Great Gadgets for the Holidays

 
Get into gear and check out our selection of the latest and greatest
smartphones, MP3 players, handheld organizers, digital cameras, and digital
camcorders.
By Frank Thorsberg (www.pcworld.com / shortened by T.F.)

Got your shopping list ready? It's never too early to think about gift ideas. You're
bound to stack up a pile of sincere thank you notes if you give friends and family
some of today's hottest handheld tech gear. Boring, bulky cell phones and oversized
organizers with clunky interfaces have given way to an amazing array of fun and
functional products: sleek camera phones, compact music players, and intuitive
digital cameras.

Big Features on Small MP3 Players

Digital music players are making a lot of noise in gift land this season. If size matters,
you can choose from many mini models that might actually get lost in
a large pocket or purse. Or you might want to consider the
heavyweight contenders with generous storage capacities, near-
audiophile playback qualities, and included Wi-Fi connections that
are a boon to music downloaders.

Apple's three IPod models, which appear on the newest branch of the Apple family
tree, are the pick of this year's crop. The IPod comes with a choice of 10GB ($299),
20GB ($399), and 40GB ($499) hard drives. There's room on the biggest drive for
more than 10,000 songs in AAC format, along with thousands of digital photographs.
With ITunes software, you can sync the IPod or transfer music files with a Windows
PC or Macintosh. There's an easy-to-read LCD and amazing sound coming out of
this 5.6-ounce device. The IPod also features an onboard voice recorder, a sleep
timer, and even an alarm clock.

If you thought really great things don't really come in small packages, then you better
think again after listening to the Rio Nitrus. This $300 player is just 3 inches high and
2.4 inches wide. It's a mere 0.6 inches thick and weighs 2 ounces, but it can hold
more than 375 songs, thanks to its 1.5GB hard drive. The company promises 16-
hour continuous playback with the rechargeable lithium ion battery. There's also a
USB 2.0 connection for quick hookups to your PC.

Brighter Image for Combo Phones

By now, nearly everyone on your shopping list has a cell phone, but a new camera
phone makes a compelling choice for anyone who'd like to spice up their
communications with digital pictures. Many newer cameras are Internet- and e-mail-
capable, so you can do some basic browsing, and shoot and share pictures from the
same device. Don't expect museum-grade prints, although picture quality is definitely
on the upswing. Look for wireless connectivity, and compare battery life from one
product to another before you make a buying decision.

The Nokia 3650 is a tri-band phone with voice dialling, a voice recorder, and an
integrated speakerphone (very handy in some situations). You can browse the
Internet, and play Java and Symbian games--these games are specially formatted for
phone users. With Nokia's PC Suite software, purchased separately, you can sync
the phonebook, calendar, and to-do lists with your PC.

You can also download an endless variety of polyphonic ring tones--snatches of

songs, sounds, or sayings--which can be downloaded over the Internet for a fee.
America Online, for example, offers cell phone users hundreds of ring tones, logos,
and screen savers for $2 apiece, through its AOL Mobile Download Center and AOL
Entertainment for Mobile (AOL keyword: mobile downloads).

The 3650 offers wireless connectivity via Bluetooth and infrared, but don't look for
thoroughbred performance from its low-resolution camera (640 by 480 pixels), which
takes both still pictures and video. Users can share stored images with friends using
built-in multimedia messaging technology. List price is $350, but the phone sells for
as low as $49 with bundled wireless service, depending on the carrier's offerings in
your region. The phone package is currently offered by AT&T Wireless and T-Mobile.

Digital Cameras: Slender Super Shooters

Small and thin cameras are in. All the big players, including Canon, Casio, Minolta,
and Pentax, for example, have their versions of the slim-and-trim products, but our
pick is Canon's PowerShot A70. This unit is a small, light, and
flexible 3.2-megapixel camera. You get a bunch of useful controls
at your fingertips, or, if you prefer, you can rely on the six built-in
scene modes to set up your shots.

For even greater versatility, the A70 will accommodate accessory

lenses, thanks to a bayonet mount that's familiar to 35mm camera veterans. Another
unique feature: The A70 uses regular AA batteries, not proprietary rechargeable
batteries like other cameras. Its street price runs roughly $250 to $350.