Five hottest tech gifts for the holiday season

               
Bangalore: Holidays are back again and this time, it is the Christmas knocking the door. So if you are planning to surprise those you love (or otherwise) with a wonderful gift and if you have geek buddies among your loved ones, go for some high-tech goodies. But finding the right gizmo, one that rewards rather than punishes the recipient is not that easy as it seems. Here are five suggestions that can be the gift you are looking for, take a look.
Till now A smart smartphone: Samsung Epic 4G
Although Apple iPhone 4 would have been the most lusted-after item for many, Apple's charm does pale to some extent because of iPhone 4's antenna troubles and the rise of Google's Android powered smartphones.

Samsung's Galaxy S series of Android phones is currently the cream of the Android crop. The Epic 4G, with a lightning fast processor, access to Sprint's 4G network and a slide-out keyboard is the best of that lineup. If you are thinking of gifting an Android phone, this wonder product from Samsung can be a better option. The Epic 4G is available at around  35,000.

An elegant iPad
Even after eight months after its release, the iPad has little competition in the tablet market. Thanks to its speedy 1GHz processor, a responsive and great looking 10-inch touchscreen and thousands of great tablet apps to purchase, the iPad has revolutionized the market for tablet computers.

Apple sells iPad offering Wi-Fi-only models and Wi-Fi + 3G models. The iPad 16 GB costs around  32,000, the iPad 32 GB costs around  38,000 and the iPad 64 GB costs around 44,000. Gifting an iPad can be a good idea as it can be many things to many people. To someone it is a laptop replacement, while someone might love it as a travel companion, or as an entertainment source.

A dashing digital SLR camera
If you want to give something to somebody who loves capturing images and has skills in photography, there can't be a better match than a digital SLR camera. The prices in this category have gone down, but there is no compromise with exciting tools that can serve the interest of both beginners and professionals.

Among the best-selling DSLR cameras is Canon's EOS Rebel T2i. This 18-megapixel wonder has 3-inch LCD, a Full HD movie mode and many other exciting features. Its  42,000 price tag makes it a bit costlier, but a year or so ago cameras of this quality were sold for twice. So if you have the budget, go for it.

Sony PlayStation 3 Slim (160GB)
What can be a better Christmas gift than a Sony PlayStation for somebody who is crazy about computer games? With a smaller design and in-build Blu-ray and multimedia capabilities, PS3 Slim is a convincing choice for an affordable price.

PS3 Slim also brings some other exciting features like upscaling DVD player; built-in Wi-Fi, spacious hard drive, HDMI output with 1080p support and no external power supply. It has got a built-in Web browser and offers free online gaming service. Priced at around 20,000, Sony PlayStation 3 Slim would surely be a nice gift.

Roku set-top box
The gift that can simply be a delight to your movie-freak friend is not the Blu-ray player any more; it would rather be a networked set-top box, like those from Roku. These handy devices allow users to connect to the television and to the Internet to deliver online content--such as movies and TV shows from Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu--directly to the TV set.

The 2010 lineup comes in three versions - the Roku HD for  6,500 (approx), the Roku XD for  7,000 (approx) and the Roku XDS for  10,000 (approx). Each one offers wired (Ethernet) and wireless (Wi-Fi) network connectivity, plus HDMI and composite AV video outputs.  Vaidyanathan.


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