Metro Technology Gift Guide 2003
UPDATED: December 24, 2003
(it's getting late isn't it?)
Welcome to the Metro section of Geartest.com!
We've updated the 2003 tech gift guide to make it easier for you to find items by price to fit your budget.
We'll be adding more technology-related gift ideas and information to supplement the items that appear in the gift guide published in Metro International newspapers' Toronto edition. We'll also update the gift guide with reviews of the items that appear here, so check back often for the latest content that will help you make an informed decision when you decide to buy a present for that special someone.
Gifts listed by price:
Unless otherwise noted all prices are in Canadian dollars.
Watch this space for more items, details and reviews.
- The Editors
Gifts under $50
Desert Thunder (Rated T for Teen)
Desert Thunder is a Toronto triple-threat. Made by Brainbox Games - a unit of Digital Extremes, which makes the best-selling Unreal series - published by Toronto's Groove Games and distributed by Toronto's Hip Interactive, Desert Thunder is pure 3-D arcade action that puts you in an M1 tank, eliminating enemy tanks and soldiers. Available for PC, $20.
Belkin TraveLite USB Retractable Lamp
Road warriors, gamers and spouses can all benefit from Belkin's neat little TraveLite USB retractable lamp. A 19" USB cable carries power from your laptop to a surprisingly bright LED light that illuminates your keyboard. The adjustable light clips on to your laptop computer and the swiveling head directs the beam where you need it. Perfect for low-light conditions on long airplane rides, at a LAN party or just promoting spousal harmony while one works in bed and the other sleeps. Unplug, reel in the cable at the touch of a button and you're good to go. Available at www.belkin.com, about $30 CDN / $20 US.
Belkin Quadra 4-in-1 Pen
People who give business presentations or attend meetings need a variety of tools to help them make their lives a little simpler. Belkin has combined some of the most common tools into one device. The Quadra 4-in-1 pen includes a ballpoint pen, a PDA stylus, an LED reading light for reading notes in meetings where the illumination is low, and a laser pointer for when it's your turn at the podium. The device even comes with four coin-cell batteries. Available at www.belkin.com, about $37 CDN / $25 US.
Lizzie McGuire: On the Go! (with PDA) for GameBoy Advance
Guide Lizzie McGuire through the mall to collect CDs, nacho chips and more while avoiding cheerleaders and pom-poms in this arcade-style platform game for the GameBoy Advance. Play with friends in multiplayer mode and unlock mini-games. Keep track of weekday schedules and friends' phone numbers, e-mail addresses and birthdays with the very cool and innovative PDA function. $40
Ideazon Zboard modular keyboard
In the fast-twitch world of PC games, one false keypress and you could be riddled with bullets, fall into seething lava, or otherwise get seriously fragged. Vaughan-based Ideazon's got your back. The standard Zboard comes with a removable keyset so you can snap in Lexan-topped gaming modules -- like the Crossfire, with large, programmable, function-labelled keys - or game-specific keysets, such as Blackhawk Down or NeverWinter Nights. If you need help convincing your parents, Ideazon offers keysets for popular business applications, too. $40 for starter keyboard, $20 - $55 for modules.
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Gifts under $100
TRON 2.0 (Rated T for Teen)
You've seen The Strokes' latest video that immerses the band into the computer world of TRON. . . but why should they get to have all the fun? More than 20 years after Disney's visually stunning movie that incorporated mind-blowing computer graphics, you can take a first-person adventure into the world of TRON. Fight the forces of viral and corporate corruption, battle hostile invaders, race light cycles to the death on the game grid and discover the secrets of the legacy code. Prepare to be de-rezzed. Available for PC, $60.
Streamzap PC Remote
Can't afford a new Media Center PC? Control the multimedia entertainment functions on your current Windows-based computer. Watch DVDs, listen to music and streaming Internet radio, channel-surf on your TV-tuner card or use other multimedia applications. Couch potatoes never had it so good. Available at www.streamzap.com and at computer stores, about $60 CDN / $40 US.
