - If your mom is anything like our moms, she gets a little too into the holidays and winds up with a bunch of stuff that most would only ever use once a year -- but that she manages to keep around all year long. Enter the USB Snowman. 256MB of storage and his holly jolly nose glows blue.
$60 - Buy from Dynamism

Black & Decker JW200 - The Lids Off is one of those gifts that you give someone in your family, but you really don't mind if they give it right back. Or at least we don't, our poor little digits are so weakened and strained from 24x7 blogging we hardly have the dexterity to open up a can of pasta sauce -- let alone whoop ass. Let this jar opener do it for you, um, we mean her.
Up to $60, depending on options - Buy from Amazon

Babykeeper - If hanging your kid from the stall to watch while you use the ladies' room really doesn't bother you philosophically, check out the Babykeeper. It's a remarkably simple and effective solution for a common problem -- it merely comes with the price of wondering whether you're mentally scarring your child as you do your duty front and center.
$40 - Buy from Mommysentials

Noteworthy mention: Fire-retardant laptop sleeve

$101 - $250

Melitta ME1MSB Smart Brew Coffemaker - Mom loves her coffee and also loves her, um, weather reports, so why not pick up a gift that here combines two passions? Melitta's ME1MSB Smart Brew Coffemaker not only delivers fresh cups o' joe every morning, it uses the MSN Direct network to provide up to the minute weather information. Forecast: delicious.
$200 - Buy from Amazon

Canon's PIXMA mini260 Portable Photo Printer - Even if mom doesn't have the 1337 tech skillz of the one giving the gifts, Canon's PIXMA mini260 Portable Photo Printer should be a breeze to use. An intuitive scroll wheel lets her fly through menu options, and the 6,900 x 2,400 dpi resolution means those family photos covering the entire fridge have never looked so good.
$200 - Buy from Best Buy

Apple iPod nano - If she's still listening to her old audio cassettes on a beat up Walkman, it may be time to send her kicking and screaming into the digital age. Apple's 2G nano should do the trick; With plenty of color choices you're sure to find one that matches her handbag, and if you go RED, you can help out a good cause to boot.
$150 and up - Buy from Apple

$251 - $500

MotorRAZR V3i Dolce & Gabbana - Not every Mom is into high-fashion, but if your mother is, you can bet she'll totally dig this D&G-branded handset. Just like your standard V3i RAZR, this is a quad-band phone, which is super-slim and seriously stylish in any corner of the globe, but now in that over the top gaudy gold way that only D&G seems to be allowed to bring.
$400 - Buy from Motorola


iRobot Roomba Discovery - It's a sad truth that most men (young and old) don't nearly clean up after themselves nor their environments nearly as well as they should. So kids, if your Mom does most of the cleaning and you want to pitch in some way besides contributing actual labor, you might consider the iRobot Roomba Discovery, the classic vacuuming robot. Once she sees it in action she'll wonder why she spent all those years cleaning manually; robots seem to cause that kind of strange addiction.
$280 - Buy from iRobot

Adidas-Polar RS800 - If your Mom is a jogging geek, or is perhaps training for a marathon, then she'll definitely approve of the Adidas-Polar RS800 running computer. It'll give her all kinds of running data, including heart rate, speed, elevation and even "running efficiency." Just don't blame her when she goes for early morning runs and then hogs the computer to analyze her stats by the time you get up. (See also Nike + iPod.)
$370 - Shop for Adidas-Polar RS800

$501 - $1000

Sony DCR-SR100 camcorder - Tape-based camcorders can be a major pain, so if you're looking for a simpler way to help mom record her precious memories, the hard drive-packin' Sony DCR-SR100 might be the way to go. The 30GB drive should be more than enough to capture the highlights of her weekly bridge game, and its three megapixel stills means she can at least sometimes leave her regular camera at home -- which is even better if she's still shooting on analog.
~$770 - Shop for DCR-SR100

iJoy 100 Robotic Massage Chair - No matter if mom's working, retired, or a lifelong homemaker, she still deserves some pampering for having to put up with your nonsense for so many years. What better gift than an iJoy 100 Robotic Massage Chair, whose numerous rollers and pre-set programs will allow her to just "set it and forget it."
$600 - Buy from Living in Comfort

