12:39 pmIt’s just over a week away now. The day you’re either waiting in anticipation for; or are planning to spend cloistered at home, sheltered from the madding crowds at the mall and everywhere else.
If you’re one of the courageous (or crazy) people who will settle for no less than the best deal available on the worst day of the year to shop, here is my first installation of Top 10 Tech Toys for 2008, arranged in order of my favorites:
#1 Apple iPhone 3G: For most people, an iPod Touch would do just as well, but not for me. Because it’s a phone, a PDA, a music player with visual voice mail and an amazing web browser, I’ve decided that the iPhone is simply the best tech gift that could possibly be given. (If you’re reading this and want to make me the happiest person in the known universe, send that sleek, beautiful toy to our State St. address!) :)
#2 [Speaking of Apple Products]The New MacBook Pro (as described in my Oct 21 post) follows closely behind the iPhone in my book… and really only because of the price. As for reasons, see “It’s Shiny and Beautiful.” To clarify: Girls like to get computers as gifts too — especially awe-inspiring, envy-invoking, cutting-edge cool computers. 
(Sorry guys, I had too!)
#3 Amazon Kindle: Why travel with one or two books, when you could take your whole digital library with you? Seriously. Jim, one of our programmers got one of these about 3 months ago and it quickly became the center of attention in the Orange Room here. I was amazed at how compact the thing was, and how easy it was to read the pages. Not to mention the fact that you can use its browser wherever Sprint’s data network is available. Jim’s been using his mostly for textbook reading, but I’d be sure 
to use it for more relaxed reading! How about you?
#4 Now that TomTom lets you get driving directions from Sex and the City’s Samantha (Kim Cattrall), who wouldn’t want a new GPS? Listen… if you got lost half as often as I do, you’d be thinking the same thing: “Loved the series; loved the movie even more… This is Perfect!” (note: The voice doesn’t come with the TomTom, you have to download it for $12.95– a small price to be mildly entertained as you’re scolded your directions!)
#5 Canon PowerShot SD1100: Your favorite Elph just jumped up to 8Megapixels with a 3X Optical Zoom. Why get someone a big, complicated SLR when you could spend $150 on a sleek, simple, intuitive camera that fits in your pocket. With a range of colors — including a pale pink – this gift idea is definitely a win-win.
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Stay Tuned. The next half of this list will be a little less pricy :-)
December 13th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
I received my Kindle approximately a week ago. I have used it nonstop ever since. I read both negative and positive reviews before buying it and also looked into the Sony reader. I chose to go with the Kindle because I love Amazon’s service (they always deliver early), their selection of books, and the price. I have been reading digital books on my Palm for a couple of years. The selection is not that great. There are often titles that I cannot buy as a digital book and thus would have to go to Amazon and buy the actual paper copy of the book. The cost of a digital book (the titles I purchase) has always been more than $20. The book selection for Kindle includes all titles that I want and the digital book sites (including Sony) do not offer some of these books. All of the books are no more than $10. This is an excellent deal.
Here are the things I like about the Kindle.
*The display is easy to read in sunlight. It is easier on my eyes than a regular book due to the gray color of the screen versus white paper. It is also (obviously) readable indoors.
*The battery keeps it charge for a couple of days of constant reading and recharges quickly. It takes less than an hour for me to recharge the battery.
*As I read and need to look up more information on a topic (such as what it the fourth amendment) or the definition of a word (such as what does concomitant mean) I can do so without exiting the book or moving in any way from my seat.
*I can download samples of the Kindle books to read before buying.
*The buttons are easy to use and the page turns quickly enough that I don’t get irritated.
*Newspaper and blog subscriptions alone are a reason to own this device. I am now up-to-date on my favorite issues via a blog subscription and have read the paper every day since the Kindle arrived. I had not previously read the newspaper for many years.
*The charging cable is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time. The plug comes off to reveal a usb connector underneath!
*The keyboard is well placed and easy to use.
I would include negatives if there were any that I had found. I think it is well worth the price I spent to purchase this device.