The question was simple and straight-forward. The answers sometimes surprising. I asked everyone at Gear Diary the following…

Here is the challenge— you can choose one tech-related gift to either give or get. The only limitations are—-
-it must be currently available
-it must have an MSRP of $1000 or less

What would be on your super-short shopping list and why???

Here’s what they said.

Larry –

I’d like to get the Garmin Forerunner 310XT as a gift. Sometimes upgrading right away to the latest and what’s supposedly is the greatest version of a gadget back fires on us. Such is the case with my Garmin Forerunner 405. The Garmin Forerunner 3xx & 4xx series are GPS enabled running watches that help you track things like pace, distance and heart rate while running outdoors. I was happily using the 305 when the 405 was released last year. Of course I had to have it right away. Well my 405 has never worked well and often times been unreliable during both training runs and races. The new 310XT not only has new features that interest me (its waterproof, has silent vibrating alerts etc.) but I’m hoping based on the early reviews of it that’s it just works better.

Jeff –

This items qualifies as something I’d like to give, but also wouldn’t mind getting myself: a new Mac Mini. Aside from being a good introduction to Macs for someone who may not be familiar with Apple computers, it’s also makes a decent computer for your media center (albeit still missing Blu-Ray support) due to its small size and connectivity options. Although, that Dell Zino HD is looking good…

Joel –

I choose the Nook as the present I want this holiday season. The reason is I have tons of PDF files I need to reference at work plus I would love to have reference books on the Nook to make it convenient to read and refer to throughout the day. Having a library on the Nook also takes a lot less space than the dead tree kind.

Allistair –

I would choose the Nook too as a gift I want. With tons of PDF research paper to read daily, it would be great to not have to carry those around. With the expandable storage on Nook with microSD, I see no reason why I would run out of storage!

Travis –

I am going to have to jump on board and say the Nook. I have been in graduate school for almost two years with no chance of reading anything for myself. I have a list of books I plan on reading and do not want to carry them around. I would also love to give the nook. My wife loves to read and told me the other day, “when the boys get older and you and I get to get gifts again, I want one of those book readers.” So I guess a pair of Nooks would be great here.

Carly –

Its a tough call, but I’m going to have to say the Nook. I’m actually thinking about getting one for my mother, though I might wait until her birthday in May (gives me more time to feel out if she’d like it.) She loooooooves Barnes and Noble, and I think she’d like it more than she would be willing to admit (she has a thing about technology.)

Jessica –

Apparently the nook wins for the most-wanted Gear Diary gadget this Christmas season! As soon as it came out, I begged “Santa” (otherwise known as my husband) to pre-order it that same day for me as my Christmas gift this year. I’ve been waiting for an ebook reader that had both good form and function, and the nook seems to fit the bill nicely. I am an avid reader and I read a lot faster when I read ebooks, mostly because I can carry them around with me a lot easier than I can a big, thick hardback or paperback. I usually read on my iPhone 3G, but my eyes just aren’t what they used to be and the backlit screen really starts to bother me after reading for a little while. The nook is the answer to all my ebook needs—plenty of storage, a beautiful form factor, user-replaceable battery, microSD expandability, and a great selection of accessories at launch. Even “Santa” thinks it looks pretty awesome!

Amy –

Decisions, decisions, decisions. So many options, so little money. I, like so many of it it seems, would like to get a Barnes and Noble Nook this Christmas. Like Joel and Allistair, I have TONS of technical and vendor PDFs I reference everyday for work. I would love to be able to just bring those to work in a Nook rather than have to set up my laptop. It would just be easier. Also, I tend to gravitate to the Nook vs the other options for 3 reasons: SD card expansion, Android OS (you know the folks at Cynaogen or other developers will have fun here, and the open ebook formats it will support. What would I like to give? Acer Aspire One netbooks to some friends of mine still in school. It would make taking notes, research, and studying easier if they had a computer that had all the horsepower, but fit in their handbags.

Judie –

I would give the iPhone 3GS. This is the single best way I have found to give the gift of connectivity to anyone. What this device is capable of doing was mere science fiction five years ago (download music, movies, apps, games, push notifications, always-on social networking, business tool, internet tablet) – and sure other devices may have tried, but none have ever come close. Even with its present limitations, the iPhone is still at least a year or two of any competition. The best part is that it is so simple to operate that anyone can enjoy it.

Doug –

Actually, I’m not particularly enamored of the Nook. I’m with Judie—I’d give an iPhone 3Gs. My problem with the Nook is that, like all other eInk devices (so far), it doesn’t have color, it is not backlit, and it has that annoying delayed refresh time between pages. I’m not an eInk kinda guy. But if you like the software, you can install the B&N book reader software on (wait for it) your iPhone 3Gs. One nice thing about the B&N reader that makes it stand out a bit—you can do Google searches or Wikipedia searches from right there in your book! So if I’m reading “Tokyo Vice,” I can highlight a Japanese term, tap “Search in Wikipedia,” and find out that that place is a district northwest of Tokyo. Or whatever. It’s a neat feature. And you can also watch movies, TV shows, web search, read your email and—as long as you don’t have anything better to do—make phone calls. Now the rumored Apple Tablet—that’s the one I’m really waiting for.

Mike –

I am always thinking of what I can give to my wife to draw her further into my tech-obsessed world. I like the idea of the eBook reader, but she has never shown interest and they really don’t work with the way she reads … and lends and borrows with family and friends. I also thought of netbooks, but again there are few needs that I could see being met for her. So for me the thought is the iPhone: the camera, video cam, compass, and so on in a single convergence device. The potential downsides are the crappy AT&T coverage and her penchant for being terrible with battery powered stuff. But given the chance I’d give her the iPhone.

Dan-

As for me? Hard call. I can’t wait to get my Nook but I also know that reading on a screen isn’t for everyone. As a result giving it as a gift might not be a great proposition. (I know… I’ve tried… twice.)

I think giving the iPhone 3GS is a neat idea but not everyone is on AT&T and if you aren’t going to also give the two-year contract of service I’m not sure the iPhone (or the MiFi!!!!) is a great idea.

So what WOULD I give? An iPod touch. Why? Because it opens the world of the App Store and true pocket-computing to the person without locking them into any on-going fees.

How about you? What one gift, under $1000 you you give or get this season???

How you would like to subscribe to Gear Diary? We offer:

Full Post Feed | Summary Feed | Comments Feed

No related posts.