Sonos ZonePlayer ZP80 bundle - Let's face it: mom's probably never gonna treat herself to multi-room audio. Maybe you should do it for her with the Sonos ZonePlayer ZP80 Bundle. Dad may need to help out a bit helping her hang of things, but once she does she can add satellite units as she sees fit, and the large, color remote will have her wondering why she's been holding onto that old One4All these past 10 years.
$1000 - Shop for ZP80 bundle

$1001+

LG LSC27990TT refrigerator - Let the next time mom walks up to a television-free fridge be her last. LG's latest TV-equipped icebox, the LSC27990TT, goes big with a 15-inch 1024 x 768 display in one door and a smaller 4-inch piece in the other. With curious features like weather reports and a digital photo album, standing around the kitchen won't just be for the hungry anymore.
$3,600 - Shop for the LG LSC27990TT

Crestron TPMC-8X - Sure, dad got a cool remote for the holiday, but just watch the look on his face when mom unwraps this bad boy. Ok, honestly we can imagine she'll be a bit intimidated. But that's where you enlist Dad's help to show her how the Crestron TPMC-8X does the whole home automation thing in style, offering support for Yahoo! Widgets, VoIP via dual echo-canceling microphones, Bluetooth, and fingerprint recognition on its generously sized touch screen. C'mon, somebody's gonna use this puppy.
$3,800 - Inquire with Crestron

[Mr. H @ Dec 17th 2006 4:23PM]

Actually, the 2 GB Nano is $150, and doesn't come in a choice of colors like you said. The 2 GB version is only available in silver. The 4 GB version on the other hand comes in 5 colors, and is available for $200.

Just keeping you guys on your toes.

[Carlos @ Dec 17th 2006 4:43PM]

Read it again - it says "2G nano" not "2GB nano", the 2G meaning Second Generation

Just keeping you on your toes....

[Mr. H @ Dec 17th 2006 4:45PM]

Touche, Carlos.

[kinger @ Dec 17th 2006 4:57PM]

wow, the babykeeper is just disturbing...

[Ant @ Dec 17th 2006 5:27PM]

My mom wouldn't like any of these things...

[stealth @ Dec 17th 2006 5:57PM]

no way. that baby keeper owns.
another way to keep those brats inline.

[Cardbored @ Dec 17th 2006 6:10PM]

These are kinda sexist... Especially reading the last one... "once dad shows her how to use it" and why can't moms want something thats not directly targeted to them. My mom actually wants a DS for Christmas...

[Ryan @ Dec 17th 2006 7:09PM]

@Cardbored: I wouldn't say it is sexist. If you base it on the average female, most are more intimidated by technology (or at least NEW technology they have not experienced before) than males are. I'm not pulling this theory out of my ass, I have been working at a large electronics store for more than a year now and I experience this on a daily basis. I am aware there is the occasional woman who is very into new technology, but most aren't. Not sure the exact reason for this... I guess psychology isn't my thing really.

[Eric Glassman @ Dec 17th 2006 7:09PM]

Mommykeeper??!! D'oh. Within a couple weeks this will be in museums alongside maces, stretch racks, all the best dungeon style torture implements. "This degrades us both" ala the Simpsons.

[Michiel @ Dec 17th 2006 7:11PM]

An electric jar-opener??

Who in his right mind buys a device as large as a coffee maker for something that only needs doing maybe once every week?

Also, there are perfectly useful jar-opening plier-like kitchen utensils for the weak-handed amongst us.

Sheesh, what people won't spend money on.

[Tresa @ Dec 18th 2006 12:50AM]

Michiel, the electric jar opener is superb for someone who suffers from arthritis, rather than simply "weak hands."

[whiskey @ Dec 17th 2006 8:24PM]

I can honestly say that mom would not like any of this apparels. Ok maybe the coffee machine but one that's not that complicated to replace in case of it breaking down.

