Tech toys: our 10 gift choices are to make everyone on your shopping list happy!DO YOU WANT TO IMPRESS YOUR FAMILY AND friends this holiday season? Choosing from our list of cool tech toys is bound to make you everyone's favorite gift-giver. From the newest generation of video game consoles to the latest MP3 players, our selections will please everyone from the technophile A person who enjoys learning about and using electronics and computers. See computerphile, hacker and dweeb. Contrast with technophobic. to the inner child. Don't forget to treat yourself to one or more of these gadgets. After all, you deserve to have fun too. For more gift ideas, visit www.black enterprise.com/techgiftguide. 1 Built to Entertain The Dell XPS M 2010 is redefining portable entertainment while setting a new standard in notebook multimedia performance. It has a widescreen SXGA+ display and 1680 x 1050 resolution that shows more colors than a rainbow. Audio aficionados will appreciate the eight built-in speakers arid the notebook's subwoofer. And with art external USB TV tuner, the XPS M 2010 becomes a television and digital recorder for video fans. The laptop also comes with a built-in 13 megapixel video camera for video-conferencing. www.dell.com; $3,199 2 Terrestrial Tunes Pioneer's Inno XM2go is a portable radio receiver that combines two popular forms of audio entertainment: satellite radio and MP3 music. The Inno weighs 4.5 ounces, has 1GB of memory, and allows listeners to choose from 170 different radio stations or from their own collection of music. You can manage playlists and files without using a computer or the Internet. Create your own playlists and record XM radio for later listening. www.pioneerelectronics.com; $350 3 Motion Control The widely anticipated release of Nintendo's Wii video game console features a unique motion-sensitive remote control that translates your hand movements to the screen. The Wii (pronounced "we") is backward-compatible to all Nintendo Game-Cube games. Fans of old titles like Donkey Kong will be pleased that the "Virtual Console" offers about 30 classic games that players can access online. The Wii also offers a Web browser, weather channel, news channel photo channel, and message channel for sending messages to other Wii players. http://wii.nintendo.com; $250 4 Picture Perfect The Canon EOS 5D is a mid-range digital single-lens reflex camera with state-of-the art photographic and imaging technology. Its vast range of features is designed to satisfy both professional and amateur photographers. The camera has a new 2.5-inch LCD screen for easier viewing, and "Picture Style" presets for improved in-camera color, contrast, and sharpness, With a full-frame 12.8 megapixel CMOS sensor and a DIGIC DIGIC - Digital Imaging Integrated Circuit (Canon) II Image Processor, the EOS 5D will literally make family photos a snap. www.canon.com; $3,096 5 Stylus Free The Stowaway Sierra Bluetooth Keyboard by Mobility Electronics is a collapsible, wireless, portable keyboard Either a very small keyboard or a full-size keyboard that can be folded into a small unit for travel. Portable keyboards are available for PDAs and other handhelds as well as laptops. See virtual keyboard. that closely approximates a traditional desktop keyboard with five rows and full-sized keys. It works with almost every kind of Bluetooth-enabled device out there, including smartphones, PDAs, tablets, media center PCs, and laptops. The Blackberry PDA has its own version of the Stowaway Sierra keyboard for $99. The Stowawav Sierra supports Windows XP, Mac OS X, Windows Mobile 5, Pocket PC, Palm OS, and Symblan. www.igo.com; $129.99 6 Mini Boom Box The unique, stylish design of Samsung's YP-K5 K5 - Karakorams 5 (Gasherbrum I; a 26,470 ft. mountain near Pakistan-China) K5 - Kuro5hin (web site) MP3 player (3.9 x 1.9 x 0.7 inches) distinguishes it from its rivals. The YP-K5 features a stunning interface with cool visual effects, an ingenious slide-out speaker, an FM radio tuner, and bass-enhanced earphones. The Samsung Media Studio system can't play songs from Apple's online iTunes Store, but it is compatible with Windows Media Player and online stores including Rhapsody, Napster, and Yahoo Music. The 2GB unit stores up to 500 songs or up to 25,000 JPEG photos at 128 x 160 pixel resolution. www.samsung.com; $209 7 Hove Over iPod Has the iPod finally met its match? Microsoft's Zune MP3 player is making its move to enhance your media experience by adding a social aspect to digital music listening. The 30 GB Zune uses built-in wireless technology that allows listeners to connect and share music, playlists, and pictures. Available in black, brown, or white, the Zune also has an FM tuner and 3-inch LCD screen. It holds up to 7,500 songs, 25,000 photos, or 100 hours of video. www.microsoft.com; $249.99 8 Small, Smart, and Stylish The eagerly awaited Blackberry Pearl is a feature-laden PDA that offers expandable media, including a camera and an integrated media player. The Pearl also comes with a map application, providing local maps and text-based driving directions. A pearl-like trackball replaces the typical BlackBerry trackwheel, hence the name. www.blackberrypearl.com; $199.99 with T-Mobile 9 Pint-sized Powerhouse This ultra-portable, fully functioning micro PC allows you to work from just about anywhere. Weighing a little more than a pound, Sony's VAIO UX280P Micro PC has a 4.5-inch widescreen display with a keyboard beneath. Despite its size, the micro PC has an Intel Core Solo Processor and runs Windows XP, with built-in integrated wireless LAN2, wireless WAN3, and Bluetooth technology. The mini VAIO also features a 1.3 megapixel camera and buitt-in microphone and speakers. www.sonystyle.com; $1,999 10 High-definition Gaming Featuring a powerful Cell Broadband Engine, Sony's PlayStation 3 delivers a new generation of high-definition graphics and digital entertainment. This version includes a built-in Blu-ray disc drive and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. The new PlayStation 3 controller features a multi-axis motion sensing system that allows gamers to maneuver the controller as a natural extension of their bodies, in real time and with high precision. www.us.playstation.com/PS3; $499 for 20GB and $599 for 60GB [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] |
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