It's arguably never been a better time to be a geek. Pop culture has embraced geeks and our interests in unprecedented fashion. Many of the biggest films at the box office are based on comic books and sci-fi literature. The world's most important young businessmen wear their geek labels with pride.
That also means it's a lot easier for we geeks to get cool stuff for the Holidays. Everywhere from Amazon to eBay to specialty stores make it easy for our non-geek friends and family to gets us what we want.
In honor of Black Friday (of which I partook happily), I'm going to offer some of my personal recommendation for the cool gifts of the season:
Mobile Gadgets
GPS Devices -- the technology has finally crossed the threshold of mass market affordability; which means two things. One, you can get really effective GPS devices for cheap. Two, the current high end devices have a TON of differentiated features.
- Premium Recommendation: TomTom GO 920T
- Bargain Recommendation: Garmin Nuvi 200
Apple iPod Touch (8GB or 16GB) -- Yes, this may be the popular option but sometimes the obvious pick is also the best one. Fantastic battery life, beautiful interface and (still) the best online video/audio store.
Shure SE310 Earphones -- If you want to drown out the noises of the world around you, these headphones are a great way to start. Whether you use them to listen to your iPod on your walk to work or while playing Halo 3 while your family sleeps unknowingly; these little ear buds do the trick. Shure has higher end buds (and lower end), but I think the 310 is the sweet spot for price/performance.
Archos 605 Media Player -- If you travel a lot and want to watch great movies; this device is tough to beat. WiFi enabled, a perfectly sized form factor (screen doesn't cause eye strain, but it's not too big to carry around) and great resolution are all here. One word of caution, splurge on the 80GB or 160GB versions; it's the most cost effective and gives you enough storage to hold plenty of TV and movies.
Jawbone Bluetooth Headset -- There are a lot of Bluetooth headsets out there and it seems the beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But the Jawbone has been getting rave reviews and, having tried it recently, it's hard to imagine a better high end headset if comfort and noise cancellation are equally important.
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