Showbiz

Digital Spy's Christmas Gift Guide: Gadgets

Published Monday, Nov 22 2010, 08:00 GMT | By Ben Rawson-Jones

There's still a long while to go until the machines rise up and take over the planet, so why not embrace technology this Christmas? Our gift recommendations feature gadgets that will make perfect presents for all ages, with everything from a plush plasma to a mini microscope.

Amazon Kindle

Fancy an easy way to read books that doesn't involve lugging round a thick, dog-eared tome? Then try the Amazon Kindle. It's ideal for ardent readers and a surefire way to win over technophobes. This sleek device weighs just 8.5 ounces, has one month of battery life and can store up to 3,500 books. This latest version also has inbuilt Wi-Fi and a new graphite colour. It's an affordable gift for readers who don't fancy straining their muscles carrying War And Peace around.

Price: £109.00
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Crossword Puzzle Solver

Have you seen a friend or relative scrunch up their face in frustration over their inability to crack a crossword? Well, an easy solution has arrived! This puzzle solver, which comes with a battery, contains a whopping 175,000 answers that crack those cryptic posers that rack the brains of crossword enthusiasts across the globe. There's also a vast thesaurus, calculator and games such as Hangman and Word Blaster to keep owners thoroughly challenged and entertained.

Price: £10.49
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Kidizoom Video Camera

Introduce a young child into the wonderful realm of filming with this cute little video camera. It's built very strongly to safeguard against any damage while allowing users to record videos, take photos and edit them on the 1.8" colour TFT screen. Along with a 256MB internal memory, 4 x digital zoom and a 2.0 megapixel resolution, there's a delightful component that allows the child to add moving animation to the videos. What a stocking filler!

Price: £29.99
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Apple iPad Tablet (WiFi, 32 GB)

Well, where to begin about the qualities of the legendary iPad? You've probably seen various folks parading around town clutching one with massive grins on their faces. At only 0.5 inches thin and weighing just 1.5 pounds, it's ultra portable - but also highly functional too. The WiFi component allows for easy web access and the iPad syncs delightfully with the masses of Apple applications. Now's your chance to give someone a proper iChristmas with this handy device.

Price: £554.00
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Panasonic Viera 42" Flatscreen TV

It's no good racking up the DVDs and Blu-Rays without having a lavish television screen to watch them on. This HD Panasonic telly is a thing of beauty that's sizeable, but not so large that it borders on vulgarity. There are way too many qualities to discuss, but it comes with inbuilt Freeview HD, a Viera Cast function that connects to Skype and YouTube, plus a special Game Mode that improves the enjoyment of console users with a quicker image response.

Price: £599.99
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Slendertone System Abs Toning Belt - Womens

Mention 'Abs' to most women and they'll either swoon at the thought of the cheeky member from defunct boyband 5ive or become over conscious about the lack of a toned stomach. This fully rechargeable belt gives quick and easy results, featuring a range of toning programmes and settings, a handheld control unit and a two-year product warranty. That elusive six-pack could well be on the way shortly after Christmas for the recipients of this gift.

Price: £89.99
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TomTom Satellite Navigation System

Plenty of old school drivers are reluctant to join the Sat Nav revolution, instead preferring to pull over into lay-bys for a fruitless thumb through a tatty and outdated A-Z map. This easy-to-navigate device from TomTom won't stop anyone doing that, but it will calculate the best and fastest routes to your destinations and inform you via its big LCD screen. It also features a long-lasting battery, strong signal and handy car charger.

Price: £79.97
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Nintendo Wii Console Package - with Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort and Motion Plus Controller

Despite its frankly embarrassing name, which is marginally preferable to a Nintendo Puu, this console has taken the gaming world by storm. The key aspect is that it need not reduce its ardent fans into a vegetative state, as the revolutionary Wii Remote requires users to move around and remain active while competing in certain games. This pack caters for the sports-loving gamers who want to play, but wisely aren't keen on freezing outdoors to do so.

Price: £139.99
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HoMedics Swedish Style Massager

Sweden's not just about Abba, Ikea and meatballs! The Nordic country is also renowned for its massage techniques, which can be handily deployed with this smooth device that targets the stresses and strains on the back and shoulders. Four independent rollers travel up and down your back in accordance with one of the five massage programmes, emitting penetrating heat to ease fatigue. It fits comfortably in most chairs - and in Christmas wrapping paper too!

Price: £70.98
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Sony BDPS370 Blu-ray Player

Join the Hi-Def, Blu-Ray revolution with this amazing and affordable player. The stunning crispness of the picture quality recreates the cinematic experience in your own living room, while DVDs can also be played and upscaled to near HD quality. The S370 also contains a USB input and allows you to access films, TV shows, and music from YouTube, BBC iPlayer and DemandFive via an Ethernet connection. You can also use your iPhone as a remote by downloading an app!

