November 20-26, 2003

cover story

High-Tech Holiday

Want to give a gadget? Here's the latest on what's hot.

by Chris Newborg

Share a Moment

Capturing holiday moments has never been easier thanks to the advent of digital photography. With prices continuing to fall faster than the temperature outside, now is a great time to make the switch from film. The following cameras and printers are all compatible with both Mac and Windows, and are available on their websites and at most major retail stores.

The Fuji FinePix A310 ($199-$299) is an affordable, entry-level point-and-shoot digital camera. Fuji's fourth-generation Super CCD HR (high resolution), the A310 has an effective resolution of 3.14 megapixels and excellent color reproduction. Other nice features include special shooting modes (landscape, night scene, sport and portrait) and movie recording (AVI digital video).www.fujifilm.com

The HP Photosmart 435 ($149, pictured) is also an excellent choice for a basic point-and-shoot. Boasting 3.1 megapixel effective resolution and an internal 16 megabytes of memory, the 435 produces quality prints up to 8 by 10 inches. You can get close to the action with a five-times digital zoom and a movie-recording feature. Photos can be printed directly from the camera without a computer, a handy feature if you just want a quick print. www.hp.com

After you've taken all those great pictures, you'll want to print them to share with friends and family. These two photo ink-jet printers are picture-perfect.

If size and portability are a main concern, the HP Photosmart 245 ($199, pictured) compact photo printer fits the bill nicely. A 1.8-inch color LCD allows viewing and editing of digital shots without the use of a computer. Memory-card slots are located on the front of the printer and are compatible with most cards, including CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Memory Sticks, Secure Digital/ Multimedia and xD-Picture cards. Prints are finished in as little as 90 seconds with stunning clarity and color -- the only limitation is a maximum print-size of 4 by 6 inches. www.hp.com

Versatility is the hallmark of the Epson Stylus Photo 900 ($199), which supports many different media types, including various photo papers, roll paper and direct CD/DVD printing. Accentuating the ease of use is an onscreen ink-level display that graphically shows you how much ink remains in the cartridges. Six color photo dyes combine to produce lifelike flesh tones and vivid colors. Professional-looking CD and DVD printing is a snap with the included software and special template, a great way to customize all those CDs filled with photos. www.epson.com

Jingle Bells

Do the people on your gift list still have monochrome cell phones? Drag them into the 21st century and add a splash of color to their lives with two camera phones from AT&T Wireless and Sprint PCS.Weighing in at a scant 3.88 ounces, the new Sanyo SCP 8100 ($99, service plans from $35-$115 monthly, pictured) from Sprint delivers a bevy of features in an attractive, compact design. The best feature by far is the built-in camera, which not only allows you to take pictures, but also to share them instantly. You can even attach a 10-second voice memo to the picture and send it along with your photo (works with compatible phones and computer browsers with a compatible plug-in). Great for teasing your friends when you're on vacation: "Wish you were here."

An external 1-inch color screen with photo caller ID allows you to see who's calling without ever having to open the phone, a definite improvement over the flip phones manufactured just a few years ago. Opening the phone presents the user with a gorgeous 1.8-inch 65k-color thin film transistor main screen. An intuitive menu structure allows for easy navigation of all the many features. Other accoutrements include messaging (both e-mail and short mail), games, ringers, screen savers, Web and PCS business connection. www.sprintpcs.com

In comparison to the Sanyo 8100, AT&T wireless' Nokia 3650 ($149.99, service plans from $19.99-$299.99 monthly), weighing in at 4.59 ounces (with battery), is more like a battle cruiser. Neither small nor stealthy, the 3650 makes up for its robust size by being the first cellular phone to feature video recording capabilities (it's only 12 seconds, but it's a start.) Sharing your Spielberg-esque skills is a breeze: Simply attach your masterpiece to an e-mail or use the built-in Bluetooth (wireless networking) function. Still photos are also an option with the on-board camera.

Beyond the flash and the glitz, the 3650 has strong functionality, with e-mail support (for SMTP, POP3, IMAP4), tools such as contacts, calendar and to-do lists and the ability to synch with Outlook and Lotus Notes. Boasting one of the largest color screens available on a cell phone to date (176 by 208 pixels, 4,096 colors) and a unique keypad design that attracts curiosity, the Nokia 3650 is a "solid" investment at a low price. www.attws.com

The I's Have It

Portable MP3 players are quickly beginning to replace CD players and Walkmans for music listening on the go. There are many choices available, as almost every electronics manufacturer has their own product.

