Category: Holiday Gift Guide

For the videophile who's been really, really good this year, there's no better way to say "I love, but I'd like you to stop talking so much" than by giving the top-of-the-line Pioneer Kuro Elite 50-inch PDP-5010FD. With picture quality so pristine that, from 3.5-feet you can see the film grain -- but not the pixels -- this TV will leave anyone speachless. ...

Once upon a time, you were a nobody if you didn't have a Palm-powered PDA holstered beneath your power suit. With BlackBerrys and iPhones getting all the glory, can Palm's new Centro compete? Josh Fruhlinger reports. ...

Sure, the Amazon Kindle -- the electronic book reader with the easy-on-the-eyes, glare-free E-Ink screen -- may have stolen all the hype this holiday season, but it's sold out and going for $1,000 or more on eBay. So what's a gift giver who wants to wow an avid reader to do? Well, we've been playing around with both portable-book-reading devices and think that the Sony Reader is a fine ...

A reader writes: I'm getting ready to go on vacation for the holidays, and I want to bring along a small point-and-shoot digital camera. Thing is, I want the thing to be able to do a little bit of everything, so I'm willing to spend around $300. I'm mostly concerned about picture quality, fast movement, and lots of flexibility in terms of lighting situations as I'll be taking pictures both during ...

LCD (liquid crystal display) high-definition televisions have taken the HDTV market by storm. When they started to go mainstream nearly a decade ago they were expensive and couldn't match the picture quality of the rear-projection or plasma sets of the day. These days, though, they're inexpensive, efficient, look great, and are super-lightweight. All that has combined to give them huge popularity ...

Do we send too many discounts and deals your way? Hardly. In gift-giving, it is indeed the thought that counts but that doesn't mean you should also count away all your dollars when we can easily help you save a few. Something you may not know is you can often find great deals at so-called regional electronics chains instead of only relying on the big nationals or Amazon.com. And the good news ...

Do we have a deal or three for you! This week it was easy to find a few good prices on product the big box electronics retailers are trying to move off their Web sites. Some small items, some big. All still in time for you to be the Santa of everyone's dreams. (We couldn't find a good deal on coal, so we hope there are no naughty boys or girls on your lists.) Find your way to BestBuy.com for a ...

You bought gifts for everyone -- even the mailman -- except for your gadget-obsessed loved one. Problem is, he (or she) already has everything. Fret not, because we have a category in our legendary Switched Gift Guide just for you. In fact, it's called "Man / Woman Who Has Everything". Really. Check it out, and be done with this thing we call holiday shopping. Click here to get browsing ...

Forget past passions of online bidding for hard-to-get holiday gifts. This year the hot items you can't find are (of course) the Nintendo Wii and (surprise!) Amazon's new Kindle wireless electronic reader, which is garnering final bids of $1,000 and up on Ebay. Kindle is sparking a new fury of interest ever since Amazon sold out of all units and isn't able to deliver any more until after ...

HYPE CHECK: BURTON SLEEPER HOODIE . What it is: Burton's Sleeper Hoodie is designed for the busy air traveler, but should be a big hit with everyone from bands who spend weeks at a time tour buses, to those of us who like to catch a nap on the bus on our way to work. Inside the neck rests an inflatable neck pillow; blow it up, and you've got immediate, built-in head support. (Much better than ...

Brightlings Exploration Station Give your toddler a world of discovery with Leapfrog's $29.99 Brightlings Exploration Station. Promising to teach music, numbers, shapes and words (in five languages, to better confuse you), this little toy will make sure your kids never run out of ways to play. Twenty sing-a-long songs are also included in both Spanish and English and little Brightlings play ...

Made for Me MP3 Music Player Get them into technology early with the Made for Me MP3 Music Player (Playskool, $70), a digital music player that allows you to download up to two hours of music, transfer songs from your personal collection or even record your voice (or your baby's for posterity). With 50 songs already pre-loaded and four different playlists to choose from, you can even put ...

FurReal Friends: Squawkers McCaw If holiday gift conversations with your kids include lots of begging for a pet, then you should check out this nice way to diffuse the situation: Squawkers McCaw, the Furreal Friends Parrot (Hasbro, $65), is a true-to-size, interactive, animatronic bird with voice recognition, programmable features and remote control toy cracker perch. He can repeat words spoken ...

Ready Set Learn! Magic Music Maker There's no doubt that music soothes the wild beast. And if your preschooler tends to grow fangs at times, consider the Ready Set Learn! Magic Music Maker (Discovery, $25), which lets your child to make, record and playback his or her own musical creations. The pint-sized keyboard has 25 electronic keys, eight instrument sounds, an LCD screen and even a ...

Transformers Ultimate Bumblebee Though Shia Laboeuf, thankfully, isn't included, the Transformer Bumblebee (Hasbro, $80) is set to take over your holiday living room. Ultra-detailed with an animated head, wings and arms, this robot can aim and even fire a missile. Then, when he's ready to roll, Bumblebee converts into Camaro concept car mode -- with nine accompanying tunes, including Devo's ...