Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: for daughter
What's more challenging than buying a tech gift for your finicky son? Buying one for your ultra-picky daughter. It's tough enough just raising a daughter who's a nerd, let alone knowing exactly what direction to go come present-presenting season. Luckily for you gadget-savvy (or not so gadget-savvy) moms and dads out there, the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide exists, and will transport you to the magical phantasmagoria of money-sucking goodness that we like to call "shopper's delight." Read on for all the info (and be sure to check out our other guides right here).
$0 - $50
WowWee Flytech Tinker Bell - Thanks to the wizards at WowWee, Tinker Bell is no longer confined to the TV (or movie) screen. By far the cutest of radio control toys, your daughter is sure to get a kick out of hovering this thing over the dinner table and dive bombing her older brother this holiday season. She can buzz around for 4-minutes on an 18-minute charge, and 'Bell is suitable for kids aged 6 years and up.
$39.99 - Buy from WowWee
Super Kid 4-Port USB Hub - Never before in history has being a kid involved so many peripherals: from PMPs to printers, and from webcams to flash drives, things can get rather complicated for the well-appointed tweenager. That's why we heartily recommend the Super Kid 4-Port USB hub. It's functional, because it's a USB hub, and it's fun, because it's shaped like people! Oh, and it's cheap. Real cheap.
$12.00 - Buy from gadget4all.com
Estée Lauder TurboLash All Effects Motion Mascara - Makeup technology is advancing in leaps and bounds every day -- that's why we were so excited when we saw the new vibrating, battery operated mascara applicators from Estée Lauder. If anything, we're shocked that it's taken western science this long to devise an applicator that vibrates at 125 micropulses per second. If your bundle of joy is becoming a woman who's serious about her makeup, you know what you have to do...
$32.00 - Buy from Estée Lauder
$51 - $100
Elmo Live - What could be cuter than Elmo? How about Elmo busting out a cool, kid-friendly rap? Hailed as the "most innovative and engaging Elmo toy ever," Elmo Live dances, sings, jokes around and makes movements that "give kids the feeling that Elmo is alive in their own homes." If that weren't enough, after the kids are asleep he loves nothing more than kicking it with the parents. Apparently Elmo's quite a pool player -- and he's been known to make a mean Tom Collins.
$60.00 - Buy from Fisher-Price
Aly & AJ Guitars for Guitar Hero and Rock Band - If Guitar Hero or Rock Band is your daughter's bag, isn't it time she had a controller as sassy and stylish as she is? Designed by Radio Disney mainstays Aly & AJ, either of these guitars are sure to be a big hit all year 'round. Rock on!
$49.99 - Buy from PDP
Bio Energy Discovery Kit - Do you have a young scientist on your hands? If so, the Bio-Energy Discovery Kit might be right up her alley. The kit demonstrates alternative fuel cell technology by generating electricity from ethanol (eg: vodka), using it to power a fan for days on end. Whether or not the kit is actually the "fuel cell industry's first direct ethanol product," is anyone's guess, but it does seem like a shoo-in for her next science fair.
$99.99 - Buy from Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies
$101 - $250
Motorola ROKR E8 - No handset is all things to all people, but if a musicphone is in your little girl's future, you might want to take a good look at the ROKR E8. Featuring vibrating haptic "keys" and a bright and crisp QVGA screen housed in a glossy black shell, the phone certainly holds its own in the looks department. And while 2GB of flash storage (not including the microSD slot) won't put her iPod out of business, it'll certainly kill time during Saturday detention.
$149.00 (with service contract) - Buy from T-Mobile
iPod Touch - What can we say about the iPod Touch that hasn't already been said? What can we write about the iPod Touch that we haven't already written? Nothing.
$229.00 - Buy from Apple
Speakal iPig speaker system - What do you give the girl that's got everything? As in, really, truly everything? How about the iPod docking iPig, a unique speaker system that offers 360-degree sound distribution, a 4-inch subwoofer and adjustable bass controls. In a plastic pig. It's your call whether she'll find it adorable or atrocious.