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom (Rated E for Everyone)
The insanely popular SpongeBob Squarepants cartoon goes 3D in THQ's latest game featuring the well-meaning but nerdy sponge. An army of Plankton's evil robots is threatening to overrun Bikini Bottom, SpongeBob's hometown, and SpongeBob, Patrick and Sandy must use all of their wits to stop the marauding machines. The game has SpongeBob collecting bright shiny objects, golden spatulas and fresh underpants throughout Bikini Bottom, all while solving numerous jumping puzzles. Challenging puzzles for adults and lots of explanatory scenes and gentle humour for young children who want to join in the fun. For all consoles, PC and GameBoy Advance. About $60 / $40 US.
Xbox games: Racing, Combat, Golf and Voodoo
Xbox gamers can tear up the streets of cities around the world driving exotic cars in Project Gotham Racing 2 (Rated E for Everyone); fight as part of military tactical teams or as insurgents in Counter-Strike (Rated M for Mature); spend the cold, Canadian winter playing some of the world's best golf courses with Links 2004 (Rated E for Everyone); or turn themselves into pin-cushions, flaming torches and lightning rods while fighting the enemies of the burlap doll Voodoo Vince (Rated T for Teen). $55 - $75
Hip Gear ScreenPad for Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2 and Xbox
When one person wants to watch TV and another wants to play a console game, it can be a test of wills. Or maybe you don't have room for a TV in a cramped dorm room. Or you don't have a monitor in your car so the kids can amuse themselves on those road long trips. The ScreenPad by Toronto's Hip Interactive fills the gap with a combination game controller, LCD monitor, and speakers. Problems solved. $70 to $80
Belkin Nostromo SpeedPad n52
Belkin's slick Nostromo gaming controllers won raves on launch. Now they've added the SpeedPad n52, which sports 14 keys and two fire buttons -- 6 more controls than the original n50, for 100 programmable functions - a clickable scroll wheel, 8-way directional pad and an adjustable handrest so total domination of your enemies is at your fingertips. Fragalicious. Available at www.belkin.com, about $75 CDN / $50 US.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004: A Century of Flight (Rated E for Everyone)
Just in time for the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' history-making flight on Dec. 17, 1903, Microsoft marks the 20th year of its popular Flight Simulator. The latest edition lets you fly 9 historically significant planes -- including the Wright Flyer -- and 15 modern aircraft including the Bombardier Learjet, Boeing 777 and the Bell JetRanger helicopter. $89
Belkin Wireless PDA Keyboard
Many people dislike using the handwriting recognition software that comes with most PDAs these days, particularly if they have large amounts of information to enter into their electronic organizers. Belkin delivers its latest portable keyboard for both Palm and Pocket PC PDAs. The slim QWERTY keyboard uses an infrared link to transmit your keystrokes to your PDA and folds in half to easily slip into a breast pocket. Available at www.belkin.com, about $90 CDN / $60 US.
Microsoft Encarta Reference Library 2004 Plus DVD
The latest edition of Microsoft's multimedia encyclopedia includes homework tools like literature guides (remember Coles Notes?), dictionary and thesaurus, interactive guides to the Periodic Table of Elements, weather phenomena and more; 32 short Discovery Channel videos; an updated graphical interface; and online content updates until October 2004. $100
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Gifts under $200
PalmOne MP3 kit
PalmOne's MP3 audio kit transfers music to SD memory cards. Plug the card into your PalmOne PDA and play. $150 CDN / $100 US
Microsoft Wireless Optical Desktop Elite with 4-way scroll wheel
After extensive research, the company that invented the scroll wheel has added a rocker so you can scroll windows left and right -- not just up and down. Over time, the wheel learns how you use it, so you can fly through documents in a couple of flicks. And the set is wireless, so you can sit anywhere while you work or play. $160
Microsoft Digital Imaging Suite 9
Digital camera sales have skyrocketed and shutterbugs can edit their own photos, erase unwanted objects (or people), sharpen blurry shots, touch up facial defects and apply special effects. Forget slide shows - create a video presentation you can e-mail or watch on TV. Organize your digital photos into albums by date, size, name, keyword or by using the 5-star rating system. The suite also contains archiving, search and backup tools. Say goodbye to that old shoebox full of prints. $159
Microsoft Works Suite 2004
You might call this the Swiss Army knife of home productivity applications. Microsoft bundles its ubiquitous word processor, Word 2002; the Works spreadsheet, database and calendar applications; Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2004; Money Standard 2004 personal finance software; Streets & Trips 2004 U.S. and Canadian driving directions and maps; and the Picture It! Photo Premium digital photography editing application all into one package. $159
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Gifts under $500
RCA Lyra RD1090 LYRA personal MP3 player with FM tuner
Few things annoy more than running out of music en route to work or school, or while exercising. The Lyra RD1090 stores between two and three hours of near-CD-quality MP3s in its 256K memory. Not enough? Add memory with an SD card or listen to your favourite radio station for more tunes - or news, if there's a blackout. $260
EPSON Stylus Photo R300M / R300 printer
EPSON's latest six-color, ink-jet photo printer comes in two flavours: with LCD display (R300M) and without. The 2.5" LCD screen lets you view the photos you're printing. Both models let photographers bypass a computer and print photos directly from their digital cameras. The built-in photo editing features helps you crop and resize photos. A variety of memory card slots support just about every digital camera memory card in use. Use the bundled CD design software and the included CD/DVD adapter with the appropriate printable discs to print your own custom CDs and DVDs. And if you want to splurge, you can add on a Bluetooth adapter to wirelessly print photos directly from your Bluetooth-enabled camera-phone. $249 for the R300 (without display) / $349 for the R300M. Bluetooth Photo Print Adapter (not pictured), about $110 CDN / $69 US.
