Tis the season to plug yourself in…
No, this is not the matrix. This is the often delightful and far more often frightful time when people scramble about hoping to find the next great gadget to bestow upon their loved ones. The problem here is that people often don’t buy what is needed, they buy what they think, is needed. This shopping trend trails back far into the dawn of time when elders found it appropriate to buy their grand children sweaters and scarves. The times have changed, but the failure of finding that perfect something has not. So you have to ask yourself, what in the world am I to do?! Rest easy Mom,Grandma, and even Great Aunt Bessie… I’ve got your back.
I will only say this once, and I will say it as delicately as I can… Please, pleeeease do not run into the nearest Best Buy, purchase a totally random “tablet” and then scamper home thinking you have just earned infinite brownie points with those you care about. To be honest you would have been better off tying two hundred dollars to a balloon with a delightful message inside that reads, “Merry Christmas!” and letting it coast off to its new home, far far away. You see, that so called, “Next big thing” may not be much of anything to the intended recipient if they aren’t much for multitasking and playing one of the 800 awful Facebook games every second of the day. You should instead think about what this person needs, what they enjoy doing, and how you could enhance that part of their life with something that oozes technology in relation to the life they lead. So what may those categories be? Well, let’s list a few and then you will be left to take this idea and run with it.
To the, “I want to rock my face off everywhere I go” person, you can cater to their needs in a variety of ways. The essentials involve iPod Touches and Nano’s ( Apple.com/iPod ). But if they already have these devices you may want to go with the super accessory package. Providing things like new headphones, iTunes cards, and sweet new cases for their media device can go a long way. You may think a fifteen dollar iTunes card screams lame, but the next time their favorite artist drops a new album they will be eternally grateful.
For the “I am captain fitness” person, you again have a plethora of options at your Christmas shopping disposal. Now that everyone is checking in on social media sites like Foursquare and Facebook, people want to track how many steps they took and calories they burned in between. For these people you should look into devices like the FitBit ( FitBit.com ) and the Jawbone Up ( Jawbone.com/up ). These two small devices can be attached to your wrist, hip or clothing and will keep tabs on all of your habits. Want to know how many steps you walked, calories you burned, flights of steps you tackled, or even how well you slept? These little gadgets will knock that out. Not only that, but each of these options have excellent apps or websites that relay all of this information back to you so that you can track yourself and learn what habits you need to break. (Please note that the Jawbone Up only has an app for the iPhone so if the person you are shopping for has a Blackberry or Android the FitBit is the way to go.)
Onto the “I wish I lived in a library so I could read forever” person. These people are the die hard readers, the type of person who can squeak out a few pages over lunch, in the car, over audio playback, or just before bed. For these folks you probably want to look into the Nook or Kindle. This year Amazon is releasing the Kindle Fire ( Amazon.com/Kindlefire ) which seems to be the hot item of the season. Not only will the Fire provide you with a nice screen to read on, it also makes for a nice option to occasionally watch a movie or browse the web. The other Kindle options are great too, and would likely be much more suited to the true die hard literature buff of your family. If you find yourself shopping for the reader that is often scouring through webpages and PDF files though you may want to look into an iPad ( Apple.com/iPad ). Sure the iPad can do a lot of things, but the greatest thing about the iPad is how quickly it can load and interact with files that seem to load forever on other devices. Again, the key here is to identify just what kind of person you are dealing with. Once you have that handled you should be good to go.
Lastly, for the “I must know what is happening every single second of the day” person, you probably want to look into a new smart phone or a tablet. This is an area that can get pretty overwhelming. The key here would be to identify again, what kind of person you are shopping for. The real difference between Android phones and tablets vs. Apple phones and tablets is that Androids have a steeper learning curve, and no two Android devices are alike. If you are dealing with someone who likes to tinker and customize until they can no longer keep their eyes open, then they are sure to love an Android device. But, if you are dealing with someone who is less tech savvy and simply wants something that lets them get everything they need pretty much right out of the box, then Apple devices are probably right for you. Keep in mind that all of these devices will get you to Facebook, Twitter and so forth… the complexity and options to which you will be bombarded with is the real difference.
So, hopefully these helpful tips will get you on your way to dominating your Christmas list this holiday season. And if you find yourself still wondering if someone on your list would like any of these things… Well… I hear Bon Ton has some reaaaallly nice sweaters and scarves this time of the year. Until next time, happy shopping!