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Team GBM 2008 Holiday Gift Guide

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Team GBM had a great time sitting around the fireplace last night in our festive Christmas attire listening to some Nat King Cole play over Warner’s iPhone. Yes, Warner does look quite festive in a red sweater vest, but when he broke out into a solo performance of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer (complete with dance moves), it was just too much to take in. And Matt? Well, let’s just say he got too friendly with the eggnog. Truc? He was pretty cool, but he kept going around sticking screen protectors on everyone. Go figure….

While we were all being jolly together, we swapped some ideas around about what we’d love to get or give for Christmas. Here is everyone’s list.

Matt Faulkner

  • Incase Extended battery for the iPhone – 99.99 available now – cause we’ll need it while we are in CES doing some coverage of all the new toys.   120% added battery to the 3G is never a bad thing, maybe we can go 2 days with this bad boy on there.
  • 16 gig USB key – becuase the 2 gig just isn’t big enough anymore…. plus this gives about anybody a chance to test out a mobile OS:)
  • Sanyo HD camera – not a bad price for a HD camera and while the Flip Video is nice, this thing is rockin!
  • Jabra SP700 Bluetooth Speakerphone – great unit for talking while on the go!   CLipping right to the visor, pair it up and you don’t ever have to worry about loosing that headset again.
  • The i-Knock – funny little guy that will notify you when you get an im, e-mail or skype call.   It would either be fun or it would be on there for a day and never come back out of the drawer!   Probably the latter of the 2 though, but sure looks like a fun gift.

John Gannon

Matt Dillon

  • MSI Wind Netbook – The MSI Wind is one of the best netbooks on the market and by far the best netbook that I have used.   I have previously owned an Asus Eee PC 701 and had hands on time the the Acer Aspire One, Eee PC 900 series, among others.   The large keyboard, 10″ LED backlit screen, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and a 1.6 ghz Intel Atom processor provide a great computing experience in a small package and low cost.   The 6 cell version of the Wind provides 5+ hours of battery life, plenty of juice to get your tasks done.   The price on the U100 has dropped significantly since it was first introduced as a new version of the Wind, the U120, debuts.   The 3 cell MSI Wind can be purchased on BestBuy.com for US $350.
  • mySoldius Soldius 1 – The Soldius 1 charging unit is a fun, green way to charge your cell phone or mp3 player.   Although it takes direct sunlight, the Soldius 1 is a great tool to have for avid outdoors people.   Check out this GBM review of the Soldius 1 charger to learn more.
  • iPod Touch – The iPod Touch is undoubtely the coolest mp3 player that I’ve ever played with.   Amazing, smooth user interface and navigate, great sound quality, full HTML web browsing, email, and thousands of applications make the iPod Touch a must have device for any tech enthusiast or music lover.   The iPod Touch starts at $229 and there are occasionally better deals posted through Apple’s refurbished outlet.
  • SkinIt.com – SkinIt is a website that allows customers to create custom “skins” for their favorite electronics.   Skins can be selected from premade designs, pro atheletic teams, religious themes, or custom designs.   Skinit offers the highest quality and most durable product in the market place. The Scotchprint Graphics 3M logo assures photo quality imaging, residue free removal and air bubble free application.   Skinit Skins provide a thin, photo quality protective membrane, buffering your device from occasional nicks and scratches from every day use.
  • Eye-Fi – Make your digital camera wireless with Eye-Fi, a Wi-Fi enabled SD Card.   Upload photos automatically from your digital camera to your computer & favorite photo site with the Eye-Fi Wi-Fi SD memory card.   The Eye-Fi is easy to use, eliminated the need for USB cables, and saves time.   Learn more by visiting the Eye-Fi web site.