Microsoft Wireless-G Notebook Kit MN-820 (Wi-Fi wireless network)
If you are tired of being tied down by Ethernet cables you can unwire your notebook and access the Internet from anywhere in the house, or out on the town at wireless hotspots like Union Station, the Air Canada Center, Forest Hill Village, and more. Microsoft updates its wireless networking line with a newer Wi-Fi standard called Wireless-G that lets you surf at speeds up to 54-megabits per second (compared to 11 Mbps for 802.11b networks). 802.11g is backwards-compatible with 802.11b networks so you don't have to ditch your old wireless equipment. Wireless liberation awaits. $259
Nokia N-Gage mobile game deck / phone
The N-Gage got a lot of flak for its multi-step game-swapping process and its odd edge-on phone, but throwing the baby out with the bathwater would be a mistake. You can wirelessly play games with any other N-Gage player in the world, and it's a tri-band phone, FM radio, MP3 player and text, MMS and e-mail messenger. And it has Bluetooth wireless networking. $299 with three free games until Dec. 31 at Electronics Boutique stores. www.ebgames.ca. $299 until Dec. 31, $449 after. $45-$55 per game.
HP Scanjet 4670 scanner
Hewlett Packard's slim, sleek, transparent Scanjet 4670 scanner scans documents, photos, negatives and slides in flatbed mode -- or upright to save desk space. $299 CDN / $200 US
Sony Ericsson HBM-30 MP3 player & Bluetooth headset
Sony-Ericsson's HBM-30 MP3 player wirelessly connects to your Bluetooth-enabled cellphone so you can take a call (or not). Hang up and it cranks your tunes once again. About $325 CDN / $250 US
PalmOne Zire 71 PDA with digital camera
PalmOne's Zire 71 sports a versatile 0.3 megapixel digital camera that slides out for quick snapshots. Choose between three levels of resolution: 160 x 120 (0.019 megapixels), 320 x 240 (0.076 mp), or 640 x 480 (0.3 mp). $399 CDN / $299 US
HP DVD Movie Writer DC3000
HP's DVD Movie Writer DC3000 lets you burn movie memories from videotape to DVD. Cool. $499 CDN / $350 US
Panasonic SV-AS10 D-Snap Four-in-One SD AV Recorder
If Lara Croft wasn't in such a rush, she might have preferred this wafer-like digital video and voice recorder, still camera, and audio player to the Panasonic SV-AV30 (below). The camera snaps 2-megapixel images and with the sleek body's coloured metallic finishes, its adds a touch of style to the tech. $500
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Gifts under $1000
Nikon Coolpix SQ 3.1-megapixel digital camera
Nikon was one of the first companies to offer digital cameras to the general public, and they've come a long way since then. The SQ is a stylish little 3-megapixel camera with 3x optical zoom and up to 4x digital zoom, the ability to record video clips, and a unique swivelling lens assembly that lets you take pictures at any angle. $569
Nikon Coolpix 3700 3.2-megapixel digital camera
Nikon fits a lot of camera into this small, unassuming package. The brushed-aluminum Coolpix 3700 takes 3.2-megapixel shots and -- like its cousin, the Coolpix SQ -- this model includes a 3x optical zoom and the ability to record video clips. The 3700 uses SD memory cards and feels comfortable in small or large hands despite its diminutive size. The controls and menus are responsive and well-laid out, all within easy reach of your thumb. Small, light, fast and smartly designed. $569
PalmOne Tungsten T3 PDA
PalmOne (formerly Palm) -- the company that popularized personal digital assistants (PDAs) -- is back with some new and notable devices. One is the Tungsten T3, which includes Bluetooth wireless networking, voice recording, and its main feature: a larger, slide-out screen that lets you display information in the traditional vertical (portrait) mode, or rotate the image to present it in horizontal (landscape) mode. $599 CDN / $399 US
RCA Lyra RD2780 Audio/Video Jukebox
