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Nov.20

2:32 PM ET

Thursday, 20 Nov 2008

Tech Check Gift And Gadget Guide, Vol. 1

Posted By:Jim Goldman

Topics:Wireless Communications | Video Games | Information Technology | Internet | Technology

Sectors:Software and Computer Services | Software | Telecommunications | Internet | Technology

Companies:Verizon Communications | Sony Corp, SNE | Research in Motion Limited | Apple Inc

Tech Gift & Gadget Guide
CNBC.com
My call went out last week to get a dialogue going for gadgets, gizmos and electronic doo-dads that are topping your list, ahead of the big holiday shopping season, and companies have been responding.

Big companies from Apple Inc., Sony, Amazon, Jawbone, Research in Motion, and little companies like WetKeys and The Disk Interactive have all sent in some products.

On the high end, that 32 Gig iPod is hard to beat. For those of you who can't give up your BlackBerry and don't mind carrying two devices, this is the way to go. Slick, fun, a gorgeous display and now the kind of storage that makes it a robust music, video and game-playing platform. That said, NPD is out with new numbers for October, showing a 20 percent, year-over-year sales decline. That isn't scaring Piper Jaffray from anticipating 18.5 million to 19 million iPods sold during Apple's December quarter. That compares to the 22.1 million sold during the same time last year. But it doesn't include the 6.4 million iPhones Piper expects Apple to sell as well, which cannibalize at least a little of the iPod market. The iPod Touch is a gorgeous machine, but at $399 for that 32 Gig model, it ain't cheap.

Amazon's Kindle was just chosen as Oprah Winfrey's favorite product of all time. My wife cannot wait to get her hands on one. I was skeptical about the allure of such a product and at $395, it seemed to be priced very high. But after playing with one, and talking to CEO Jeff Bezos about it at the D: All Things Digital conference earlier this year, I'm beginning to lean the other way. I'm interested in the newspaper and magazine aspects of the device. When I travel, I take a book or two, and certainly don't need access to my entire home library, the way I would with music, videos and games. So in that respect, the Kindle is overkill for me. But newspapers and magazines instantly available for direct download seems cool. I'm just not sure, even with the Oprah stamp of approval, that it's $395 cool.

Jawbone sent a couple of its noise canceling Bluetooth earpieces for your cell phone. When these first came out, I couldn't wait to try them. Military technology to reduce ambient noise, what Jawbone calls "Noise Assassin," I was disappointed in the audio quality. I liked the design, wasn't thrilled with the price ($129 at retail) but thought the noise-canceling claims were oversold. But with this delivery, I got a nice little diagram of proper fit and that made a big difference in quality. I still use the Apple Bluetooth earpiece ($99), by the way, and it works great.

Xbox Vs. PlayStation With Netflix Caught In The Middle

We've been playing with the new BlackBerry Storm here in the bureau this week, the new touch screen phone from Research in Motion available on Verizon beginning this week. The screen is gorgeous, and certainly from a viewing perspective, a worthy competitor to the iPhone. But the way it's put together is weird. The tactile response you get from depressing the keys on the screen is odd since the entire glass moves when you do it. That is certainly taking some getting used to. The action on the screen seems a little sluggish too, moving from one application to the next. I use the Bold, which has a real keypad, and a terrific screen, available on AT&T, and it's great.

That's just a sample of some of the stuff that's caught my eye this week. Coming up: a nifty, water-proof, flexible keyboard for your computer that's inexpensive and just the right thing for the slob in the office or at home. Neat stuff. Anything catch your eye? Any must-have products you hope to get? Any products that seem cool, but just aren't? Drop me a note. Black Friday is just a week away!