Choosing a gadget can be a complicated task. There are a huge number of gadget retailers, both online and off, and they offer a numbing array of items. If you're looking to buy someone a gadget, a lot of your decision will depend on how much money you plan on spending. There are gadgets for every budget, and for every season.
Here's a few gadgets that may be of interest:
Smartphones: Smartphones are just that, phones with a whole lot of additional smart features. SmartPhones are a new generation of handheld devices which allow you to make cellular and data calls with ease. More powerful than some PDAs, SmartPhones threaten the entire PDA business. The Palm Treo is a notable brand.
UMPCs - Ultra Mobile Personal Computers, also known as the Origami Form factor are geared for the market between PDAs and Laptops. Smaller than laptops, they boast of longer lasting battery life and more software. In fact, one of the main selling points of UMPCs is the fact they run Windows Tablet OS and are compatible with Office. Microsoft and Intel championed the UMPC form factor initially to be offered in the $500-$1000 price range. The reality is, the units will be closer to $1200. Samsung is the first OEM to market with its'innovative Q1 UMPC. They plan on offering it for sale in the US and most of the world in May 2006.
Robots - Domesticated robots like the Roomba are quite a sensation. People are definitely interested in the potential time saving qualities of robots. Robots that mow the lawn and clean the house are now a reality. In the future, more tasks will be assigned to robotic helpers.
Cameras and Camcorders - Sony Handycam has a very hot offering right now with it's MiniDV Digital Video Recorders. The units have excellent picture quality and shoot straight to mini-DVDs, which should play anywhere. For the price, the HandyCam MiniDV has a rich feature set, which allows for flicker-free filming. You can't beat a camcorder for capturing precious moments.
Tablet PCs and PDAs - Although feeling pressure from the UMPCs and SmartPhones, PDAs and Tablet PCs are still a popular item.
Blackberry and Palms are still extremely popular PDAs, and Blackberry has over 2 million people using its' commercial email service. Tablet PCs carry a hefty price-tag, but have excellent features like hand-writing recognition. In fact, use of the stylus is natural, and anyone with an artistic bent would seemingly love this device.
Any of the above items would make an excellent gift for a gadget enthusiast. The main thing to do is consider the person's lifestyle before making a purchase. Since almost all gadgets carry relatively high price tags, it's worth finding out for sure what the person wants, or you run the risk of making an expensive mistake. Check all gadgets for the presence of extras, such as service plans, that aren't included in the purchase price.
A Better Approach to Picking Gifts This Year
Okay, I will be the first to admit it. I often have no idea what to buy for my friends and family. On more than a few occasions, I have purchased incredible gifts that do not exactly go over well with the recipient. The problem? Well, they are incredible gifts based on my own tastes and interest. Shockingly, the people I know do not necessarily share those interests and tastes. Hard to imagine, eh?
When you get around to the task of purchasing gifts this year, you might consider an approach I have been taking that has met with fairly positive results. Egad, I even saw my mother use one of my gifts! Instead of looking at gifts online or in malls and trying to think who would like them, you need to reverse the process. Here is how.
When an author writes a book or some other thing, they almost always create an outline. The outline covers basic topics, twists of the plot and so on. You should do the same thing. The idea is to write down a person's name. Next, write down everything you know about them. What do they do on the weekend? Do they take classes in something? Do they perk up during discussions of certain subjects? Write all of these things down and soon you will have a fairly sizeable list of subjects.
The next step is to take the list and figure out what gifts you can purchase that relate to the various subjects. This is where the Internet makes your life easy. You can do fairly simple searches to find gifts for each subject. Just type in the subject, add the word ?gifts? to the end of it and click the search button for your favorite engine. You should receive a list of sites with gifts on the subjects.
There are a couple of benefits to this approach. First, you tend to buy things that the recipient actually will like. Second, you can order online and avoid the mad, mad, mad world at the mall. Give it a try.
Both Darren Mclaughlin & Nomad Rick are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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