Gadgets & Gear: December 2007

Wracking your brain trying to figure out what to get the Gadget Geek in your life for the holidays? Have no fear, this month’s article is all about some of the season’s top gadgets, any of which would put a silly grin on your little geeks face when they open it.

It has been a busy year for a lot of electronics companies. I can’t remember the last time I have seen so many extremely cool gadgets all out at once. There are some serious battles brewing among a lot of different companies to try to earn your dollar. Everything from MP3 players to cameras has seen some major cool factor injections and some serious upgrades to capabilities; all while keeping prices the same (if not a little less). So here are some of my top picks for the best gadgets of the holiday season.

MP3/MEDIA PLAYERS

Got a call from Lucifer the other day, and it seems he is a bit peeved at the sudden decrease in temperature down there. What happened? I bought my first iPod and switched my main MP3 player to Apple. More than one friend of mine asked if I was OK since I said it would be a cold day down there before I switched to an iPod. Well, I’m eating crow and believe it or not, it really does taste like chicken (it is a little bitter though).

For those of you who have been readers since our first issue this January, you will know that I was not a particular fan of Steve Jobs. While I have always thought that iPods were undeniably stylish, I’m also one of those who refuse to go along with the herd. Well, that article was written some time in November ‘06 and since then my wife got her little pink Nano (the last generation), and after seeing that Apple did make some serious improvements to iTunes for Windows users, I broke down and purchased an iPod Shuffle (which I did rate very highly in my review of best music players for the gym). It became my favorite music player for when I work out and actually took over as one of my main players. It is so easy to use and so incredibly well designed that I was sucked in. I still held on to my SanDisk Sansa player for my main player (meaning the one with my entire music library) but started having serious thoughts of moving completely over to iPods this summer. Apple cinched the deal with my #1 pick for must have gadget this season.

iPod Touch: This thing brings a grin to my face every time I use it. From the incredibly cool cover flow feature that lets you ‘flip’ through your music collection like flipping through a stack of LPs (for the younger readers out there, those are the things that look like really big black CDs) to the huge screen which is incredibly gorgeous when showing off pictures or watching movies. And, believe it or not, it does a great job showing off web pages. Shortly after the iPhone came out, I had said that if they ever came out with one without the phone feature (which has been a letdown for some people), I would be the first to buy it. I was one of the first people to get one of the first shipments to the local Apple store.

If you thought the iPhone was super sleek and stylish, the Touch outdoes it by being even more slender and stylish (I personally prefer the black bezel around the screen vs. the iPhone’s stainless steel). My mother, who is not a gadget geek by any stretch of the imagination, was even grinning like a little kid when she saw all the cool things the Touch can do. Even beyond playing music and movies or TV shows, I have to say the features I use the most are the web browser and the picture viewer. While you can only use the web browser at Wi-Fi hotspots and not everywhere like with the iPhone, it comes in pretty handy when you need to look up something on the internet and don’t have your laptop or don’t want to use the more truncated version on most cell phones.

This isn’t the internet you have seen on most phones, it is the real deal and uses Apple’s Safari browser just like the Mac computers. While it can be a little hard sometimes to hit some of the really small hyperlinks on some pages, all in all it works like a charm. As for pictures, the Touch is like carrying around entire picture albums. It is so cool to hand the Touch over to a friend and let them flip through the photos from your last trip. You can even zoom in on the picture with a little ‘finger-spread’ motion on the touch screen or shrink them down again with a ‘pinch’ motion.

While the Touch doesn’t have the gargantuan hard drive capacities of the new ‘Classic’ iPod, it does come in both an 8GB and 16GB capacities and cost $299 and $399 respectively. The 8GB version is probably a bit small unless you have a relatively small music collection. I have a decent size music collection, a movie, a TV show, and about 500 pictures loaded onto mine, and I have 7 out of the 16GB left on my Touch. Oh, and when you are at the store, pick up a case for the Touch, because while it is awfully pretty and sleek, it is a finger print magnet.

The Rest of the iPod Lineup: Okay, I already gushed about the Touch, but I have to give a quick shout out to the rest of the iPod lineup. Apple has made some very cool changes to the rest of the iPod line. Now the Nano is even smaller but has a bigger screen and supports video (in fact the screen on the Nano has the highest resolution out of any iPod) and comes in 4GB and 8GB flavors ($149 and $199 respectively). The now ‘Classic’ video iPod comes in 80 and 160GB versions ($249 and $349), and both are still very sleek and now have an anodized aluminum front which doesn’t streak up with finger prints like the last several generations of iPods (can’t say that about the stainless steel back though). Both the Nano and Classic have updated their interfaces and support their own version of Cover Flow, not as cool as the version on the Touch, but still pretty cool. Finally, the still very cool Shuffle comes in some new colors but otherwise is unchanged and still only costs $79.

Sony Walkman NWZ-A818: “Ding dong the witch is dead, the wicked witch is dead.” Not really, but Sony’s SonicStage software is. The albatross that has been hanging around Sony’s neck for the last several years of digital music player history is finally gone and with it Sony’s proprietary music format. The ATRAC3 music format was actually not bad but it never got much support out of anyone other than Sony, so it kind of died on the vine. Now Sony music players will support both unprotected AAC (music encoded using iTunes though not purchased from there) and both protected and unprotected WMA (so it supportS all the other music sites such as Napster and Rhapsody) as well as MP3. On top of that it also has a slide show viewer for pictures and can even support some video formats. The killer is that it has tremendous battery life compared to an iPod (almost 36 hours) and the fact that they actually ship with a nice set of earphones not the junk ones like with the iPod which is even better because music on the Sony sounds fantastic. The new Walkman comes in 2GB ($120), 4GB ($150), and 8GB ($200) versions. Finally, Sony is back in the music game.

