2006 Holiday Tech Gifts for Adults
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2006-11-27 13:26:00-05:00
Tech gadgets get better and less expensive every year. There are lots of fun and reasonably-priced tech gifts that will be sure to please the adults on your holiday gift list. Here are a few to consider.
The good news on MP3 players is that they are lower in price this holiday season because there are so many to choose from. Of course, topping the list in popularity is the iPod®. The key reasons iPods remain so popular is ease-of-use matched with the seamless integration of managing your music using the iTunes® software on your computer. This is a hard combination to beat. There are two other models from Apple that are worth considering. One is the slim round-edged iPod nano® that feels good in the hand and comes in five bright metallic colors. It offers storage levels of 2, 4 and 8GB to hold lots of music, audio books, podcasts and photos. The other is the redesigned, low-cost iPod shuffle® that now comes as a wearable clip and holds about 240 tunes. This device can be worn by simply clipping it onto a pocket or lapel for easy carrying and makes a nice stocking stuffer.
A GPS navigation system can be a unique gift for commuters, frequent travelers or college students looking for the convenience of satellite navigation systems similar to those found in premium automobiles. The Garmin® StreetPilot i5, which is ready to use when you open the box, comes preloaded with detailed maps of North America featuring full coverage of the entire United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. The maps include about six million points-of-interest such as hotels, gas stations, restaurants, and ATMs. The i5 is small in size and easy to move from vehicle to vehicle with a simple suction-cup mount. Its click-to-enter scroll wheel and back button make it easy to program a destination from the menu interface. The i5 provides voice-prompting, with turn-by-turn directions, through a small built-in speaker, and will automatically help drivers navigate back on course if they miss a turn.
If someone in your family is preparing for the next wave of operating system upgrades from Microsoft and Apple, you may want to get them a small but easy-to-use external storage disk drives. Additionally, with all the videos, photos, games, music, and application data files we keep collecting, there's always a need for additional storage and the ability to easily transfer data. Western Digital® offers Passport® Portable Drives that are compatible with both Windows and Mac operating systems and designed for maximum protection from data loss. These portable storage devices, with capacities that range from 40 to 120GB, are the perfect solution for transferring and backing up important files and e-mail or transporting files between work and home or to take with you when you're on the road. They are also very handy for sharing large files between a Mac and a PC. No power adapter is required because it gets its power directly through the USB cable.
You could also give a webcam for use with on-line video chats. Logitech® offers several affordable models, many of which can be clipped or perched onto monitor screens. They also offer a selection of headset-microphone combinations, some with noise-canceling capability for improved voice and video communications.
And don't forget about easy stocking stuffers, such as portable USB flash drives, also known as memory sticks or thumb drives, or a high-capacity flash memory card for digital cameras. There are many hi-tech gifts and stocking stuffers that are affordable, easy-to-use, and may be just the ticket to meeting someone's holiday wish list.
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