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Engadget's Holiday Gift Guide: Accessories

Donald Melanson
Guest Contributor
Updated ·5 min read

Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today's bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the holiday season.



Accessories. One word, two Cs, three Ss, endless possibilities. Thankfully, we're here to bring order to the chaos, and recommend a few products that are best when paired with something other than themselves -- be it your computer, your car, your phone, or yourself. Head on past the break for our complete guide.


Stocking stuffers


Batteries are one gift that's guaranteed to be used by anyone you give them to and, as we found in our recent tests, you can't do much better than Sanyo's Eneloops. Get a charger and a pair of AAs for as little as $10, or go nuts with a stocking full to keep every portable gadget charged year 'round.

Key specs: Pre-charged, up to 1,000 charges

Price: $10 and up



Logitech K750 solar keyboard - $79.99

A solar-powered keyboard may not seem like the most sensible of ideas at first glance, but Logitech's K750 keyboard isn't exactly your regular type of solar-powered gadget. It's actually powered by ambient light, which Logitech says will keep it powered at all times even it never sees the actual light of day. As an added bonus, it's actually a pretty good keyboard too.



Apple Magic Trackpad - $69

Its "magicalness" may be a bit questionable, but Apple's Magic Trackpad does do a respectable job of replicating the experience of a multitouch laptop trackpad on your desktop, and it may be just the perfect gift for that Mac user in your life that has (almost) everything.



Motorola Oasis Bluetooth headset - $79.99

We don't ask for much in a Bluetooth headset: good sound quality, comfort, not-goofy-looking. Motorola's Oasis headset comes through on all three of those counts, and it goes beyond most in the comfort department -- our own mobile editor, Chris Ziegler, describes it as "ridiculously comfortable."




Oh, you shouldn't have


Portable speakers are bound to come with a few trade-offs, but you'll get far fewer than usual with Jawbone's new Jambox Bluetooth speaker, which truly packs some big sound in a small package. As with other Jawbone products, it also boasts a distinct style, and it's available in your choice of four different colors / designs.

Key specs: Bluetooth, rechargeable battery, 85 decibel output

Price: $200




Phosphor World Time E Ink watch - $150- $195

A watch is a classic gift for any occasion, but those looking for something a bit more gadgety without going crazy with a watch phone or vintage Casio Databank can't do much better than an E Ink watch, and Phospher's new World Time models are among the best we've seen to date. At under $200, they also won't completely break the bank.



Microsoft LifeCam Studio - $100

Most folks may be able to get by without a standalone webcam, but integrated options can be a bit lacking for those that find themselves video conferencing as often as they're on the phone. We tested quite a few webcams this past year, and Microsoft's LifeCam Studio easily ranks among the best -- it's far from the cheapest option, but you'll get HD video and great image quality even in dim lighting conditions.


Iomega eGo USB 3.0 portable hard drive - $130

Another of those less than exciting necessities -- a portable hard drive is great for that person you know doesn't back up their data, and Iomega's latest eGo drives should be good for the long haul both when it comes to durability and connectivity (they're ready for USB 3.0 even if the computer of the person receiving it isn't). A 500GB model is also available, but at these prices we'd go for the full 1TB.


Garmin nuvi 295W - $100 - $150

A GPS device may be a bit of an obvious gift choice, but Garmin's nuvi 295W should surprise even those that are expecting a nav unit. While it's a GPS first and foremost, Garmin's nuvi 295W also packs a built-in 3 megapixel camera and built-in WiFi that will let you check email and upload geotagged photos. Think of it as a Garminfone without the phone.


We can't afford the rent now, can we?


A pair of goggles with a built-in heads-up display and GPS? Suffice it to say, if you know someone into gadgets and winter sports you pretty much can't go wrong here.

Key specs: Micro LCD display, GPS, polarized lenses

Price: $399 - $499



Garmin nuvi 3790T - $400 - $450

Garmin's other not-your-ordinary-GPS unit, the nuvi 3790T, doesn't pack the built-in camera or WiFi of its 295W counterpart, but it is unquestionably the sleekest standalone nav unit around, and it thankfully doesn't skimp when it comes to the all-important core GPS features. The 4.3-inch, WVGA multitouch capacitive display is also a considerable step up over your average GPS screen.



Shure SE535 - $450 - $500

Alright, so a $500 set of headphone isn't exactly your average gift, but we'd be hard pressed to find anyone disappointed with a set of Shure SE535s. When it comes to headphones, the phrase "you get what you pay for" really is true more often than not, and the SE535s are no exception.



Drobo FS - $610 - 700

Storage may not be exciting, but the Drobo FS does its best to change that. Not your ordinary NAS, the Drobo FS accommodates five hot-swappable drives that can be mixed and matched in capacities, it boasts native Time Machine support and, well, it's a robot (of sorts).