Holiday Gift Guide

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Gadgets galore to please techies

By Joseph Szadkowski
THE WASHINGTON TIMES

      The media-converging, multitasking X, Y and Z generations with factions of Millennials thrown in for good measure egg on the rapid advances of technology and continue to demand faster ways to access information. They also want slicker devices for storing their lives and more creative ways to interact within their universe. Keeping up is a daunting task for product researchers, but it's even more trouble for the gift giver who must find the right high-tech item. Here are some of the better and more unusual ideas for this holiday season.

AREA-51 M9750
What is it? A 17-inch laptop loaded with Windows Vista operating system and two processing cores and graphics cards
Price: Starting at $1,799
Gift group: On-the-go, hard-core gamers and digital editors
Santa's scoop: Alienware tries to stay at the front of the computer revolution by appealing to game players who want one of the most powerful systems on the market. This laptop — $4,028 as tested — boasted among its innards and features dual 512MB NVidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX SLI graphics cards, an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor 2.33GHz, 2 gigabytes of dual-channel memory, 17-inch WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD screen with Clearview technology, a 640-gigabyte drive, full-size keyboard with numeric pad, integrated TV tuner with DVR functionality, and a USB Mini Media Center Remote Control. It also has a cool alien head on the laptop's cover that glows when the laptop is fired up.
The result is seamless on- and off-line experiences when playing simulations such as Electronic Arts' Battlefield 2142 ($29.99) and 2K Games' BioShock ($49.99) as the crisp display combines with rapid-fire response time.
For another $550, deep-pocketed owners also may wish to swap the 8x Dual Layer CD-RW/DVD±RW burner for a Blu-ray drive to take the next step in storage and high-definition movie watching.

MYSKY
What is it? A personal planetarium requiring four AA batteries
Price: $399
Gift group: Budding astronomers
Santa's scoop: The secrets of the solar system open up for those armed with this incredible hand-held wonder from Meade Instruments.
Owners simply point the device at the sky and pull its trigger to use its GPS receiver accelerometers and magnetic north sensors to identify more than 30,000 celestial objects, which are displayed within its 2-inch-wide color LCD screen.
Educational presentations such as Tonight's Best (a quick look at the highlights of a particular evening) use audio, video, images, maps and text along with the quick ability to input an object name and point to the sky to find it.
An excellent introductory tutorial video loaded into the unit teaches owners everything they would need to know about MySky.
The amazing device includes ear buds and a 256-megabyte SD card to download new content from the Web and upload it to the MySky. It also works with other Meade telescopes.

SQUAWKERS MCCAW
What is it? An animatronic bird that requires four AA and three AAA batteries
Price: $69.99
Gift group: Those who wish to enjoy the company of a fine-feathered friend but do not want the mess
Santa's scoop: Hasbro's Furreal Friends line welcomes a chatty plush parrot into the fold that incorporates voice-recognition and programmable features to provide a new and affordable pet experience for the family.
The life-size Squawkers, which can be perched on the included tree branch, will not only remember and execute voice commands, chew on the included plastic cracker, sing a song and dance, but also repeat words and phrases that are taught to it  which could be a dangerous feature around folks with potty mouths.

SMART CYCLE PHYSICAL LEARNING ARCADE SYSTEM
What is it? A stationary bike connected to a television
Price: $99
Gift group: Preschoolers who like to ride, learn and play
Santa's scoop: Video game meets exercise equipment in Fisher-Price's hot item for the year. It uses a colorful cycle loaded with a joystick and cartridge-based entertainment system that plugs right into a monitor's A/V jacks.
With the included Learning Journal software, children choose a virtual vehicle and start pedaling to move through locales such as Math Mountain, Shape Lake and Alphabet Barn. Here they will find obstacle courses filled with letters and numbers where they can stop and play a game or even decorate snapshots in a travel journal chronicling their adventures.
Additional cartridges ($19.99 to $29.99 each) tap into the worlds of SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora, Diego, Barbie and Hot Wheels  the no-brainer of the bunch.

IMEP
What is it? A mobile multimedia entertainment player requiring eight D batteries
Price: $299
Gift group: Multitasking, on-the-go teens in need of constant visual and aural stimulation
Santa's scoop: 3P Electronics' multimedia boombox puts together an IPod dock (compatible with all music players), CD/DVD player, radio, and analog and digital TV tuner and packs it all into a portable unit.
A pair of 10-watt 3-inch speakers and a 7-inch, TFT LCD (thin film transistor liquid crystal display) color screen bring the unit to life, and the memory card and USB slot, RCA input and output, and microphone and headphone jacks add to its flexibility. It includes an AC/DC adapter but could be more productive with a rechargeable battery.
Although the style won't win any awards, the sleek black unit with a hard rubber feel delivers a potent punch for its ease of use and multiple outputs.

MINDSTORMS NXT
What is it? A construction kit used to build interactive and automated systems; requires six AA batteries
Price: $249.99
Gift group: Junior robotics engineers 10 years old and older
Santa's scoop: The legendary Danish toy-block building company, Lego, gives imaginative designers the ultimate package to make their mechanical dreams come to life. A step-by-step guide holds the hands of beginning builders, who can develop humanoids, creatures, a clock, appendages and vehicles and then let their imaginations run wild.
The kit includes touch, sound, light, color and ultrasonic (distance detector) sensors that combine with servo motors and more than 500 bricks. More important, it is spearheaded by the Intelligent Brick, the brains behind the NXT system that has a 32-bit microprocessor, 512 bytes of memory, an LCD display, USB ports and a speaker.
The magic of the NXT system is that it connects to a computer (PC with Windows XP system or Mac with OSX 3.9 or above) and it can be programmed through a drag-and-drop interface that aligns widgetlike commands to direct and engage the designed unit. The system even includes Bluetooth Connectivity to talk easily to a computer or other NXT units, and a cell phone can be used to issue commands.
Clearly more than a toy gadget, the Mindstorms NXT package is a potent educational tool for the engineers of today and tomorrow.

