For the student: Livescribe Echo smartpenPrice:
Price: $169.95
This incredibly smart pen records everything you write and hear. Using an infrared sensor in its tip and special dot-covered paper, it pairs the audio it records with exactly what you were writing at the time. So, if you turn back in your notebook to a set of bullet points from a past lecture, you can tell the pen to play back exactly the clip of audio it recorded while you were writing those bullet points. The pen also produces what the company calls pencasts, exporting a Flash movie file so you can view your notes and paired audio as a movie and share it with friends.
www.livescribe.com
For the future viral video star: Looxcie wearable camcorder
Price: $199
This camcorder rests on your ear and looks a lot like a Bluetooth headset. It pairs with your Android smartphone and it continuously records the last five hours of everything you see -- you'll never miss a chance to capture and post the latest viral video. When something happens that you want to post online, just hit a button on the Looxcie and it automatically clips the last 30 seconds. Then you can upload that clip from your smartphone to Facebook, YouTube or Twitter.
www.looxcie.com
For the über geek: TikTok iPod Nano watchband
Price: $25
Little did Apple know when it released the tiny and square iPod Nano this fall that it had also released a dream touchscreen watch for the geek in all of us. Lots of watchbands are out for the Nano to use its watch-face mode, but this is the best.
www.kickstarter.com
For the business-minded: Motorola Droid Pro
Price: $179.99 after $100 mail-in rebate from Verizon
The latest in Verizon's popular Droid line of Android-based smartphones is aimed directly at BlackBerry users who love their physical keyboards and corporate security features. Those features -- including remote data wipe and encryption -- are now bundled in the Droid Pro for Motorola, which also boasts all the power of Google's increasingly polished Android operating system.
www.verizonwireless.com
For the kind-hearted: Red Cross music gift card
Price: $25 per soldier
Sometimes the best gifts we can give are to people we've never even met. The American Red Cross offers the opportunity to sponsor one, two or four injured service members who will receive a $25 MP3 music gift card through your gift. The service members can then download music while they're recovering and relax to their favorite tunes.
redcross.org /gifts
For the bookworm: Amazon Kindle
Price: $139 for WiFi model; $189 for model with WiFi and 3G wireless access
There may be no hotter gift out there this holiday season than an e-reader. It's been a brisk year full of newcomers and price drops, but one device still reigns supreme: the Amazon Kindle. The new Kindle is incredibly light and its screen has 50% better contrast than any other e-ink display. Splurge for the 3G model; you never know when you'll need to download the latest best-seller.
www.amazon.com
For the busy housekeeper: Neato XV-11 vacuum
Price: $399
This isn't the first or most high-profile robot vacuum, but the Neato Robotics XV-11 is a clear winner. It uses laser-guided technology to map your rooms, cleaning deep into corners and easily moving from carpet to hardwood. It automatically detects doorways, making sure it finishes the entire room before it scoots on to the next. You can schedule it to vacuum every week or day at a certain time and when it's finished it automatically returns itself to its charging station to prepare for its next use.
www.neatorobotics.com
For the audiophile: Beats Solo HD headphones from Monster
Price: $229.95
For the music lover in your life, a pair of high-quality headphones is a wonderful gift. Too many of us don't know what we're missing by using the cheap headphones that come with music players. These stylish headphones are part of a high-end audio line from rap mogul Dr. Dre. The Solo HD headphones also pair well with the Apple iPhone to allow for hands-free calling, and with the playback control features of iPods.
www.beatsbydrdre.com
For the movie buff: Netflix subscription
Price: $7.99 per month
It's been a huge year for Netflix, which now boasts more than 16 million subscribers. A subscription to the video-streaming service is the centerpiece of any truly digital lifestyle. And just recently, Netflix added a subscription option for just streaming movies, so you don't have to get DVDs in the mail anymore. You can sponsor from one to 12 months of the service and have it sent in a nicely formatted e-mail to anyone on your holiday list. It's a must-have for anyone with an Apple iPad or gaming console.
www.netflix.com
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