Top 10 Tech Gifts

Well it’s hard to believe, but we are already in December. It’s time to start talking about our greedy little wishes for Christmas. If you are a tech geek like me, then your wish-list is already too long to ever become more then that, a wish-list. If you have been a good boy or girl and are still on good terms with Santa you may want to consider asking him for the top 10 tech gifts of 2006, or at least one or two of them. We are not even going to mention the top two tech toys, the playstation 3 and the Nintendo wii. If you haven’t already been begging for one of these since last year then you might as well forget it, because even Santa’s elves can’t keep up with the demand.
The following information was obtained from data found at CompUSA and CNET.
1. Apple iPod Nano- Topping the list is the second generation 4GB iPod Nano. Reasonable priced, displays album art and photos, and sounds great. It looks fabulous, too, still super slim but now with a hardier, seamless aluminum shell that comes in four colors.
2. Canon PowerShot s3 lS- With its 6 mega pixels, whopping 12X zoom, high quality lens, and image stabilization, you can capture great shots and zoom in for close-ups. Cool new feature is the LCD twist feature like found on camcorders, helping you to shoot in movie mode.
3. Sony 8″ DVD Player- This portable DVD player is affordable ($200 list), with up to six hours of battery life and an 8-inch wide screen that swivels and folds back in to a neat tablet. It’s compatible with MP3 and photo CD’s too.
4. Sling Media Slingbox A/V- Set your TV free: forward its signal to your laptop, handheld or cell phone. The Slingbox slings live TV and anything you have recorded on your TiVo (or other digital video recorder) to any device with high-speed broadband access. Now you can be a couch potato anywhere you roam.
5. Apple MacBook- This winter-white laptop is thin, light, and affordably priced, yet it doesn’t skimp on features, such as Core Duo processors, a DVD burner, and a built in Webcam. With a 13.3-inch screen, you’ll have enough width to view two open windows or to watch a movie. If my boss is reading this, it will also make your employee MUCH MORE productive. (wink-wink).
6. Sony 60″ HDTV- This 1080p HDTV delivers excellent picture controls to get your image just right, so both high-def and standard-def sources will look sharp and stunning.
7. Creative Zen V Plus 2 GB- The video iPod is a gorgeous gadget, but as the Zen V’s name says, it’s “Plus” and does even more, though it’s actually smaller. This compact player has great sound quality and battery life, plays a variety of music file types, and features FM radio, voice recording, and photo and video playback.
8. Nintendo DS Lite- For those that game on the go, try the slim Nintendo DS Lite, a low-priced portable player with a number of quirky titles available. Bonus: it’s Wi-Fi compatible, so you can play multiplayer games with friends and strangers.
9. Sony Cyber Shot DSC-T10- This slim camera offers a big, 2.5-inch LCD, 7.2 megapixels, and a 3X zoom, and the image quality is impressive. The camera also comes in four colors: black, silver, pink, and white.
10. Samsung 32″ LCD TV- Style and substance meet in Samsung’s 32-inch flat-panel TV. Housed in a glossy black case on a handy swivel stand, the LN-S3251D reproduces deeper blacks than most LCD TVs do, offering impressive image quality and accurate color. You’ll also get picture-in-picture and plenty of connectivity, including a PC and two HDMI inputs.
So there you have it. I know that not all tech geeks will agree with this list, but they will have to at least agree that you can’t go wrong with any of the above as a great gift choice. If you have purchased any of the above for your favorite techie and you hear them complain, just box it back up and send it to Newport Plain Talk c/o Nathan Hull. I will show you all the gratitude that you didn’t receive from the recipient of your awesome tech gift. As always this is just my opinion of a great wish-list.