Sierra Modro

Truc Bui

  • Samsung NC10 netbook – With CES coming up in January, I’d rather have a netbook that’s smaller and less critical to me than my tablet. The T2010 is a great tablet, but experiencing the MSI Wind’s performance and miniscule footprint makes me long for a good netbook with a usable keyboard for those times I don’t need tablet functionality. The $490 Samsung is great because of its big keyboard and extended battery life. Having an MSI Wind with the 3-cell battery that runs out after 2 hours is frustrating to say the least.
  • Microsoft Zune Phone – With my T-Mo Wing getting long in the tooth, something faster and more user-friendly (a la WinMo 7?) is definitely on my wish list. I hope the new Microsoft phone will actually give the G1 and iPhone a run for its money. The current crop of WinMo devices is lackluster in comparison with the much improved GUIs coming from RIM, Android, and Apple. It’s gotten so bad HTC has come out with newer UIs that are still unfortunately bound by WinMo 6.1’s limitations and doggish performance. It’s time for a thorough shakeup, Microsoft. Let’s make this happen!
  • Parrot Minikit Slim – California’s hands-free law has me using the original Minikit. One of my main complaints for this otherwise great plug-and-play speakerphone is its rather thick profile. When I get in my car, my head knocks the speakerphone. With Parrot’s great new ultra slim design, this issue should be addressed. I appreciate Parrot’s use of noise reduction and simple user interface. Parrot has actually improved on speaker performance on this new model. At $100, it’s not a bad price for such a useful accessory that allows me to stay legal and, more importantly, keep more of my concentration on the road.
  • Garmin nuvi 755T – I’ve been using OnCourse Navigator on my Wing for the last year and a half. Although it’s a great piece of software, the recent purchase of a nuvi 255W showed me how nice it is to have a dedicated PND with a large screen. The new 755T improves on the 255W with 3D maps and lane choice guides to make driving in unfamiliar places that much easier. $400 is not a bad price for something this useful.
  • Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin Speakers – I’ve had iPods since 2003 and my quest for a good set of home speakers started shortly thereafter. After the disappointment with iHome’s iPod speaker solution, I recently moved on to an Altec Lansing m612. Although much better than the iHome, it is nothing compared to the B&W unit at the Apple Store that I played with. The sound quality coming out of the speakers was nothing short of awesome and its looks make the $600 price of admission well worth it.

Craig Pringle

Warner Crocker

Gadgets I own and love

  • GorillaPod Go-Go. Great flexible tripod stand for small devices allowing you to prop them up or attach them anywhere.
  • OpenIt: Who needs Amazon’s frustration free packaging when you have OpenIt to save your fingers from the perils of opening blister packaging.
  • Eye-Fi Card: Great for moving pictures to your on-line services or your network via WiFi. This is a real time saver for me.
  • Blue Snowflake Microphone A great portable microphone with excellent quality.
  • The iPhone 3G: A game changing device that still needs to catch up to features we see in other smart phones. That said, it is my Mobile Internet Device of choice and the enjoyment of use is as much a part of that as are the features.

Gadget I’d love to own:

  • Drobo: A storage system that expands as you need space and always keeps you backed up. Add up to any 4 drives of any capacity and the total is available for usage. 1/3rd of your total capacity is used for backup purposes. If a drive fills up, simply pop it out and replace it with a larger size on the fly and all of your data is still there.

Rob Bushway

5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. GoodThings2Life

    12/01/2008 at 6:49 am

    Ah, the 80's! How I miss them! ;)

    Good list everyone! Definitely some neat stuff that I wish I had a few of too!

  2. davidm

    12/01/2008 at 11:15 am

    I'd say the biggest gift for yourself and others might be checking what gadgets you're not using anymore, and finding a good home for them. You'll feel lighter without all that extra gear lying around.

  3. gottabemobile

    12/01/2008 at 11:18 am

    thanks, David. If you remember we did just that earlier this year – in July.

    https://www.gottabemobile.com/2008/06/23/ho-ho-ho-

  4. davidm

    12/02/2008 at 1:04 am

    That's wasn't really directed at the indubitable gottabemobile but rather the readers.. including myself. I just found a home for a wacom tablet and digital camera.. did I really need three?

  5. asiriusgeek

    12/02/2008 at 5:16 am

    Awesome, thanks! Matt, I think you provided the perfect gift idea for my spouse :-).

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