Tips on finding the right electronic gift

Tuesday, November 21, 2006
With Turkey Day around the corner, it's time to start thinking about holiday gifts. What better place to start than the consumer electronics aisle?

The San Francisco Chronicle's Technology team spent weeks aggregating opinions and arguments about tech toys ranging from tiny cell phones to huge HDTVs. Our research resulted in the following recommendations.

DIGITAL CAMERAS:

For the hordes of Flickr freaks and devotees of other photo-sharing Web sites, as well as people looking to decorate their blogs with their fine photography, a digital camera is a necessity. Even though many phones and other gadgets come with cameras, you can't beat the real thing for ease of use, quality of photos and other features such as video.

Obvious choice: Nikon Coolpix

With dropping costs, you don't have to spend a fortune. Nikon's popular CoolPix line has a 4-megapixel camera with features like auto-focus and red-eye fix. The L4 can be found online as low as $102.49. It weighs 4.1 ounces and has a 2-inch LCD screen.

Price: Lists at $129.95.

Features: 4 megapixels with a 3x optical zoom and a big, bright 2-inch LCD screen.

Cool alternative: Celestron Vistapix

If you want to surprise the gadget freak on your list with something really neat, try a digital camera that's also a pair of binoculars. Imagine the bird-watching or sporting-event shots you can get with these. Or even better, imagine what Jimmy Stewart could have photographed in that "Rear Window" apartment complex. Michael Carr, the digital camera guide on About.com, rates five such combos, with his top pick the Celestron VistaPix, ranging from $169 to $272.

Price: Lists at $271.95 (can be found as low as $169)

Features: Up to 3.1 megapixels, continuous video with sound, built-in FM radio and tripod-adaptable.

MP3 PLAYERS:

Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod has yet to be knocked off its top perch among MP3 players. But the market could be in for a transition now that Microsoft Corp. has gotten into the game with the Zune. Some observers speculate that the number of choices could soon begin to shrink.

Obvious choice: Any Apple iPod

Apple refreshed its iPods in September, introducing a Shuffle that's about half the original in size. It also revamped the Nano, which comes in pink, red, silver, black, blue and green. And it upgraded the video iPod with a brighter, better screen.

Price: $79 to $349

Cool alternative: SanDisk Sansa

In the two years it's been in the market, SanDisk has quickly moved into the No. 2 position behind the iPod, according to the NPD Group. The latest Sansa stores music, photos and videos and offers some features the iPod doesn't have, such as audio recording and an FM radio. SanDisk also teamed up with RealNetworks to incorporate the Rhapsody music service with the player.

Price: $40 to $300

CAMCORDERS

Whether it's to preserve memories of that birthday party or wedding, or create that quirky video for YouTube, you can now record clear, high-quality footage with cameras costing less than $600. MiniDV models still rule, but newer DVD camcorders have grown more popular.

Obvious choice: Canon's Elura 85

This camcorder, which uses the MiniDV format, offers stable and clear images, and is Consumer Reports' top-rated camcorder. It has a 2 1/2-inch LCD screen and weighs just 1.2 pounds.

Price: $465

Features: MiniDV format has 2 1/2-inch LCD screen, weighs 1.2 lbs., has 85 minutes of battery life.

Cool alternative: Sony DCR-DVD 105

If you want to do away with the hassle of having to transfer footage from MiniDV tapes to DVDs, check out Sony's DCR-DVD 105, which also got good reviews from Consumer Reports for image quality and stability. When they were introduced about five years ago, DVD camcorders were seen as too expensive and most recorded poor-quality footage. But analyst Chris Chute of International Data Corp. said prices have come down, and while MiniDV units still shoot clearer footage, consumers have embraced DVD camcorders.

Price: $465 (recently offered at Best Buy for $404.99.)

Features: DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW format with 2 1/2-inch LCD screen; weighs 1 pound with battery life of 100 minutes.

LAPTOPS:

Thanks to Moore's Law, portables pack as much power as standard desktops for just about anything but gaming. That's OK for me, because I regard the laptop as a tool, not a toy. I want it to do communications and presentations; word and number-crunching; digital photo storage and display; perhaps a bit of audio or video. Cisco Cheng, lead laptop analyst for PC magazine, narrowed the universe of possibilities, keeping one final parameter in mind _ cost.

Obvious choice: Dell Inspiron E1505

This Dell laptop is a no-compromises choice for Windows fans. It comes with the juice to run the Vista operating system, which you will get (it's just a question of when). And it features a discrete graphics chip because you might want to get your game fix at the Wi-Fi cafe. At 6.6 pounds, you'll feel it on your back.

Price: $999 (after $100 instant rebate)

Features: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.66 GHz, 1-GB memory, 120-GB hard drive

Cool alternative: Apple MacBook 13-inch

What's white and light (4 pounds) and does Windows? The Apple MacBook 13-inch lets you have your cake and eat it, too. It comes loaded with all the Mac software you'll need to be productive. And with its Core 2 Duo processor, the MacBook 13 can run Windows XP (no news yet on Vista), but you'll need to spend $100 to upgrade to 1 GB of memory. The hard drive is wimpy and there are no discrete graphics, so if you buy it, do it for the right reason _ it's a Mac.

Price: Lists at $1,099

Features: Intel Core 2 Duo 1.83 GHz, 512-MB memory, 60-GB hard drive

TELEVISIONS

The prices for flat-screen LCD and plasma televisions have been falling, falling, falling, with even the large screens _ 40 inches and up _ dropping below $1,000.

But faced with so many choices, consumers remain largely confused about what to pick. "There are no obvious choices," said Phillip Swann, president of TVPredictions.com. "There are a lot of confusing choices."

Not all flat-screen sets offer high-definition television; some flat-screens display just enhanced-definition television, which is a grade lower. Consumers must also receive high-definition stations _ either broadcast or through their cable or satellite carrier _ to get the crisp picture they see in the demonstrations. In addition, if the prices are still too steep, viewers who want HDTV can also opt for front- and rear-projection televisions.

Obvious choice: 42-inch Panasonic Widescreen Plasma HDTV

In the 42-inch flat-screen category, Panasonic ranked as the most popular brand in sales during the past year, according to the NPD Group. It also earned top marks from Consumer Reports.

Price: $1,800 to $2,700

Cool alternative: 42-inch Samsung Widescreen Plasma HDTV

Samsung was second in sales in the 42-inch category. Cnet, however, said that though it has a sleek, stylish design, its picture quality doesn't measure up.

Price: $1,400 to $2,500