Christmas is right around the corner and it’s already time to start thinking about what you want. Whether you overtly tell people what you want or leave subtle hints, you have to try to narrow down your choice of gifts. Retailers like Argos sell everything from the iPad Mini to some of the more weird and wonderful items.
Let’s take a look at the best gadgets you could receive this Christmas.
Kindle DX
The Kindle DX is Amazon’s latest big gadget. It’s slightly heavier than the six-inch Kindle, but you can get more text on the page. You also have a choice of what sort of font you want. It comes with more options to customize the reading experience than previous entries in the Kindle series.
It’s also the only Kindle which can take PDF files and open them in their original forms. This makes the Kindle DX a practical tool to use in the workplace, as well.
It’s quite a costly gadget to buy at around £300, but if you buy from the right place you can get a good deal.
Cameras from the Top End of the Range
Cameras are always a popular present for Christmas. We’ve picked out a total of three cameras all at different prices. They all perform exceptionally well and can make a fantastic gift for anyone.
We start with the Casio Exilim EX-H10. At less than £200, this budget camera offers a compact piece of equipment with 10x zoom and a 24mm wide-angle lens. It’s a long battery life and a menu which is easy to get around. It shoots videos in qualities up to 720p.
The Panasonic Lumix FZ35 is slightly bigger and slightly more expensive at around £250. It’s light and it won’t fit in your pocket, but the incredible 18x zoom is worth it. It provides crystal clear pictures with its big LCD screen. There’s an electronic eyepiece which lets you put your eye to the camera.
Canon EOS Rebel T1i is an ideal camera if you want to use DSLR. This pricy camera costs over £500 and is the perfect addition to any photographer’s collection. It comes with a number of Canon lenses allowing for much choice in focusing and picture quality. It also takes videos at the highest qualities.
The only downside of this camera is it’s slightly heavy and will require a bag to carry it around.
Zune HD
We’ve talked about Argos and their big sales on the iPad Mini before. Things might be changing, though. The new Zune HD from Microsoft is ready for Christmas and it’s widely expected to challenge the dominance of Apple.
It costs less than £150 and comes with an OLED screen. It remains small and light, without being too fragile. Obviously, you can listen to songs, but you can also download 720p videos. Whoever buys you this should consider getting the optional accessory which allows you to connect your device to the television and play your videos.
It offers an additional subscriber option. For a small fee, you can choose 10 songs per month from a library consisting of six million songs.
The only problem with Zune is its website is a disaster area, at the moment.
Kodak Z18
We love our smartphones because they give us the flexibility to snap photos and take videos of the weird and wacky things we encounter in life. The problem is the image quality is usually terrible, and it’s hard to view anything whilst you’re constantly shaking
If this is a common problem for you, ask for the Kodak Z18 for Christmas. This pocket video camera comes in at just over £100 and provides electronic image stabilisation. In other words, your images will be clearer and the videos watchable.
It can go in your pocket with ease and it seems quite sturdy and durable. This isn’t advocating dropping it on the ground to see if we’re telling the truth, though.
HammacherSchlemmer Bug Vacuum
It looks like something out of the 22st century or an episode of Futurama. This little gadget will provide you with hours of fun, especially during the summer months. The HammacherSchlemmer Bug Vacuum is essentially a long tube which sucks up insects and gets rid of them forever. It can be used on anything from flies to spiders.
It’s cheap at only £30. Furthermore, even if you don’t get many creepy crawlies in your home it’s worth having simply for the novelty.
iPad Mini
The iPad Mini can be a good option if you don’t want anyone to splash out a considerable amount of money on the original iPad for Christmas. It doesn’t come with the same high-resolution screen, but it still offers good graphics. The performance difference between the older iPads isn’t noticeable and you’ll still be able to watch videos and read your favorite eBooks.
Christmas is a time for giving and these gadgets can make a memorable addition to anyone’s stocking. Although you might be hoping these gadgets find their way under your tree, remember some of your friends might want you to buy some of these gadgets.
If you want to show your friends you care, remember to shop around on some of the more expensive gadgets. You can find lots of special offers and deals if you buy in advance. Buying a month or so before Christmas will yield major price cuts and more value for money on your shopping.