If you can't choose between a personal digital music player, video player/recorder, electronic photo album or portable hard drive for your Mac or Windows computer . . . don't. The Lyra AV Jukebox, with its 20 gigabyte hard drive and TFT LCD display, is all in one. Say goodbye to boredom on your TTC or GO transit commute. $700
Panasonic SV-AV30 e-wear Four-in-One SD AV Recorder
Lara Croft took this item along tomb-raiding in the film Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life. The compact-sized device combines a digital video and voice recorder, still camera, and audio player, and stores the data on removable SD cards. The included docking cradle lets you connect it to a TV or computer to record shows, music and other data for later enjoyment on the go. Angelina Jolie not included. $770
Sony CLIE PEG-NZ90 PDA with 2-megapixel camera
Sony's CLIE handheld device is designed for either the power-user or the ultimate technology gadget-freak. The Palm-based PDA sports a 2-megapixel camera with a flash, a brilliant and crisp 320 x 480 pixel colour display, MPEG movie recorder/player, a QWERTY keyboard, digital audio recorder, MP3 player (among other multimedia features), Bluetooth device connectivity and an expansion slot for an optional 802.11b WiFi wireless networking card. You can even use it for work, but why would you want to? $1000
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Gifts over $1000
Panasonic DMR-E60 DVD-RAM/DVD-R Recorder
If a DVD player is on your gift list, you may want to treat that special someone to a DVD recorder instead. Panasonic's DMR-E60 DVD recorder uses re-writable DVD-RAM discs or the write-once DVD-R format. The retro 1980s-styled deck has a bright LED display, SD card and PC card slots so you can view or transfer photos from your digital still camera to another card, or to a DVD. It comes with a FireWire input for digital video and an optical output. But the standout feature on Panasonic's DVD recorder is the ability to simultaneously record one show while watching another. If you arrived late for a show that you are currently recording and can't wait to watch, you can even view it at 1.3 times normal speed and catch up to the real time broadcast. Edit recorded programs into scenes and save a new, commercial-free playlist. Of course the DMR-E60 can play CD-R/RW discs and MP3 files. Listen to the audio in Dolby Digital and DTS sound. Sweet. $1300
HP Pavilion zd7010ca multimedia notebook computer with built-in 802.11g WiFi networking
HP's latest desktop replacement laptop computer is a feature-packed bundle that may turn any skeptic into a believer and convert you from desktop computer systems forever. The silver-bodied computer features a 17-inch widescreen (1440 x 900) TFT display, 512 megabytes of memory, an Intel Pentium4 2.66 GHz processsor, a 64 MB nVidia GeForce4 Go 440 graphics chip, Harman Kardon stereo speakers, DVD-ROM/CD-RW burner, four speedy USB 2.0 ports, a TV-out port, a built-in Broadcom 802.11g Wi-Fi wireless networking chip and the standard cable jacks. Of course it also comes with a nice multimedia software bundle. Watch DVDs, play games, listen to music or simply surf the Internet from anywhere in the house or office with this sleek machine. $2499
Sony VAIO PCV-W20 slim desktop computer
Sony's W-line of personal computers is an experiment in producing a full-featured computer with an aesthetic design. The all-in-one computer is meant to fit into compact spaces such as the typical Japanese apartment where space is at a premium. Style-conscious computer lovers will appreciate the fold-up keyboard, integrated stereo speakers, Intel Pentium4 1.8 GHz chip, 512MB of memory, a 15.3" LCD widescreen, 60GB hard drive (for storing all your music) and DVD-ROM/CD-RW burner. The system doubles as a clock and music jukebox when the keyboard is folded up. Slick. $2599.
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