Polaroid 26" HD-Ready Flat Panel LCD TV/Monitor

• Price: $999.99 US at Polaroid.com
• Company: Polaroid
• Website: www.polaroid.com
• Editor's Rating:
• Most of us would love to have a large LCD on our desk. These days if you are buying a large LCD, you might as well also get one that is TV capable. While you are at it, you might as well look at getting something in High Definition. The Polaroid FLM-2625 features High Definition TV (HDTV) capability so you can enjoy amazingly clear progressive-scan video when connected to a HDTV cable signal or a compatible DVD player. High contrast, high brightness ratings, and a wide viewing angle lets you position your new TV for perfect sightlines anywhere in a room. Built-in speakers deliver ultra-crisp but booming stereo sound. You’ll also enjoy the convenience of a sleep timer, closed captioning, and a full-function remote control. The thin design lets you save desktop space or easily mount it on a wall. It is perfect for the bedroom, family room or den, or this LCD TV is also a great complement to an office. At 26" it is a little big to be using as a regular computer monitor, but it does offer full PC connectivity and picture-in-picture functionality so that you can watch TV and work on your PC at the same time! Though the Polaroid FLM-2625 26" HD-Ready Flat Panel LCD TV/Monitor is a little large for computer usage, it is a dream for watching TV or movies as well as PC gaming such as Quake 4 or Call of Duty 2 and makes this unit a must have for Christmas!

Quake 4

• Price: $39.90 US for PC version and $54.90 for Xbox 360 version at GoGamer.com
• Company: Activision
• Website: www.activision.com
• Editor's Rating:
• Several years back, a game hit the market that revolutionized graphic quality in games, forever changed game play dynamics and physics, and entrenched the gaming world into online multiplayer gaming. This game was QUAKE III Arena. Just a few months ago Activision released the newest version, Quake 4. In this game, Earth is under siege by a barbaric alien race. In a desperate attempt to survive, an armada of Earth’s finest warriors is sent to take the battle them on their home planet. You are Matthew Kane, an elite member of Rhino Squad and Earth's valiant invasion force. Fight alone, with your squad, or in hover tanks and mechanized walkers as you engage in a heroic mission to the heart of the alien war machine. Built on id Software's revolutionary DOOM 3 technology, QUAKE 4 also features fast-paced multiplayer competition modeled after the speed, feel, and style of QUAKE III Arena. We will have to say that on the quality side, the PC version is a little better put together than the Xbox 360 version. But this can be expected a little with the 360 just launching and game developers usually don't have things as polished this early in the lifecycle. Whether you game on the PC, Xbox, or the new Xbox 360, Quake 4 is a game any gamer will like and would love to see it under their tree on Christmas Morning!

LG 16x External Super Multi DVD/CD Rewriter

• Price: $135.99 US at Bestbuy.com
• Company: LG Electronics
• Website: www.lge.com
• Editor's Rating:
• For as long as I can remember I've tried to keep an LG CD or DVD burner in one of my PCs. They have always been very stable, reliable drives. The LG GSA-2166D External Super Multi DVD/CD rewriter is no excpetion to this rule. While dual format DVD writers have become the standard, LG has taken this concept to the next level with their series of Super Multi drives. Offering support for both the DVD-Multi and DVD+ReWritable specifications, these drives have the ability to write to all major DVD formats, including DVD-RAM. With competitors introducing their own Super Multi drives, LG has upped the ante once again by incorporating HP's new LightScribe Direct Disc Labeling technology. Developed as a better alternative to markers and stick on labels, LightScribe lets users burn graphics and text onto the tops of specially coated discs. While burning your label directly onto the disk is really cool it does take quite a bit of time and the media that you can burn the label directly onto with the LightScribe technology is 3 or 4 times as much as standard writeable DVD disks. Despite this, the GSA-2166D isn't short on features. Along with support for all major CD and DVD formats, it has a 2MB buffer that is backed up by Super Link buffer underrun protection. For an external DVD burner, it is one of the best you will find out there.

Polaroid i832 Digital Camera

• Price: $284.54 US at Walmart.com
• Company: Polaroid
• Website: www.polaroid.com
• Editor's Rating:
• Great shots are surprisingly fun and easy with the Polaroid i832 Digital Camera! This camera delivers amazing quality with 8.0 megapixel images that are ideal for making crystal-clear prints, sharing over the Internet or via email. It comes with fully-automatic features for point-and-shoot simplicity that’s always right at your fingertips. Besides the amazing 8.0 megapixel quality, you also get 3x Optical and 4x Digital zoom and can view everything you are doing on a seemingly huge 2.5" LCD display. Taking pictures is so easy with this camera. You will not want to go back to anything else. The menus are simple to use once you know your way around and you can even do some cool formatting of your pictures such as changing colors (such as black and white, sepia, and even red or green hues) and adding clip are type images such as balloons to your pictures. For an amazing price, you get a superb quality camera that takes superb quality pictures. Do yourself a favor, and buy this camera for yourself for Christmas!

Microsoft Optical Desktop Elite for Bluetooth

Editor's Rating: