Best Gifts You Can Give (or Get) for a Couple Hundred Bucks
From colorful hard drives and powerful but well-priced graphics cards to robot pet Webcams and crazy Japanese code watches, we’ve collected the best gifts in the $200 price range for that geeky special someone in your life…or even for yourself. (We won’t tell.)
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Mad Catz Wireless Fender Mustang Pro-Guitar
For any gaming buddy who wants the challenge of playing a real guitar, consider the 102-button Mad Catz Fender Mustang Pro-Guitar. It isn’t just a Rock Band 3-compatible game controller–it’s also a guitar training system. (More Info | $149)
AMD Radeon 6850 Graphics Card
For the gamer on your shopping list, check out AMD’s Radeon 6850 graphics card, a powerful and relatively inexpensive addition to the Radeon family. The 6850 is a great way to maximize any PC’s graphics performance while staying on a budget. (More Info | $179)
Iomega eGo 3.0 Series Hard Drive
If you know somebody whose media collection is getting a bit out of control, Iomega’s eGo series of portable external hard drives are a good choice. They’re hefty in storage capacity, light in weight, and speedy in file transfers. A plus: The drives look pretty cool. (More Info | 1TB $190)
Rovio Wi-Fi Roaming Robot
If you or your loved ones need a home-security camera that’s also an electronic pet, take a look at the Rovio WiFi Roaming Robot. It isn’t the most practical home-security option, but it may be the most adorable. (More Info | $199)
Slingbox Solo Network Media Player
Are some of your family members or friends unable to drag themselves away from the TV? Help them drag the TV along wherever they go. Give them a Slingbox Solo, and they’ll be able to control and watch shows on their laptop or, with SlingPlayer Mobile (#48 on the PCWorld 100 list of the best products of 2010), on their smartphone. (More Info | $180)
iLuv iMM747 Speaker Dock
For the family member with more iDevices than you can shake a stick at, get iLuv’s iMM747. It’s the first dedicated speaker system that can work with an iPad as well as with iPhones and iPods–in all their assorted flavors. (More Info | $150)
Celluon LaserKey CL850 Projection Keyboard
For anyone in need of a portable keyboard, the Celluon LaserKey CL850 Projection Keyboard is the most cyberpunk input device for your money. It projects a functional keyboard onto any flat surface. Note, however, that it doesn’t work with all mobile platforms. (More Info | $197)
Tokyoflash Kisai Round Trip Watch
Tokyoflash offers a large selection of watches with…well, let’s say unique ways of keeping time. Our favorite is the Kisai Round Trip Watch. It’s a classy–and classic-looking–watch with a colorful and fun-to-decode display. You need to learn its system to tell the time, however. (More Info | $171)
Livescribe Echo Smartpen
For a portable note-taking product even smaller than a tablet, try the Livescribe Echo Smartpen (#40 on the PCWorld 100 list of 2010’s top products). The Echo records audio along with your written notes and lets you play them back later. In addition, Livescribe recently launched an app store for adding even more features–such as games and foreign-language dictionaries–to its smart pens, which start at $170. (More Info)
Fitbit Fitness Tracker
For the geeky fitness enthusiasts in your life, get the Fitbit Tracker. While they wear it, the Tracker keeps a record of the steps and calories they burn during the day in three dimensions. It also evaluates the quality of the user’s sleep at night. The convenient little device wirelessly syncs with a PC. (More Info | $100)
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