Holiday Shopping Guide 2003

Best buys for any techno-gadget lover on your list: from music players to PDAs to digital cameras. Ho-ho-ho.

Laurianne McLaughlin

Formerly a senior editor at PC World and Business 2.0, Laurianne McLaughlin is a frequent contributor to technology publications.

Forget the sweaters; pass on the cheese logs. Nothing says "I love you" like electronics.

These days the line between toys and computers is as blurry as ever. I mean, what's an IPod, anyway? Is it a computer peripheral or a consumer electronic device? And how about cell phones? They used to be, well, cell phones. Now they're PDAs, Web browsers--and even game machines.

Whatever the case, technology convergence is now the norm, and the folks on your holiday gift list don't care what you call those cool gadgets they've been drooling over. So here are some gift ideas for that special someone who loves things that blink, bleep, download, and so on.

For the Music Lover

Apple IPod. The Apple IPod music player, perhaps the most buzzed-about gadget of the year, now works with both Macintosh and Windows computers. We can't say this gadget will help you bust a move like the people in the IPod TV commercials, but it's hard to beat the design and ease-of-use of this 5.6-ounce mini marvel. Keep in mind, the IPod is pricey. For $299 you get a 10GB version that holds 2500 songs; a $399 20GB version holds 5000 songs and a $499 40GB version holds 10,000 songs. You can use it with Apple's ITunes online music store and grab songs from the Internet for 99 cents each.

Dell DJ. Dell's less expensive 7.6-ounce Digital Jukebox music player is also worth a look. It works with the Musicmatch online service to let you download tracks at 99 cents each. Dell's $249 version stores up to 3700 tracks in a 15GB hard drive; a $299 20GB version stores up to 5000 songs.

For the Jack-of-All-Trades

Nokia N-Gage. Imagine a Nintendo Game Boy that's also an MP3 player, a wireless Web browser, and a cell phone. That's the Nokia N-Gage. Because of its all-in-one appeal, we'd be remiss if we didn't include this in the list; but the fact is, it isn't great at any one of its many functions. And you need to take the thing apart to change game modules.

If you're thinking about buying the N-Gage for the fervent gamer in your family who doesn't need a cell phone or an MP3 p--layer, you're probably better off with the Game Boy Advance SP.

Still, the N-Gage is a first of its kind--and some folks can't resist that allure. Plus, the ability to play multiplayer games using wireless Bluetooth connections is cool. You can buy an N-Gage at retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, or from a service provider like AT&T Wireless. Shop around for deals. We've seen this baby going for anywhere from $200 to $300.

For the Organizer

Handspring Treo 600. This is the PDA everyone will want this year--not to mention one of the coolest gadgets we've seen in a while. The Treo 600 is a Palm OS-based PDA and cell phone with a built-in VGA camera and QWERTY keyboard. It comes in CDMA and GSM/GPRS versions so you can use it on either one of those new high-speed cellular networks. And here's something fun: You can take a picture of someone, assign it to their speed dial key, and whenever they call you, the caller ID feature pops their photo onto the screen instead of just their name. The Treo 600 has a Secure Digital slot so it's highly expandable. Companies like Sprint and T-Mobile offer the Treo 600 with service contracts. You can get it for about $500, but shop around.

For the Online Gamer

Xbox Live Starter Kit. If there are kids in your family, you probably know all about Microsoft's Xbox gaming console. If there's a guy around who never lost his interest in gaming, you know all about it, too. The $69 Microsoft Xbox Live Starter Kit bundles a voice headset, one game, and a 12-month subscription to the Xbox Live service, which lets your favorite gamer play certain Xbox games against opponents around the world via the Internet through a cable modem or DSL connection. (The service won't work with a dial-up Internet connection.) If you're starting from scratch, you can go whole hog and buy the Xbox console, two games, and a two-months trial offer for Xbox Live for $180 through a holiday promotional offer.

