8 Great Gadgets to Give or Receive

8 Great Gadgets to Give or Receive This Season

By Crystal Hsing, eHow Contributor

updated: December 3, 2010

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   Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
   Electronics make great gifts for the holiday season.
   Who doesn't crave the latest gadgets, especially when they're wrapped up under the tree? From digital cameras to MP3 players to LCD monitors, the market is filled with high-tech electronic goodies, but which ones are the hot items for this holiday season? Take a look at eight popular gadgets that make a perfect present, whether you are giving or receiving the gift.

Digital camera

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   portable hard drive image by Adrian Costea from Fotolia.com
   SLR cameras are all the rage these days, but with prices ranging from $400 to $700, it may be easier on your wallet to consider point-and-shoot digital cameras. Look for cameras with reliable, built-in, automatic flash and long battery life to get the best bang for your buck. For around $250, Samsung offers its ST80 Wi-Fi Camera, which lets you instantly upload your photos or videos directly from the camera onto sites like Facebook and Youtube via its handy built-in Wi-Fi connection. Canon's PowerShot A3100 IS is a steal at $99 with features such as a 2.7" LCD screen and Face Detection technology.

iPad accessories

3. If you know someone who already has an iPad, why not give them something that adds a little oomph to their tablets? From covers to screen protectors to docks, there are plenty of add-ons to choose from. Kensington offers its Powerpad iPad Dock that doubles as a case with built-in speakers and provides up to five hours of extra battery life. All that for $100. If you're looking for something more budget-friendly, try an iPad stand, like Bracketron's Netbook and iPad X-type Stand, which sells for around $12 and allows users to watch movies or read their iPad hands-free.

Headphones

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   headphones image by Daniel Wiedemann from Fotolia.com
   A set of good headphones makes the perfect gift for the music lover in your life. Many headphones offer noise-reduction abilities that up the sound quality of any musical experience as well as full-ear enclosure for added comfort. Prices range from $10 to over $500 depending on the quality you want. Eskuche's Control CPU and Koss Porta's Pro headphones both offer great sound with a sleek, retro look for around $50. Other options to consider are high-performance earbuds, which can run anywhere from 450 to $250, for those who are always on the go and don't want to lug around hefty headphones.

Microsoft Kinect

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   black and blue game pads image by Warren Millar from Fotolia.com
   For the gamers, you can't go wrong with Microsoft's answer to the Nintendo Wii: Kinect for Xbox 360. With sensors that track your body movements and your voice, Kinect offers a one-of-a-kind gaming experience, no controller necessary. The Kinect sensor (Xbox console not included) sells for $199 in a bundle that includes two games; each game usually sells for around $50 on its own.

External hard drive

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   external hardrive image by Photoeyes from Fotolia.com
   It may not be the sexiest gift, but the peace of mind that comes with knowing your important computer data is safely backed up on an external hard drive feels priceless. It's the perfect gift for those on your list that pride themselves on extensive digital music, video or photo collections. External hard drives come in all shapes and sizes, with different capacities ranging from a couple of gigabytes to terabytes. Important specs to consider include reading and writing speeds, connection types (USB 3.0, USB 2.0, FireWire, etc.), and information such as noise level and run temperature. The Western Digital My Book 3.0 was the best reviewed external hard drive on www.consumersearch.com and comes in 1 or 2 terabyte models for around $150 and $180, respectively. For those who value portability, Iomega's eGo portable hard drive boasts a slim design at about 6 in. long with either 250GB or 500GB capacities.

MP3 player

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   music pocket pc image by Alexander Oshvintsev from Fotolia.com
   The market for MP3 players is pretty much dominated by Apple, and for good reason. IPods, from the shuffle, the nano, the touch and the classic, iPods have become the standard by which all other MP3 players are judged. The shuffle runs for a mere $49 and comes with a built-in clip that's perfect for those on the go; the newly redesigned nano starts at $149 and now uses touch-screen technology; and, the iPod touch includes features such as Facetime, Retina display and Wi-Fi capability for internet access, all starting from $229. For the non-Apple lovers, Microsoft's Zune HD sports a 3.3-in. display with an HD radio tuner and an amazingly long estimated battery life of 33 hours.

Ebook reader

8. Die hard book lovers may be holding out against ebooks, but there's no denying that digital readers are here to stay. Take factors such as portability, screen size and battery life into consideration when choosing which reader to get. The third generation of Amazon's Kindle now comes in models with 3G/Wi-Fi ($189) with improved battery life and even plays MP3 audio. Barnes & Nobles' Nook Color is significantly pricier at $249, but the 7-in. color touch screen is hard to beat. Amazon's Kindle and Barnes and Noble's Nook are the most popular readers, but they are not the only choices in the market: the Sony Reader comes in Pocket and Touch Editions while Apple's iPad definitely functions well as an ebook reader, among all its other uses.

Smartphone

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   Smartphone image by Dominator from Fotolia.com
   If you're thinking about gifting someone with a smartphone, be sure to consider what they'd be using the phone for most. For avid texters, the Samsung Reality comes with both a touch screen and a QWERTY keyboard for maximum texting potential. Apple's iPhone 4 is perfect for those who want their phone to do it all: texting, gaming, web-surfing and other forms of multimedia. Another important factor to be aware of is the recipient's wireless carrier, as certain phones are only available on a particular network (such as the iPhone, which is currently only carried by AT&T, though the Wall Street Journal recently reported that the iPhone would be available for Verizon subscribers in early 2011).

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