For the holidays, The Vancouver Province is rolling out a special insert called “The Holiday Survival Guide”. It’s my job to pick the Top 5 Gadget Gifts. It’s basically a dream come true. The only downside is that there are so many awesome gadgets, which five do I pick? I have scoured gadget web sites, magazines, and my own apartment to find the best gadget gifts to recommend and I’m just not feeling my current list.
This is where I need your help!
What are your favourite gadgets of 2008?
What do gadgets do you want? Anything from a camera to a games console to a gorilla pod. I don’t want all the gadgets I recommend to be really expensive so that no one can afford them. I’m sure we’d all love the new Canon 5D Mark II or a brand new MacBook Pro, but those just aren’t feasible holiday “gifts”… unless your Facebook profile states “in a relationship with Kanye West”.
Shamus
November 16, 2008 at 2:40 PMThe iPod Touch is the one gadget that I have on me at all time. If it could be a iPhone that would be great.
Guney Can Gokoglu
November 16, 2008 at 3:07 PMDon’t forget about the “Dream” come true, HTC G1 :)
puppyfarts
November 16, 2008 at 3:10 PMMy quick list:
T-mobile G1
Zune 120gb
Canon Powershot SX10 IS
not particularly in that order.
Alex
November 16, 2008 at 3:11 PMEasy! Macbook Pro and Iphone
chris
November 16, 2008 at 3:11 PMCanon PowerShot G9 – good but cheap.
iPod Touch. Period.
Treo Pro. It’s fast, small, and intuitive. Better than it’s predecessors in every regard. It’s also greener than a lot of it’s competitors.
The Flip cameras will probably fit in here somewhere.
And of course the iPhone. But I don’t have one yet. Thank you, Rogers, for ruining that for me.
Mike
November 16, 2008 at 3:12 PMiPhone 3G and 5D Mark II (well, the latter *will* be, since I won’t have it until probably the end of the month).
chris
November 16, 2008 at 3:12 PMWith the excessively long contract and the unnecessarily high data rates, that is.
Rich
November 16, 2008 at 3:19 PMHow about the Airport Express? I know they’ve been available for a while but Apple fairly recently released the 802.11N version. As well as the usual firewall and wireless access point stuff it lets you stream music from your laptop to your hi-fi and share discs or printers wirelessly. And it’s fairly cheap.
Michael Kwan
November 16, 2008 at 3:28 PMIn no particular order: HTC Touch Pro, Flip Mino HD, ION Drum Set for Rock Band 2, Asus Eee PC S101, and bacon. You can never go wrong with bacon.
danwest
November 16, 2008 at 3:34 PMWii game machine
iPod
The gadgets that have had the biggest impact on my life in the last three years.
Kevbo
November 16, 2008 at 3:34 PMThe CERN Large Hadron Collider
Tony Wang
November 16, 2008 at 3:36 PMMy vote goes to the lil USB Man! ^^;
Miiitch
November 16, 2008 at 4:05 PMHm. A digital camera of fairly high quality would be nice, maybe a 10-megapixel or something. If it could shoot video in HD, that would be great. Also, one of those weird mini tripod things with the flexible legs…?
So now you know what to get me for christmas, Lis :)
garyk
November 16, 2008 at 4:26 PMI am enjoying:
T-Mobile G1, Canon SD790IS, iPod touch(post App Store), and planning on enjoying a Sanyo Xacti HD1000
copperchef
November 16, 2008 at 5:20 PMHmmm from lowest cost to highest…
Chocolate covered bacon… roni-sue.com yum.
Richard Solo iPhone battery
Flip Mino HD
Nikon D700
Canon 5D MkII
MacBook Pro
Red Scarlet with a Nikon Lens Mount. *droooool*
Geeks are Sexy
November 16, 2008 at 6:05 PMI’d really love to get a Flip Mino HD and start doing videos for my site :)
Adam
November 16, 2008 at 8:10 PMDrobo!
Derek Jay Steen
November 16, 2008 at 8:11 PMLisa, I absolutely love my Panasonic Lumix TZ5. I discussed on my blog how it is currently the best value point-and-shoot HD 720p camera on the market; it’s the same price as the Flip Video Mino HD, but is a hundred times better.
Miiitch, Again, I recommend the TZ5.
The mini tripod with the flexible legs is called the Gorillapod. :)
Laura
November 16, 2008 at 9:28 PMiPod Touch, but since it’s been made essentially obsolete by the iPhone, I’d go with that one!
possiblybob
November 16, 2008 at 9:49 PMI think a good gadget gift would be a nice portable external hard drive. Capacities are getting larger every week it seems, and a 400 GB drive can now be had for $160 on Newegg.
iPod accessories, like FM transmitters and docking stations, are always good gadget gifts, too.