For the Die-Hard Gadget Freak

Sony Cybershot T1. From Dynamism.com (which specializes in selling sexy, tiny Japanese electronics items that may or may not reach the United States) comes what it calls the world's smallest 5-megapixel digital camera. Fit for the Sharper Image catalog and set to ship in late November, this $699 camera measures 3.6 by 2.4 inches wide and tall and 0.8 inches deep, and weighs in at less than half a pound. The camera offers 3X optical and 6X digital zoom and a 32MB memory stick duo.

For the New Grandparents

Canon PowerShot A70. This is the kind of mainstream digital camera that will please many different users, even the technology-challenged people on your list. Selling for about $300 with 16MB of CompactFlash memory, the 3.2-megapixel PowerShot A70 delivers good colors and detail, plus an easy-to-hold design and intuitive menu options. What's more, Canon got strong marks for the reliability of its digital cameras in PC World's newest Reliability & Service survey.

For the Radio Star

Delphi XM SkyFi Radio. Now you can get XM digital satellite radio in your car or at home. This handy portable receiver goes for about $130 at places like Best Buy and Wal-Mart (keep an eye out for rebates) and pulls down XM's 100 digital radio stations wherever you might be. This service, with many commercial-free stations, is great for those who are in their car a lot.

Keep in mind, though, that $130 is just the beginning. XM service costs $10 a month (less if you sign up for a multiyear plan) and you'll need a car and/or home adapter to make the receiver work. Those go for $70 each.

Audiovox Satellite Radio Shuttle. Want to shop around? PC World's Gadget Freak also likes Audiovox's $100 Satellite Radio Shuttle for Sirius. The Shuttle works both in the car and at home with Sirius Satellite Radio (like XM, only for $13 a month). Car and home docking stations go for $50 each.

For the Home Movie Maker

HP DVD Movie Writer Dc3000. Converting your old movies to DVD keeps getting easier. Just connect this sleek $399 box to your computer's USB 2.0 port, run a cable from your VCR or other video source to the Dc3000's composite video or S-Video input, install some included software, and you're ready to go. The software leads you through the job and even helps you edit your old movies and photos to add special effects. Hewlett-Packard's DVD drive also writes and reads CD-R and CD-RW media.

The entire package, which includes a terrific software bundle for performing more advanced video and sound editing, costs a bit more than an off-the-shelf DVD burner, but for this kind of control, it's worth it. Isn't it time to preserve those embarrassing birthday party moments on DVD before the old tapes give out?

For the Power PC User

Dell W1700 LCD TV. Chic and clever, this combination PC monitor and TV set lets you do both kinds of viewing through picture-in-picture capabilities. Once you go LCD, you may never want to go back to a bulky CRT monitor. The W1700's 17-inch screen provides better, smoother image quality than many comparable products--thanks to the kind of line-doubling technology you see elsewhere in top-of-line televisions and displays. This baby (which can make a great second TV) will set you back $699, but that's in line with its peers. For big-screen, TV-only use, Dell has a $3299 30-inch model you can hang on your wall.

For the Note Taker

Motion M1300 Tablet PC. Let's face it, the Tablet PC, which lets you electronically write on the screen like it was a pad of paper, hasn't exactly taken off. But it was only a couple short months ago that Microsoft finally shipped the OneNote note-taking software that might make these convertible notebook PCs worthwhile. So take a gander at Motion Computing's $1999 M1300 Tablet PC. It's pure tablet, not a convertible notebook PC. It comes with a keyboard and desktop stand so you can use it like a regular PC when you're at your desk.

Toshiba Portage 3500. If you want a notebook/Tablet PC combo, check out the $1823 Toshiba Portege 3500. One minute it's a regular notebook PC; the next, you can swivel the screen and lay it down on the keyboard, and you've got a tablet.

For You (and Your Entertainment Room)

Gateway 56-inch DLP HD-Ready Rear Projector TV. At $3799, this is a serious television and part of Gateway's big push into consumer electronics. For those who covet a rear-projection TV, Gateway's model has a sleek advantage: It measures less than 19 inches deep, which is about one-third the bulk of most rear projection units. This model uses Texas Instruments' digital light processing technology to help keep the unit slim and priced lower than older rear-projection TVs.