Stocking Stuffers Go High-Tech
Forget chocolate! This year Santa's sleigh is hauling gadget goodies.
Nov. 26, 2007 — -- If stockings are hung by your chimney, real or virtual, with care, here are a few ideas for gadgets and goodies to fill them with that will be sure to please.
Microsoft's new 80GB Zune music player seems to be outselling the Apple iPod Nano, at least for the moment. A Thanksgiving week report noted a shortage of the new Zune media players ($249) on the Web and in retail stores, suggesting it gave Apple a little run for consumer's money. Don't expect it to last though.
Zunes should be back on retail and virtual shelves very soon, so these sleek-looking Wi-Fi enabled music players are an option for your stocking if you're ready to fork over some big bucks.
For that special someone who already has an iPod or music player, check out Griffin's new TuneBuds ($19.99), earphones that are both comfortable and sound great so you can listen in style. They are noise-isolating, lightweight and available in six designer colors (silver, pink, light green, blue, light blue and red) so you can match whatever player you're carrying that day.
Taking the music on the road? Make sure to get an iTrip Auto SmartScan ($79.99) from Griffin. It's a redesigned iTrip so no more fumbling around with your FM dial trying to tune into the right station to play your tunes. The FM transmitter plugs into the car's 12-volt/cigarette lighter, scans the radio dial for you, finds the three clearest FM frequencies and saves them as presets that you can recall at any time with a single button. It charges your iPod at the same time so you've got a full battery when you arrive at your destination.
For that gadget hound with a drawer full of tangled electrical cords and AC power packs, a label maker is a must. The DYMO Personal Labelmaker ($39.99) lets you label just about anything: cords, files, CDs, shelves, storage containers, even your Christmas stocking. The portable labelmaker features a large keyboard and screen so you can see what you're typing and labels are available for paper, plastic and iron-on.
