Gizmodo: gift guides

Mr. Skin's Gadget Guide for the Nip Slip Aficionado

Dan Nosowitz — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 01:20:00 EST

Mr. Skin, champion of celebrity nudity and high-def video alike, put together a gadget gift guide with that site's readers in mind. It's kind of funny, kind of creepy and oddly professional, all at the same time.

The guide includes pocket camcorders, webcams, zoom lenses, DVRs and Blu-ray players, all positioned as somehow related to capturing and enjoying artful nudity. A lot of the Mr. Skin guide overlaps with our own, and we actually disagree with some of his picks (like choosing the oft-impressive but unreliable Kodak Zi8 as the pocket camcorder of choice), but all in all it's a pretty solid guide for...well, you know who you are. [Mr. Skin—Not Safe for Work!]

Your Guide to Holiday Gift Guides: Which Ones Are Worth Stealing Ideas From?

matt buchanan — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:50:13 EST

We've more or less spared you guys from cliched "top 10" gift guide hell—Bestmodo tag and our separate Giftmodo site aside—but some people like that kind of thing. Scouring through actual, dead-tree magazines, over at Slate, our own do-it-all Brendan Koerner lifts and separates the fruitcakes from the peppermint schnapps to see which gift guides you should furtively snap pictures of in Barnes & Noble to map out your descent into mall madness.

Snagging the Santa cap is Maxim (score: 9), with its "witty and varied gift ideas" (Maxim? Witty? Wow.) like Leatherman's badass and handy Skeletool. Also worth cribbing "inspiration" from: Domino (7.5), Plenty (7) and Consumer Reports (7). They're more straightforward, but you won't waste your time flipping through them. But avoid the rest of Conde Nast's catalog.

For more masochist or vindicative readers, there's Popular Mechanics' worst gadgets of 2007 list, though we think the Zune's actually a pretty solid player and don't have too many problems with the Pleo, cost aside. Last bit of circle jerking: our currently plastered-on-a-beach leader Brian Lam helped our seedy cousin Valleywag's Paul Boutin scramble together this quick "best gadgets of 2006" gift reader before jetting off to Hawaii. Good gear, sweet recession-like prices. [Slate, Popular Mechanics]

What Should You Get the Geeky Ladies This Holiday?

Sean Fallon — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 20:20:37 EST

If you are anything like me, the women in your life are impossible to shop for. However, if you are lucky enough have a lady in your life that enjoys gadgets, Geeksugar has put together a guide that will help you find the perfect gift for girlfriends, moms, and teen girls. They even have a section devoted to Grandmothers and female cousins. There are guides for the guys too, but if you ask me the women are where it is at. Seriously, what kind of gadget would you get your Grandmother? Big band music is not meant for iPods! [Geeksugar]

5 Cures for the Common Gift Guide

Sean Fallon — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 12:00:01 EST

While it is no surprise that everyone and their mother is putting out a gift guide during the holidays, the problem is that most of these guides are basically the same. It is not that they aren't useful—many are quite comprehensive, featuring the most popular gadgets today. But what if you are not interested in picking up an iPhone this year? Watch me prove just how generic five gift guides turned out to be, then check out five alternative guides that offer a refreshing departure from the norm:

Common Gift Guides
To test how lemming-like guide-makers were in picking all the same stuff, I chose 10 popular tech toys—iPhone, iMac, MacBook, any iPod, TomTom GPS, any game console (Wii, Xbox 360 or PS3), Vizio HDTV, Slingbox, any Blu-ray or HD DVD player, and any Canon PowerShot or Sony Cyber-shot camera—and checked which of the major guides were serving them up. Here's how the mainstream gift lists panned out:

• Men's Health - 8 products out of 10: iPhone, iMac, MacBook, iPod touch, TomTom Go 720, Vizio GV42LF, Samsung Duo HD BD-UP5000 Blu-ray HD DVD combo player, Sony Cyber-shot DSC T200 [Link]