[Cameron @ Dec 17th 2006 10:44PM]

Again, the presumption is that all moms are a) like yours and b) old.

The "after dad shows you how to use it" crap is just stupid though.

[OVerclockerX @ Dec 18th 2006 12:45AM]

This is a gift GUIDE. A GUIDE to buying gifts for your mum. You no your mum better then this site does so if she wouldn't like the gift don't buy it. Why don't you just leave it at that instead of complaining about the list

[Finally a good excuse @ Dec 18th 2006 4:00AM]

Alright, you have got me there. I hadn't thought about that.

So indeed the electric jar-opener is a useful device.

Wouldn't want one though, I'm already short on space as it is :)

[John Gegier @ Dec 18th 2006 11:22AM]

2G is not a common abbreviation for 2nd Generation. Can't these bloggers write things without making up even more lazy ways to abbreviate things?!? And that's as In Grin, not Gansta, or Goofy, or Girlfriend. For mom the 4 Gig Sansa e240 is a nice player and I have seen them on sale at Wal-Mart for 150.00.

Peace

[Dan F @ Dec 18th 2006 2:54PM]

@ John
Don't piss off the engadget bloggers. I had a friend that once pissed them off. now i can just say I HAD a friend :P
@ everyone- This is a TECHNOLOGY blog, there not going to go recommend a sweatshirt or shoes or something like that because well...no technology is used? The items might not appeal to moms because well... there are many parents that don't even know what USB is *cough my mom cough* if you mom enjoys technology and new advances like most people who read this blog then this stuff is some pretty good subjections.
just my 2 cents

[Darren @ Dec 19th 2006 2:22PM]

Actually, 2G is a common abbreviation for second generation. EVEN WIKIPEDIA uses it, and obviously Wikipedia is 100% correct. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod - Go to the first couple of charts and tables.

(Kidding about the 100% part)

[Darren @ Dec 19th 2006 2:26PM]

Comment about the ZP80: the remote is really unwieldy, but the system is really easy to set up. The instructions are so simple that mommy will not need "dad's help" to set it up, unless dad has the router set up very confusingly.

Or if it's really a gift for mom, then set it up before hand, and surprise her by softly playing her favorite song(s) when she's not expecting it - all throughout the house.

[bsm0f0 @ Dec 20th 2006 5:11PM]

wow, no nintendo ds? jesus, my mom can't put that god damned brain game down for 1 second.

family in hysterics: "zomg the christmas turkey is on fire!!!"
mom: "meh, son ... turn the oven off and put ... *tap tap tap* ... some water on it."
son: "omg i'm on fire ... the kitchen is on fire ... *gags on smoke*"
mom: "just a sec ... *tap tap tap* ... oh ... *tap* ... uhm, oooo ... *tap* ... honey, go get in the shower, you'll be ... *tap tap* ... fine ... mommy's busy... *tap tap*"

[jess @ Dec 22nd 2006 8:55AM]

I love that there doesn't actually seem to be any mums commenting here. For really confused husbands/sons who think that they are the only ones able to cope with anything more electrical then a domestic appliance - she would probably like the ZP80, and if she hasn't yet got an ipod then why not?
You're quite right about mums being secret DS addicts though - i've only just put it down because i got a wii and i absolutly defy anyone not to want that for Xmas (unless of course they're stupid enough to smack themselves/their telly with the controller!)

[KayB @ Dec 29th 2006 11:55PM]

OK, Christmas is over and all the gifts have been opened. C'mon guys, really. This IS a sexist list. Why recommend an iPod Nano? I got the engraved 60 GB iPod for a gift which is musch better. Plus I got the picture frame. I'm typing this on my laptop after playing games with me kids on their Wii. Us old women may not be as technologically savvy at the beginning, but we can (for the most part) read. And any woman that can read doesn't need a guy around to set up gadgets for them. After all, learning to work a new gadget isn't any different than learning a new craft, how to make a new dish, or learning home repairs. And we do have one advantage over you gentlemen...we usually read instructions.