• Speed-Link Medusa 5.1 Surround Sound Headphones Review
• LG Electronics Flatron L1980Q LCD Review
• LITEON LVC-9006 DVD and VHS Recorder Review

2005 Holiday Gift Guide

Happy shopping and Merry Christmas!!!

Kingston 1GB U3 DataTraveler Price: $66.00 US at Newegg.com Company: Kingston Technology Website: www.kingston.com Editor's Rating: A USB Flash drive is always a good Christmas gift. With prices dropping each day, 1GB, 2GB, and even 4GB drives are showing up on the market at reasonable prices. But this year Kinston has worked to bring us not just an ordinary flash drive. They give us the DataTraveler smart drive by partnering with U3. By turning a USB flash drive into a USB smart drive, U3 lets you carry programs and personal preferences, launch software, and access all of your own data on any Windows XP or Windows 2000 PC from a device the size of a pack of gum. Now you can move between multiple locations with ease.
	Logitech Cordless Rumblepad 2 Price: $29.95 US at Newegg.com Company: Logitech Website: www.logitech.com Editor's Rating: Usually gaming on a PC is best done using a keyboard and occasionally a joystick. But with some games, a gamepad is handy and a little different. Logitech gaming products are always great to use. The Cordless Rumblepad 2 is great to use for adults and kids. The rumble is a bit week compared to the corded versions, but with the cordless option you get a lot more freedom while not having to worry about cords getting in the way. We found this controller to have great cordless range as well as great battery life. You will want to pick one up for your kids or the gamer in the family this year.
Thermaltake Muse 3.5 USB 2.0 External Enclosure Price: $42.99 US at Newegg.com Company: Thermaltake Website: www.thermaltake.com Editor's Rating: A great gift idea for anyone who has a lot of movies, music, and pictures that likes to share them between PCs is an external hard drive enclosure. This IDE to USB2.0 enclosure is pretty cool. It's all aluminum case is light but sturdy and features a cool delivery meter that tells you how fast your data is moving between your drive and PC. The combination of the meter and the all aluminum case makes this external enclosure very classy looking and its screwless design makes for a very easy set up. The aluminum also helps to keep your hard drive cool, but without an internal fan to blow hot air out, you might have heat issues with larger density drives. Make sure you take a look at their other hard drive enclosures. They even have a new SATA drive external enclosure that will give you a very fast connection for transfering data.
	Precision Laptop Tray Price: $150.00 US at The Bed Tray Shoppe Company: The Bed Tray Shoppe Website: www.breakfasttray.com Editor's Rating: If you are a laptop user, you know how difficult and sometimes uncomfortable it can be to be sitting in bed or on the couch while using it. The Precision Laptop Tray from The Bed Tray Shoppe will make using your laptop an enjoyable experience. The plexiglass material and machined aluminum is very sturdy and is designed with preconfigured holes. The risers in the back are very nice for air movement. In fact using this tray reduced the heating issues with an Alienware laptop. The mousing surface that comes with the tray is not very good with optical mice and didn't work at all with a laser mouse. But it's easy enough to use any mouse pad you already have. Reconfiguring the tray for use from a chair to work as a bed tray takes some doing. Probably 5-10 minutes every time you want to reconfigure. Also, make sure it will work with your laptop as it is advertised to fit 17" laptops, but our laptop was very tight. Any peripherals hanging out on either side makes it difficult to get it in comfortably. CDROMS on any laptops that are configured to pop out on the sides will be blocked by the tray sides. Really, these are all small things that you just have to get used to dealing with while using this tray. Compared to any other laptop tray on the market, this tray from The Bed Tray Shoppe is one of the best you will find and will definitely make a great gift for any laptop user.
Logitech QuickCam Orbit MP Price: $105.99 US at Newegg.com Company: Logitech Website: www.logitech.com Editor's Rating: With more and more people moving to high speed internet, more and more families are keeping in touch over long distances using web cams and speedy voice applications. You will quickly realize that using the typical webcam that is out on the market today isn't good enough. The Logitech QuickCam Orbit MP is a high quality webcam that is what all loved ones would like to use after opening it up on Christmas day. It uses a high-quality 1.3 Megapixel sensor that gives you twice the resolution of most other webcams. The motorized camera head gives you automated Pan and Tilt and the built in microphone works pretty good freeing you from needing a headset or additional microphone to chat with. But if you like headsets, Logitech includes one in the box that you can use. Because of the placement of webcams on a desk, you often get a funny angled view and I feel like I am looking up at the person I am talking with. The Orbit MP includes a 9 inch pedestal that raises the camera to face level. With the included Video Effects software you can choose 3D animated avatars that imitate your facial expressions and head movements, or 2D face accessories that allow you to change your look with glasses, hats and more. My kids beg me to turn on the camera so they can see themselves as a shark or a stick man or add glasses or a mustache to their picture. The Orbit MP is a very cool looking and very fun to use webcam. Because of the high resolution image sensor, you will want to use a USB2.0 connection to get the full value for your money.

Discuss this in our Forum

Need to search for a different product or additional info?

	Web www.upgradeadvisor.com