Dimitriou
November 16, 2008 at 10:42 PMMy favs are:
Flip mino/mino HD
iPod Touch
William
November 16, 2008 at 11:01 PMHi,
by a country mile, the iPhone 3G. It’s a complete package, but the apps take it to the next level. Amongst other things, the iPhone3G helped me lose 14lb in weight, and stopped me getting lost in London (always good).
Next to the that is the Gimbal head for my tripod. Now it’s practical to use long lens and do macros photography without having to rip what’s left of my hair out!
William
Daniel Craig Jallits
November 16, 2008 at 11:05 PMI have gotten into the habit of purchasing an iPhone 3G for my closest friends and family members birthdays who have their wireless contracts expiring.
Another great gift, believe it or not, are External Hard Drives. Of course if I really like you, you can expect to get a 1TB, otherwise it’s a 250GB in your stocking this year.
El Ivis
November 16, 2008 at 11:42 PMBest gift this christmas is a NetBook. These nice little machines are great for traveling, basic email checking and browsing the web. They can run on Linux and Win XP, Win 7 will run on them out of the book.. you can find some for less than $300.00!!! great for traveling and photographers on the field..I love my ASUS EePC…. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220443
Acer makes a nice one too..
mijlee
November 17, 2008 at 12:41 AMI’ve been pretty impressed with my Nokia N78. Expecially the built in proper Sat Nav. If it had a better music player it would be the only thing I carry.
Mario Veneziani
November 17, 2008 at 12:57 AMFor it is going to be:
Canon 40D and MacBook Pro
Tim
November 17, 2008 at 1:22 AMThe number one gadget of 2008 for me is definitely the
Flip Video Ultra
plus (and that is important) the underwater case!
Normally I really don’t like these cellphonelike little cameras.
But with the fvu I eventually can shot footage at places where you normally only can when you have really expensive equipment.
Dirk
November 17, 2008 at 1:24 AMMacBook or MacBook Pro
24″ Apple Cinema Display
Nokia N85
Canon 50D
Nintendo Wii with a LCD Television (any large one will do :) )
Dan
November 17, 2008 at 4:51 AMIt’s not so much gadgets I’ve been blown away by this year.. Applications have been making my jaw drop time and time again with new innovations.
The field of web apps has really come into it’s own this year with gadgets like the iPhone/iPod Touch making their success a possibility. I no longer check my facebook and twitter from my PC… the iPod touch apps do the jobs just as well and from the palm of my hand.
As for physical kit… well the Canon 5D mkII is probably top of my “If I hit the lotto” list with it’s HD video so breathtaking it could kill. there’s also no denying that the iPhone 3G is the killer hand-held.
I see a lot of people saying MacBook Pro… but I still see them only as way over priced for the spec you get. Sure they’re beautiful and very well made… and that track pad is the stuff dreams are made of… but come on… £1700? for a notebook? Not so much.
I could talk about this for ages… but I won’t I may blog about it myself though.
Michael
November 17, 2008 at 4:56 AMCanon 5D Mark II > WANT!
The fantastic New Mac Cinema Display > NEED!
iPhone 3G > HAVE…
MacbookPro (Which launched 2 months after i bought one!) > I HATE YOUR FACE!!
And last but not least… Livescribe Pulse Smartpen (Which is finally Mac compatible!) > YAY!
Michael Kwan
November 17, 2008 at 8:59 AMThe iPhone 3G could quite possibly be the WORST gift that you can give someone during the holidays and my reasons are two-fold. First, you’re effectively locking someone into a three-year contract (unless you find an unlocked one and/or you sign the phone up under your name instead). Second, they’ll feel compelled to latch onto a data plan, increasing their cell phone bill by $25-$30 (+tax), assuming that they had a non-smartphone before.
Lisa
November 17, 2008 at 9:05 AMThe OhMiBod. Enough said.
Judson Laipply
November 17, 2008 at 9:13 AMWithout a doubt the best gadget of the year goes to software. Between the iphone, G-1, Blackberries, and other smart phones the advancement in applications is the single best improvement in the last decade. This is the connection that we have been waiting for since cell phones were introduced. You can do so much more now. The cell phone has finally lived up to what we have always know it would be. This is only the beginning. In two years or less you will start to see the true blurring of the lines between the real world and the virtual world. Imagine seeing a pair os shoes you like, taking a picture with your phone, and receiving every store within 20 miles of your current location that have them in stock. That is just a small example of what is coming.
