 Gifts of Gear and Gadgets
Yes, it’s better to give than to receive, but with so many gorgeous tech gadgets from around the world catching our eye this year, we’d sure like to do a little of both. By Chris Tucker
COOL CONTENDER
The fanatical gamer in your life, who already spends far too much time on Halo 3 and Counter-Strike, may vanish altogether after taking control of Dell’s XPS 720 H2C. The cooling system has drawn raves from hard-core players, but don’t overlook the quad-core processor, dual NVIDIA graphics cards, and a TB (yes, that’s a terabyte) of hard-drive storage. Nice touch: the included 24-inch widescreen display. $5,100 and up depending on options. www.dell.com
POWER PACK
Let’s face it: No matter how cool your latest cellphone, digital camera, or BlackBerry may be, it’s just a brick if the battery is dead. And keeping our multiple devices charged has become a time-consuming endeavor involving multiple devices and tangled wires. Solution? The ingenious, lipstick-sized Powerstick from Canada’s Ecosol. The Powerstick takes its juice from the USB port of any laptop or desktop, holds a charge for months, and — we love this — comes with an LCD display to show how much charge remains. $70. www.ecosolinc.com
GEM OF A NOTEBOOK
As high-end tech purveyors compete in the “Over-the-Top” sweepstakes, we stand agog at the current front-runner, the Ego Diamond notebook computer from Ego Lifestyle. Once we’ve noted the more than 470 Wesselton V.S. diamonds set in 18-karat white gold, it seems crushingly mundane to add that the handbag-shaped Ego also comes with a 12.1-inch screen, three USB connections, and a 4-in-1 card reader. $355,000. www.tulipego.com
iPHONE ICON
Okay, some iPhone idolaters have exaggerated its abilities. We don’t believe it can fly, and there is no “Martini” button. That aside, we’re believing most of the hype about the coolest communications device of 2007. We especially love the huge display, the smart integration of design and function, and the ability to “pinch” the screen for zoom in/zoom out response. As for the music, yes, it’s iTunes only, but four million-plus songs should hold us for a while. $400. www.apple.com
TASTY TREAT
Hats off to LG for making the Chocolate VX8550 phone even sweeter. The “Trace Motion” scroll wheel is cool, as are the touch-sensitive buttons that vibrate — an eerie feeling at first — when they register your command. Not only is navigation better, but you can still download songs directly to the phone, play them over wireless Bluetooth, and order them up by voice command. Sweet. $100 with contract. www.verizonwireless.com
SILENT SONATA
If you have an aspiring cellist in the family, here’s a device that should boost practice time and preserve harmony at home. With Yamaha’s Silent Compact Cello, your future Yo-Yo Ma will don headphones and generate excellent sound quality. The SVC-210SK cello connects to MP3 players for playing along with recordings, and there’s an extra input jack for duets. And when the player is ready to go on the road, the cello is fully collapsible and easily portable. $3,195. www.yamahastrings.com
NEW WAVE
For the cameraphiles who favor different devices for different purposes, add this one to the goodie bag: The Olympus Stylus 770 SW, a multi-proof (waterproof, crushproof, shockproof, freezeproof) gadget that will more than fill those underwater needs. Take it down as far as 33 feet (without an underwater housing) and expect sharp, memorable photos from this 7.1 MP with its 3X optical zoom lens. If you want to get your Cousteau on below 33 feet, an optional case is available. $380. www.olympusamerica.com
HOME RUN
As home theater projectors take exponential leaps in quality, there’s less reason than ever to go out to the movies unless you’re just hooked on those big tubs of buttery popcorn. Italian manufacturer SIM2’s newest projector, the Grand Cinema C3X 1080, sets a new standard of you-are-there clarity and picture performance. Powered by three Texas Instruments DLP chipsets, the 24.3-pound, high-definition 1080-pixel projector comes in a glossy cabinet that’s a work of art in itself. $30,000. www.sim2usa.com
SOUNDS LIKE STYLE
The iPod has spawned a whole sub-industry of ’Pod-friendly devices, most of them featuring decent sound but forgettable design. An exciting exception is Bowers & Wilkins’ Zeppelin, a sleek, one-piece amplified speaker system and docking station. This offering from the respected British speaker company features great stereo separation and deep, hearty bass. Fans of iPod video can use the rear outputs to connect with big-screen TVs. $600. www.bowers-wilkins.com/iPodspeakers
SHAKE IT UP
Let’s not forget the kids — you know, the small creatures who will want to hog the new plasma TV unless they have something better to do. So here’s just the MP3 player for the li’l loud crowd, SanDisk’s Sansa Shaker. When the tots have heard enough of one tune, they just shake the player, which emits a whistling sound and jumps to the next track. There are two slots for headphone jacks, so they can fight over who gets to shake it next. $50 for 1GB model. www.sandisk.com
DATA DAZZLER
It’s a uniquely human aspiration to take the most humble items and imbue them with aesthetic value, and what could be humbler than the now-ubiquitous plug-and-go USB drives? If you’d like to add beauty to the arid task of data transfer, just load your reports, songs, or photos on the Active Crystals 1GB USB drive from tech giant Philips and Swarovski, the Swiss crystal house. $180. www.philips.com
PLASMARVELOUS
Touting its new plasma TV line, Pioneer Electronics promises that viewers will “see, hear, and feel an emotional experience like never before,” presumably topping weddings, the birth of a child, and the Dallas Cowboys’ 1993 Super Bowl victory. We’re particularly interested in the 60-inch PDP-6010FD with 1080 pixel resolution, a 20,000:1 contrast ratio, and black levels that are 80 percent deeper than the company’s previous models. $6,500. www.pioneerelectronics.com
SHHHHH … WE HEAR YOU
“Whashihypeohsilpum?” asks your seatmate. Or at least that’s what it sounds like through some noise-canceling headphones, forcing you to shuck the headphones and say “Huh?” in return. Now you can reduce the “Huh?” factor with Sennheiser’s PXC 450 NoiseGard headphones. Special smart microphones sort out relevant human sounds from engine noise and background argle-bargle, allowing you to chat and listen to music simultaneously. $450. www.sennheiserusa.com
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