MEDLEY
What is it? An automated CD/DVD disc duplicator
Price: $1,499
Gift group: Amateur musicians and filmmakers serious about circulating their work
Santa's scoop: Disc Makers has put together an affordable duplicating machine that works with a computer fueled by Windows 2000 (or above) to burn and print up to 20 packed CDs or seven DVDs per hour.
The bulky unit (think an ancient Smith Corona typewriter on steroids) uses a robotic arm, drive and disc trays and lives through a menu-driven — and nearly dummy-proof — software interface to offer the options of print only, data burn, audio burn, mixed burn and disc to disc transfers.
An included basic art program, packed with clip art and text-manipulation options, enables creative types to get the right look and text on their audio or video masterpieces.
The Medley also integrates with ITunes and Windows Media Player for quick rips of musical selections for the new band looking to spread the word at gigs.
Wise owners will read the 144-page manual cover to cover and be prepared for a daunting installation process (the printer cartridge alignment phase is brutal) and baskets that slip out of position too easily. A longer USB cord also is a must.

IWEAR AV920
What is it? Video glasses
Price: $349.95
Gift group: Gaming and multimedia junkies with no space to set up a home theater
Santa's scoop: Vuzix refines the technology in its medical and military eyewear and presents a pair of glasses that plug into nearly any visual entertainment system (including camcorders, DVD players, gaming consoles and even video IPods) to give viewers' peepers the sensation of watching a 62-inch-wide screen without the need of a home theater.
The sleek eyeware fuses a pair of 640x480 (24-bit true color) LCD displays with 60 Hz progressive scan, focus adjustments and removable integrated speakers to contain virtual entertainment to the human head.
It has a built-in lithium ion battery for about five hours of viewing and an option that offers a 3-D setting (although it's not the product's strength).
The unit's main appeal will be to shut out the world on long airplane flights or car rides. (I suggest ditching the included speakers and finding more comfortable headphones to plug in.)
The AV920 package includes a mini USB AC adapter charger, composite audio/video cable, DVD player cable, IPod cable and carrying pouch.

PERFECTION V500
What is it? A personal scanner compatible with PCs (Windows 2000 or higher) and Power PC or Intel Macintosh (OSx 2.8 or higher) computers
Price: $249.99
Gift group: Seasoned photographers in a hurry to convert memories into a digital format
Santa's scoop: Epson continues to make it easier for photographers to bring their collections into the digital age with a 6400x9600 dpi resolution scanner that incorporates a mercury-free LED lamp that requires no warm-up time to capture photos, transparencies or negatives.
The V500's features include the use of its Digital Ice technology to remove scratches from film scans; the ability to scan, copy, e-mail and create a PDF with the touch of a button; easy color restoration and dust removal; and document conversion into editable text.
Scans unleash a crystal-clear, eye-popping color image with enlargements as big as 17 by 22 inches through a 8.5-by-11.7-inch read area for reflective media and a 35 mm holder to handle up to four slides or two strips of film.
It includes a USB cord, AC power adapter, Easy Photo Fix software and a copy of Adobe's Photoshop Elements to extend the image-manipulation possibilities.
The initial installation process is painless, as long as the owners remember to remove all of the packaging tape and unlock the two switches that keep the scanner stable during transport.
Serious photo manipulators also might want to check out Alien Skin Software and its lineup of manipulation plug-ins for the Photoshop family with collections starting at $99.

HG10
What is it? A high-definition camcorder compatible with PCs (Windows Vista or XP) and Intel-based Macintosh computers
Price: $1,299 (discounted as low as $759 through online vendors)

Gift group: Amateur videographers who are tired of having to carry tape and discs and are looking for a painless solution to capturing memories
Santa's scoop: Canon has created a hand-held wonder with a recorder that combines a 40-gigabyte internal hard drive with a state-of-the-art image sensor and 10x video lens with optical stabilization. The result is up to 15 hours of non-shaky, high-definition cinema (1920x1080 resolution or 1080p) easily viewed on the 2.7-inch, 180-degree LCD screen, on a standard or high-definition monitor or downloaded to a computer.
Its photo-capturing flexibility enables users to grab a 3.1-megapixel image while shooting to store on a mini-SD card (not included) or grab 2.0-megapixel stills from shot footage.
The HG10 also features a built-in electronic lens cover, four zoom speed settings, automatic exposure-control settings and even built-in flash.
PC owners will be able to download and edit footage with the included Ulead DVD Moviefactory software, but Mac owners will want to purchase Apple's IMovie '08 editing suite (part of the ILife '08 software package, $79) for the easiest editing solution.
Shooting and zoom controls are within easy fingertip reach, but they can be a bit cramped for videographers with big hands. The rotating navigation-control dial mounted to the side of the screen makes accessing menus and playback a breeze.
The package includes a wireless mini remote control; rechargeable lithium ion battery pack; compact power adapter; and USB, A/V and component video cables. Not included is a mini HDMI-to-HDMI cable (around $20), preferred for really experiencing the digital HD format on a compatible screen.