Mark
November 17, 2008 at 10:20 AMThese are the gadgets that I can’t live without.
http://www.archive.penny4them.com/2008/top-6-gadgets/
Carla
November 17, 2008 at 10:25 AM1. BlackBerry Curve
2. JVC Everio 30 gb HDD Video Camera
3. Nikon Coolpix P3
4. Alienware Laptop
5. Motorola H700 Bluetooth
6. iPod Nano 1st Gen
http://www.vanilla-milkshake.com
Tawcan
November 17, 2008 at 10:26 AMFor someone who is on the road a lot:
http://store.telusmobility.com/bc/phone___smartphones/nsw597usb.htm
Or if you’re going to US a lot GSM version:
http://www.wireless.att.com/businesscenter/SierraMercuryUSB/index.jsp
More affordable gifts:
Canon XSi or 50D
MacBook or MacBook Pro
Jason
November 17, 2008 at 12:01 PMI’m hoping to get a Griffin Simplifi. It is a card reader for my camera, iPod dock, and USB hub.
Stacey
November 17, 2008 at 3:30 PMMost people on my list already bought themselves the basics, Macbook pro, iphone, Canon SLR etc.
So my list is most what to get for the gearhead who has lots of toys already:
A tri-pod – There are lots of new super-light tri-pods that won’t break the bank and most of my friends who are just getting into digital photography don’t have one yet.
A computer bag/purse – I’m always on the lookout for fashion forward computer-hiding bags. There are more available all the time. Especially ones that fit the 15″ Macboooks.
Memory cards – I would consider this a decent gift for a friend or co-worker. Most of them come with a USB adapter to make it seem a little more substantial.
A docking station – This is great for a high-tec family with a million different things to plug in and maybe a mom who would rather not have a cluttered up cell phone/ipod pile-up but the door.
A Flickr pro account
A power inverter – this isn’t a new thing but it’s a gadget I use all the time and everyone who sees it think I’m some kind of Bond Girl (you know I can’t talk about my work). It plugs into my car cigarette lighter and allows me to plug both my laptop and cell phone chargers into normal outlets. A road-trip must!
Jonathan
November 17, 2008 at 5:34 PMWacom 6D ArtPen – seriously, has anyone seen what Painter X can do with the barrel rotation feature?
Logitech 4-port USB Hub (for Notebooks) – they’re cute, black, Swiss-designed and are powered. While the cable included isn’t exactly the longest (they’re designed for a notebook afterall) popping two behind your 30″ behemoth of a display and sticking with 3M Command Adhesive (along with some velcro-based cable ties for any loose ends) is a very neat and tidy way of dealing with the additional USB cables and whatnots that lurk behind everyone’s monitor.
Western Digital My Book Studio Edition 1TB Ext. Drive – picked two of these up earlier this year and daisy-chained them together with FireWire 800. Has an eSata port for future connectivity.
michelle
November 17, 2008 at 5:54 PMI am enjoying this: http://flipbac.com
It attaches to digital cameras without a flip out display so you can still see your LCD from different angles.
Jonathan
November 17, 2008 at 7:45 PM@michelle oooo. That’s really quite cool!
Eran Mahalu
November 18, 2008 at 2:48 AMCanon 5D MkII, no question. imagine a $2700 camera that uses your previous EOS lenses to shoot Full HD Video. How cool is that?
mr. diggles
November 21, 2008 at 4:19 PMi am a person who thinks a camera is a camera. i still have a canon ae-1.
does wii fit count? that shit is straight up bananas.
it is a safe gift for your really smart cousin spencer and your really slow cousin ricky alike.
scan the article when it comes out. too cool.
Aimee Greeblemonkey
November 24, 2008 at 10:24 PMiPhone
Flip Video Phone
a nice digital photo frame
My uncle gave me this last year and it’s pretty cool:
http://www.weathersnob.com/archives/2007_10.php
Oh, and I got my mom a Coolpix S610 for her birthday, it was a perfect simple point and shoot for an older person – easy with big menus, etc.
Nick
November 26, 2008 at 10:49 AMthe iPhone HANDS DOWN! this thing is just amazing
Warren Brown
November 27, 2008 at 10:32 PMCool gadgets (with thought of holiday gifts in mind):
– iPod Touch
– Nikon D90
– Western Digital MyBook External Hard Drive
– Nintendo Wii
– Noise Cancelling earphones (Bose or Shure)
Enjoy…
subcorpus
December 5, 2008 at 10:14 PMmacbook pro is surely one of ’em for me atleat … :)
cyberdisidente
December 20, 2008 at 11:20 PMcool blog
Angel Spadaro
August 27, 2010 at 5:29 AMI’ve never been an Apple fan but I’ve to confess that the iphone is quite good! :) I’d wish to know if this situation in regards to the iphone four is vital or not. I would like to purchase the brand new 4g and I was wondering if the calls really drop extra or not. Sorry if it is a bit off topic :P Many thanks