Top Electronic Gift Ideas for Christmas
Santa's List of Most Wanted Gadgets
electronics dominate the gift lists of both kids and adults at Christmas every year. From sports freaks to tech nuts, consumers consistently crave the next great advancement in gadgets and technology.
This year, we consulted the experts at thesource.ca for their take on the hottest electronic buys for Christmas. “Unless there is a major new product launch in Q3 or Q4, the types of electronics shopped at Christmas don't tend change much from year to year,” says Jeff Fidler, Online Marketing Manager of thesource.ca. “TVs, games, consoles, and GPS all factor as top sellers during the Holiday Season, but what does change annually is the choice of new models with revamped designs and features, and this year specifically, many prices have been adjusted to address the current economic situation.”
Read on for thesource.ca's top recommended electronics for the coming Holiday Season – your loved ones will be grateful for it, come Christmas morning!
TVs and Home Theatre
Being the big-ticket items they are, TVs and Home Theatre sets are often thrown into the family's Christmas budget. Lowered pricing is making it easier to settle on a streamlined flat screen TV, but the burning question for many consumers still remains: Plasma or LCD?
Both have different selling features due to their different technologies. At a glance, LCDs are known for their energy efficiency and are the favourite amongst gamers for their high resolution. Plasmas however are more popular for watching sports because the technology doesn't suffer the same light trailer effect during fast moving sports scenes, and movies for better contrast and truer, brighter colour.
Until recently, plasmas enjoyed a much lower price point, and were better value in relation to screen size. New advances in LCDs have leveled out the price difference however, and in general both plasmas and LCD prices have been lowered in reflection of the current economic status.
Lastly, original technology produced flat screens of both varieties in 60Hz models, but today's enhancements offer many of them in up to 240Hz, which means a much improved performance in games and sports etc.
| TVs & Home Theatre (view all) |
$499.99 
$649.99 at The Source | from $779.95 2 stores | $4,199.99 at Sears Canada |
GPS
Portable GPS has become the new “it” gadget over the last couple of years and technology has advanced to include some pretty cool features to help you safely navigate your way to your destination.
Non-essential features will ultimately drive the cost of the unit up, but they are definitely worth knowing a little more about before you make your choice based on price alone. Two of the most sought after features in today's market are “text to speech” and large screen size.
Text to Speech is an upgrade on regular voice prompts. Whereas voice prompts call out your next turn (eg. turn right in 300m), text to speech will read out actual street names (eg. Turn left on 5th Avenue), which makes finding your way that much easier.
A large screen makes a big difference when it comes to deciphering a map from behind the wheel, which makes it a top-selling feature in GPS units today. The 4.3” widescreen is the most popular screen size at present.
Other features you may want to consider are mapping packages, points of interest (POI), Bluetooth capability, and in general, the size and weight of the unit.
Click here for a detailed guide on how to buy a GPS, or take a look at the following recommendations from thesource.ca:
| Automotive GPS (view all) |
from $169.99 8 stores | | |
Gaming Consoles
As a reaction to the current economy, consumers will benefit from a significant price drop in gaming consoles this Christmas. Nintendo recently dropped their Wii console price by 20%, and both the Xbox 360 Elite and the PS3 that were in the $600 range a few years ago, are now available for under $300!
Which console you settle on will depend on the type of games or activities you are interested in. Many are available for all three consoles, but some specialty games are specific to the console you choose. The Wii Fit for example, is a family favourite because the games often require physical interaction and are targeted towards age groups ranging from 5 years old to 20+. Although Wii does not support anywhere near the same quality of graphics of the Xbox or PS3, their genre of games get kids up off the couch and challenges them both physically and mentally in many cases.
PS3 is considered the best of the three consoles as far as graphics are concerned although they specialize predominantly in shooter games, which makes them unsuitable for little kids. Xbox ranks second in graphic quality and with its wide selection of games, is considered a good console choice for older teens.
Click here for a detailed guide on thesource.ca's top new game releases, or consider the following console recommendations:
Laptops
In an era dependent on computers and electronics, a personal laptop is the ultimate gift of technology on Christmas day. Whether you are spoiling your tech savvy teenager, or looking for a useful gift for the entrepreneur in your life, a laptop combines “functional” with “cool” for a show-stopping gift over the Holidays.
When purchasing a laptop as a gift for someone other than yourself, it is important to be familiar with what the primary use of the machine will be: a student's needs will be different than those of a businessman or traveler, for example. The amount of memory or the types of software required will ultimately be determined by what the laptop will be used for.
| Laptop Computers (view all) |
| | $649.99
$749.99 at The Source | |
MP3s
The Apple iPod Touch has revolutionized portable audio from a personal music player, to a complete pocket computer! Released just in time to make it onto Christmas lists around the world, the Touch caters to your every need as a personal entertainment device with the ability to browse and buy from iTunes, auto-create playlists, and watch movies. Audio and video is only the start of its robust functionality however.
The Touch now also doubles as a pocket computer with built-in WiFi that gives you access to the web, email, Facebook, and instant chat, in half the time of the previous generation iTouch - apps launch and web pages load 50% faster!
As well, the combination of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and various other built-in technologies, makes the iTouch a truly immersive gameplay. The graphics are superior and games launch faster than the previous generation, and the App store puts over 75,000 games at your fingertips!
The iTouch isn't the only iPod to experience a makeover though. The new Nano boasts a built-in video camera and a larger screen, as well as FM radio and the live Pause and iTunes Tagging features. Pause your favourite radio program and rewind up to 15 minutes to catch up on what you missed, or tag a song you hear on the radio and find it later on iTunes.
The Shuffle's streamlined casing is now available in 5 colours, and it shares the new cool new VoiceOver functionality with the iTouch and Nano. VoiceOver tells you the song and artist name, and playlist name so you don't have to take your eyes off whatever you are doing, and can safely navigate your way through your music with a remote built into the earphones.
Consider the following iPods or alternative MP3 player recommendations from thesource.ca when making your way down your Christmas shopping list:
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