Price: £99.99
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GEAR4 StreetParty - Ultra Slim Portable Travel Speaker

Suited for bedrooms and holidays, the StreetParty speaker is that rare beast - a Size Zero that should be applauded for its thinness. At only 16mm thick and weighing 300g, it's miraculous that this gadget has packed in so much technology to provide an exceptional audio performance. Featuring four drivers and low resonance enhancement to reinforce the thumping bass, it's an ideal gift for someone you know who has an iPod and is heading abroad soon.

Price: £29.00
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Flip Video Ultra Camcorder - 4GB Memory

The owner of this easy-to-use device will be able to capture those treasured moments in crisp quality - whether it be a young relative's birthday or a raucous night out on the town. With 4GB of memory and 120 minutes of recording time, this pocket-sized camcorder is deceptively sleek. For it's packed full of components that enable a swift connection with a TV or computer, simple uploads to the web and pain-free editing to create your own masterpiece.

Price: £69.97
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Stream 83i Stereo DAB/FM/WiFi Internet Radio with 3 Way Speaker System

No longer do you need to wade through the tripe on Radio 1 or mainstream commercial stations just to hear the very occasional corker of a tune. The internet is awash with stations that cater for your specific tastes, whether it be the synthtastic New Romantic era or the dubious delights of boybands. This portable radio features WiFi, USB connection for audio playback, an alarm clock and an inbuilt bass woofer to ensure your fave songs sound great.

Price: £117.99
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John Adams Hot Wires Electronics Kit

Combining all the excitement of a toy with the learnings of a science lesson, the Hot Wires Electronic Kit gives youngsters masses of educational fun. The kit contains a staggering array of components like fuses, LEDs, a lamp, a microphone, a motor unit and so on, that allow youngsters to assemble things such as a burglar alarm or a flying disc. The instructions are simple and the rewards are bountiful. There's even a voice recorder and FM radio included!

Price: £39.75
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Kymera Magic Wand Remote Control

Move over David Blaine! Step aside Paul Daniels (but not you Debbie McGee). For there's a new magician in town - and it comes in the shape of a wand that can control your television, Sky channels, digibox, stereo and any other infra-red device in your vicinity. There's not a button in sight, as this wand can pick up 13 infrared codes from your remotes and assign each function a separate swish or movement. Sadly it isn't able to produce any rabbits or white doves though.

Price: £42.10
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Panasonic Lumix TZ8 Digital Camera - 12.1MP, 12x Optical Zoom, 2.7" LCD

Splash out on the latest Panasonic Digital Camera - an ideal present for any keen photographer. The major new component is the 'Intelligent Resolution' processing technology inside, which ensures high speed, high performance and high definition photos and movies with higher quality signal processing. That's a lot of highs for one compact device, which features a 2.7" LCD screen, ultra wide-angle lens and 12x optical zoom. It's definitely give the lucky recipient a high too!

Price: £163.93
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Kodak EasyShare P725 7" Digital Photo Frame

Most youngsters are content with their photo galleries on Facebook, but spare a thought for the relatives who might prefer to view their prized pictures on something other than a computer screen or phone. Using Kodak's patented Colour Science Technology for hi-res images, this digital photo frame features a 7" screen and space for 4,000 photos to be stored. They can be uploaded easily through a memory or USB stick, with a fabulous slideshow the result.

Price: £37.18
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Natural History Museum Pocket Microscope

This microscope is perfect for children who are eager to learn and love exploring the fabric of the world through innocent eyes. Simple things such as inspecting a flake of skin or a leaf from a tree would prove to be fascinating excursions. Devised by the renowned Natural History Museum, this pocket-sized device has strong 20x - 40x zoom magnification capability with just the touch of a button. The microscope also comes with a slides, cover slips and a lens cloth.

Price: £6.22
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XMI X-mini II Mini Speaker

Everyone loves ditching the earphones and filling the entire room with a great bit of music. Not everyone loves lugging round hefty speakers to do so, especially when your mp3 player can't handle such a thing. The problem in the past with mini speakers has been the ghastly sound quality, but this Satsuma-sized gadget is fantastic - and can be cranked up to 11 on the loudness scale too! There's also an awesome 11 hours of battery life on just a single charge.

Price: £13.99
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TeckNet Webcam - 5 MegaPixel, 5G Lens, Microphone and LED lights

Webcams aren't just for certain former soap actors to use for finger-sucking naughtiness in their dressing rooms! They're a great way to stay in touch with friends and family across the globe, with this cheap gizmo offering easy connectivity via USB and excellent picture quality with up to 5.0 megapixels resolution. It works excellently alongside various instant messaging providers and comes with an inbuilt microphone and adjustable focus.

Price: £8.99
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