• Cnet - 8 products out of 10: iMac, Macbook, various iPods, TomTom Go 720, all gaming consoles, Vizio VM60P HDTV, Slingbox, Canon PowerShot SD 850 IS, Canon PowerShot S3 IS, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80, Canon PowerShot A710IS [Link]

• PC World 2008 (?) Guide - 8 products out of 10: iPhone, MacBook, various iPods, Wii, PS3—Xbox got dissed—Visio VX32L HDTV and L37 HDTV, Slingbox, Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Player, Canon PowerShot A460 [Link]

• Yahoo Tech - 6 out of 10: iPhone, iMac, MacBook, all three gaming consoles, Samsung BD-P1400 Blu-ray player and the following Canon PowerShots: SD430, S3 IS, A630, A640, SD800 and SD900 [Link]

• PC Magazine - 8 out of 10: iPhone, iMac, MacBook, various iPods, TomTom Go 720, all three gaming systems, Slingbox, Canon PowerShot SD1000 [Link]

Awesome Alternatives
You're starting to get the drift, right? This rampant genericism is why I decided to look for alternatives. If you are looking for something a little different, the following websites offer plenty of brilliant and unique ideas:

• Scott Kelby's Gozo Holiday Gear Guide: Adobe and photography guru Scott Kelby offers up 20 unique products he uses himself. A great guide for photographers and Photoshoppers.

My pick: Delkin eFilm ExpressCard 34 CompactFlash Adapter—Transfers photos "faster than a greased pig" for only $59.95. [Link and Product Page]

• Treehugger Green Gift Guide: There are a few gift guides out there promoting green tech, but Treehugger's is definitely one of the best. Perfect for any geeky, green gadget fan.

My pick: HYmini—Charge your small gadgets with wind power. Available for $50. [Link and Product Page]

• Fortune Small Business Gift Guide: 10 gadgets developed by small businesses. A unique guide for anyone looking to help out the little guy (and get some cool gear at the same time).

My pick: Vudu—Delivers glorious web video content directly to your TV. No PC or cable box required. Available for $399 [Link and Product Page]

• Uncle Mark's Gift Guide and Almanac: Sure, there are a few generic products featured in this guide, but there are some wildly unique ones as well —and you can't beat his delivery and old-timey tech wisdom.

My pick: 20q Ball—It is inside your head for only $15. [Link and Product Page]

• Make's Open Source Hardware Gift Guide: When it comes to unique and geeky gift guides, nobody does it better than Make. Their latest open-source gift guide is out, and the items it contains are sure to be a hit with hackers.

My pick: Open source Daisy MP3 player—It sounds great, you can play MP3s and WAVs, and you can actually change the batteries. Available for $114. [Link and Product Page]

$200 Laptop Bag Great Girlie Gift

tgrumet — Mon, 12 Dec 2005 15:31:40 EST

Looking very Gucci-like but selling for a reduced price of about $200, the Andrea Valentini laptop bag is certainly a good gift idea for the lady (or REALLY fashionable guy) on your holiday list. The company says it's inspired by an egg, though I guess they really mean egg crate, and it's made of a lightweight, water-resistant and stain-resistant material. Add to that a cushioned polyethylene core, adjustable and removable leather strap, carry handles, three interior pockets, and red zip closures and you got yourself a nice-lookin' bag.

Bump Laptop Bag [Popgadget]

Its The Beating of the Heart!

Gizloco — Wed, 07 Dec 2005 12:53:19 EST

Now s here s a great gift idea for that special person in your life. From the folks at Banana Design Lab comes My Beating Heart. This wholesome-looking heart resembles all the stuffed animals you ve ever had, but with one small difference: the heart beats. Yes, so now on those cold winter nights you can hold the heart close to your body to not only keep you warm and comfortable, but to remind you of what it s like to be holding someone s heart. It comes in a whole bunch of styles and colors, as well as adorable names, such as turtle dove and sweet pea.

My Beating Heart [My Beating Heart]