Archos 605 Wi-Fi: This is the media gadget to end all media gadgets, though you will pay for it. The Archos 605 is a full-blown media center in your pocket, albeit a very large pocket. Sporting a 4.3 inch touch screen, 30, 80 or a 160GB hard drive, a music player, a video player, picture viewer, and basic Wi-Fi connectivity right out of the box is impressive enough. Where the Archos really shines, and takes a bigger bite out of your wallet, is in the applications you can buy for it. For an extra $20 each you can get high-def video playback or internet radio; for an additional $30 you can buy the Opera web browser plug-in and get full internet connectivity with Flash video support (for sites like YouTube) and out of the box it supports MP3 and protected WMA. You can buy the plug-in to support AAC but not the protected files from iTunes. The add-on that is the real sweet deal for this machine is the $99 DVR Station. This gives your Archos the ability to download TV right from your cable box and have them available for you to watch where ever you want. It includes the base station that plugs into your TV, and you even get a very good program guide to select which shows you want it to record. You don’t have to just watch the shows on the Archos player though since it can act as your TVs main video recorder.

The only thing holding the Archos back from being the mother of all gadgets is the rather short battery life, though Archos will be glad to sell you an additional battery for $49. The 30GB version retails for $299, the 80GB for $350, and the 160GB for $400 without the add-ons.

CAMERAS

Canon 40D: This is my new baby. I love this camera. I would marry it if it weren’t illegal in most states, though I might be able to get away with it in Nevada – you can get away with anything there. With a 10.1 megapixel sensor, blazing fast shooting speed, a three inch screen with the ability for live view (which is great when you can’t put your eye to the viewfinder), as well as 14-bit A/D processing and a new weather sealed body this camera is at the pinnacle of semi-pro cameras.

While other makers may have just released cameras with bigger sensors, or image stabilization in the camera body, or higher resolution screens, the one thing they can’t match is the Canon selection of lenses. Not only does Canon have the largest selection of lenses, but it also has the largest third-party support as well. So, if there is a focal length you need, you can get it for the Canon. While watching your favorite football game look at all the cameras with the big white lenses on them, those would be Canon lenses.

While shooting with a digital SLR is a little more complex than your regular point-and-shoot, once you learn how to use an SLR you will be amazed at the things you can do with it. The 40D sells for $1300 for the body only (which is great if you already own Canon lenses) or $1500 with a lens kit.

Canon S5 IS: The fourth generation in a line of very good cameras the S5 isn’t so much of a revolution, or even an evolution, it is more of the same with a little touch up. Still it is probably the best of the super-zoom class currently on the market. With an 8 megapixel sensor, a 12X zoom, and a 2.5 inch screen, this is the closest thing you can get to owning an SLR without having to buy all the lenses.

While other super-zooms, namely Sony’s H9, have a bigger sensor and screen, they also took a step back in ease of use. The Canon has kept it’s simple design and top-notch interface. If your geek just wants a camera with a little more ‘reach’ than your typical point-and-shoot, or if they just want camera that has a few more advanced features, the Canon S5 IS would make a great present. You can get the S5 for $400, though if they don’t need the two extra mega-pixels and half an inch of screen, you can get the S3 IS for a steal right now.

Sony DSC-W80: A great pocketable camera with an incredibly easy to use interface and great performance in a wide range of situations, though to be fair, like many compact cameras with their tiny sensors, it’s image quality does suffer a bit in indoor/low-light situations. I spent weeks to find the best camera for my wife that was easy to use, had a nice size screen, and was stylish enough for her to carry around. The W80 is very easy to use, has a fast start up time, a 2.5 inch screen, a picture setting selector that tells you on the screen what each setting is best for, and best of all, it came in pink (my wife’s favorite color) as well as a host of other colors. The Sony W80 is a great little camera for everyday use and you can pick it up for $230.

GPS DEVICES

Garmin Nuvi 660 or 350: Want your lovable geek to make it to the holiday dinner on time and not end up somewhere in Ohio? Then maybe give them an early present of a GPS navigator. Garmin is by far the leader in the GPS market and makes units with very powerful receivers and a ton of features. The problem is that you pay for that power and versatility. Both devices can give turn-by-turn voice directions and can display maps in both 2D/3D. Both can also get current traffic updates and come with a 90-day trial subscription, but after that you (or they) have to pay. You can get the Gamin Nuvi 660 for $800 and the 350 is $500. If you are looking for a unit that is a little less expensive, you can look at the units made by TomTom, especially the XL-S which provides a lot of great features for about $100 less than the Garmin 350.

Well, I’m about out of space, so I guess I have to end it here. I could go on for pages though on all the latest games and toys that the geek in your life would just love this holiday season. It surely is a great time to be a gadget geek.

As always if you have any questions about this article or any gadget at all, please feel free to write me at jeff@healthandleisureonline.com.