Apple's iPod (pictured) is the clear leader and the standard by which all the others are measured. Now in its third iteration, the iPod has slimmed down in physical size to 5.6 ounces and only a little over half an inch in width, but its storage capacity has increased eightfold. Further maximizing the increased space is the exclusive use of AAC (advanced audio coding), which allows higher-quality audio files in smaller sizes than MP3. New backlit buttons complement the screen for use in all lighting conditions. The iPod can also fill the role of a portable storage drive for pictures, movies or any other computer files. With a FireWire or USB 2.0 connection, music and files are transferred in the blink of an eye. The iPod comes in three different sizes: 10- ($299), 20- ($399) and 40- ($499) gigabyte models.www.apple.com

While the iPod is the best player, it is not cheap. For the budget-minded consumer, a less expensive alternative is the irock! 800 series digital audio players from First International Digital. Starting at only $100, these tiny players also have built-in FM tuners. Thirty hours of continuous music play are enabled by the use of one AA battery. The irock! comes in two different sizes: 128 ($99) and 256 ($159) megabytes. www.myirock.com

This year, Apple also introduces the iSight camera ($149). Coupled with iChat AV software, Mac OS X users can now video conference via the Internet. With an integrated microphone, the iSight supports full-duplex audio and full-motion video up to 30 frames per second. Its ease of use is unsurpassed. PC users aren't invited to the party just yet, but with the recent release of iTunes for Windows, it's only a matter of time. www.apple.com

The EyeToy ($50) from Sony is the least expensive holiday gift bearing the "eye" moniker. A USB camera add-on for the PlayStation 2, the EyeToy places players in the game by showing their image live on screen. Players physically interact with the 12 mini-games that are included by using multiple body parts. While no video-game experience is required, some coordination should be. Fifty dollars is a small price to pay to get to watch friends and family flail at the air. Available at most major retail stores.

The Sky's the Limit

Who would pay for radio, when you can technically get it for free? Before you answer that question, answer this one: Who would pay for television? Paying for radio doesn't seem so silly anymore, especially once you sit through the constant onslaught of advertisements on commercial radio stations. Two companies provide alternatives from the repeating playlists and endless screaming car dealers.

The Delphi XM SKYFi Audio System from XM Satellite Radio ($199, monthly subscription fee of $9.99) consists of a SKYFi receiver and an audio system. Powered by either an AC adapter or six D batteries, this unit is equally at home on a shelf or out on the beach. Sixty different commercial-free channels are available, broken down by genre. An additional 40 commercial-driven channels are included, such as CNN, The Weather Channel and Fox Sports Net. Since the signal is transmitted via satellite, excellent reception is maintained on the go. www.xmradio.com

The Audiovox S.R.S. Satellite Radio Shuttle ($99, $12.95 monthly subscription fee or lifetime service contract for $399.99) from Sirius (as in the dog star constellation, pronounced "serious") offers the ability to interchange between home audio and car audio systems (optional docks for each are available for $69.95). Sirius offers the same basic channel lineup as XM, but a nice added feature is the free Web streaming for all subscribers. All of the channels are streamed via their websites, which can be accessed with any Web browser, so even without the receiver there is access to the service. www.siriusradio.com/

Home Theater

Once only available to the very rich, quality home theater systems are now available to the average Joe. Yamaha has long been lauded for its quality in the music arena. Now with its HTIB (Home Theater in a Box) the not-so-fabulously wealthy can experience this excellence for themselves. The Yamaha YHT-740 Home Theater in a Box system ($799) includes a 6.1 channel A/V receiver with built-in Dolby Digital, a five-disc DVD changer and six satellite speakers with subwoofer. The DVD changer supports various media formats, including DVD, CD, CD-R, CD-RW and MP3. What truly separates this system from its competition is the patented DSP (digital signal processing) technology. This allows the sound field to be adjusted for the less-than-adequate acoustical rooms found in most homes and apartments.www.yamaha.com

TV Time

The last few years have seen TiVo become as identified with DVRs (digital video recorders) as Xerox is with photocopiers. With TiVo, you can pause live TV (for up to 30 minutes) and record broadcast shows. Amazingly, TiVo even learns what you like and will record programs on its own. The results can be quite amusing. New this year, the TiVo Series 2 DVR takes advantage of high-speed Internet access (cable, DSL) by allowing remote scheduling via the Internet. The purchase of the optional home media kit ($99) is required to use this feature, but the kit also allows you to stream music and photos from your home computer (surprisingly, both Windows and Mac are supported). The Series 2 40-hour ($199) and 80-hour ($299) models have a $12.95 monthly subscription fee or a lifetime subscription fee of $299.www.tivo.com