$139.99 - Buy from Speakal
$251 - $500
Sony VAIO Wi-Fi Photo Frame - We're pretty sure she'll be transfixed for hours looking through photos of her friends and family with this truly attractive, 7-inch digital photo frame. If you're feeling particularly creative, you could always pre-load it full of photographs of cats with hilarious captions -- that brings the laughs at any age, in our opinion.
$299.99 - Buy from Sony Style
Kota the Triceratops - This prehistoric plaything is definitely going to take up a lot of space, and it might give the family Chihuahua the creeps (what doesn't?), but other than that, we're looking at 100 percent herbivorous ceratopsid dino-cuddling action. As far as we can tell, you really can't go wrong with this gift -- as long as your daughter is under the age of oh... say, 30.
$269.99 - Buy from Playskool
Logitech Squeezebox Boom - The Squeezebox Boom seems like one of those gifts you may really be stoked to receive, even though you didn't know you wanted one in the first place. With a built in amp and speakers, this WiFi-enabled tabletop radio will have a serious dance party raging in no time -- though we doubt people will be cutting a rug to anything from Red Carpet Massacre-era Duran Duran.
$299.99 - Buy from Logitech
$501 - $1000
Dell Studio Hybrid Desktop PC - If your daughter's the kind of girl who likes to repaint her room to fit her mood or match her outfits, but she's also an environmentally conscious PC-user, this could be a match made in heaven. The Studio Hybrids -- which boast WiFi and HDMI options as well as wireless mice and keyboards -- make economical use of space, and are pretty easy on the eyes, too.
from $449 - Buy from Dell
Vicious and Divine Swarovski Laplace Webcam - A perfect gift for only the fanciest people in your life, the crystal coated webcam laughs in the face of understated glamor -- then kicks it, sprinkles some Swarovskis on it, and makes friends with it. Regardless, the 2 megapixel photo and 1.3 megapixel video resolution -- plus those 1,350 crystals -- make this the perfect gift for the uber-luxury crowd.
$504 - Special order from Speed-Link
Canon Rebel XSi DSLR - If you're hoping to foster the development of the next Annie Leibovitz, this 12.2 megapixel camera is a snazzy option. A serious DSLR that's also newcomer-friendly, the Rebel XSi is not cheap -- and it's going to run you extra to tack on those two optional telephoto lenses that she'll definitely want if she decides to forego the high road and become a papparazzo.
from $640 - Shop for Canon Rebel XSi
$1001+
Motorola Aura - It's exclusive, expensive, and high-end. It boasts a 16-million (yes, million) color circular lcd, a 62-carat (yes, carat) sapphire crystal lens, and a 2.0 megapixel camera, all in the most attractive package Motorola's ever graced us with. What more could your tech-savvy princess ask for? Just be sure you get her the real thing -- a cheap knockoff really won't do.
$1,999 - Buy from Moto Store
Philips 42PFL5603D 42-inch 1080p LCD TV - Yes, this is truly a giant television to buy for your daughter, but she will inevitably think you are the greatest parent in the entire universe if you do. At least for an hour.
$1,199 - Buy from Dell
Wacom Cintiq 12WX 12.1-inch tablet / Photoshop - Is the girl on your list always doodling? Drawing all over your walls or precious sports memorabilia? The Wacom Cintiq tablet might be the gift (or deterrent) that you're in search of. The 12.1-inch, 1280 x 800 display is large enough to provide a useful workspace, but small enough to be portable and sit comfortably on a table or lap. You'll definitely want to tack Photoshop on to this purchase, of course, and really kick those creative impulses into high gear. Only the worst daughter in the world would spurn such an extraordinary gift.
$999 - Buy the Cintiq 12WX from Wacom
$699 - Buy CS4 from Adobe
