We've got all the latest high-tech gifts at PopSci.com. Choose from the list below to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list.
By Suzanne Kantra Kirschner and Joe Brown
Posted 10.31.2005 at 3:00 am
THE HANDYMAN
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Bernzomatic Utility Lighter
Typical flame-aiming utility lighters' straight wands aren't great for small spaces, such as pilot lights. This one's bendy neck snakes into tight spots, keeping your hands out of the fire that it ignites.
bernzomatic.com |
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Zircon 60277 I700 Multiscanner
As you scan for studs, the head pivots on its articulated arms to ensure that you're making solid contact with the wall. It also automatically boosts scan intensity if it detects that the studs are buried deep. $60
zircon.com |
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Cold Heat Pro Soldering Tool
The ceramic bit on this electric soldering iron will heat up or cool down within three seconds, so you can concentrate on melting metal, not avoiding melting your fingers. $30
coldheat.com |
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Power Sentry Power Squid
It's a power strip minus the strip: Each of the five female sockets is attached to its own cord, so bulky plugs and adapters won't block other outlets. $15
powersentry.com |
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Next: The On-The-Goer >>
THE ON-THE-GOER
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Saitek A200 portable speaker
The top of this compact 2.1-speaker system pops up to increase the internal air volume by 45 percent, boosting the bass-frequency range by 20 percent. $100
saitekaudio.com |
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Iomega Screenplay
This portable 60-gig hard drive, smaller than a CD case, plugs into any TV's RCA jacks and lets you play back the media stored on the drive through the set. $200
iomega.com |
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Charge-2-Go
The charger's power-control chip amplifies the voltage of a normal AA cell to match your phone's specs. It charges for two hours on an alkaline battery, three on a lithium-ion. $25
chargetogo.com |
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Logitech V400 Dual Laser Mouse
The first-ever dual-laser mouse will work well anywhere, even on highly varnished tabletops. By interpreting the way the beams bounce back and comparing them to one another, it tracks direction and speed better than its single-laser brethren.
logitech.com |
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Sony Vaio VGN T350
The first consumer notebook with an integrated cellphone transceiver, this laptop will let you access Cingular's EDGE network for high-speed Web access wherever the service is supported. 1.2GHz Pentium M processor. $2,200
sonystyle.com |
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Next: The Amateur Photographer >>
THE AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER
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Fig Rig
This wheel-shaped camcorder support provides the shake-free stability of a tripod with the framing flexibility of a handheld. The handheld stabilizer also acts as a frame to mount all accessories, including zoom controllers, mics and lights. [Shown here with accessories attached.] $300
manfrotto.com |
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Nikon Coolpix S4
Nikon packs a 10x optical zoom into its pocketable S4 by stacking the lens vertically. To take a picture, just twist the lens forward and frame it with the camera's 2.5-inch display. In-camera red-eye fix; face-priority auto focus; 6MP. $400
nikonusa.com |
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Sony N1
This eight-megapixel pocket shooter automatically stores small versions of your 500 most recent snaps on its 26 megs of internal memory-even after you've transferred them off of the memory card-so you're always ready to give an impromptu slide show on its three-inch LCD. $500
sonystyle.com |
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Panasonic SDR-S100
Three-CCD camcorders generate superior images because the red, green and blue channels each have dedicated image sensors. This is the first such device that records to flash memory-hence the 8.5-ounce weight. 10x optical zoom; two-gig SD card included. $1,200
panasonic.com |
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JVC Everio GZ MG-30US
The 30-gig hard drive in this palm-size digital video camera will record seven hours of MPEG2 footage or 30 hours of MPEG4. Too bad the battery lasts only an hour (an extra, 5.5-hour cell costs $150). 25x optical zoom. $800
jvc.com |
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Next: The Couch Potato >>
THE COUCH POTATO
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Hisense TL3220
The best $1,000 flat-screen TV that we've seen, this 32-inch LCD has an eight-millisecond response time, a 1,200:1 contrast ratio and a 178-degree viewing angle-specs on par with sets costing more than twice as much. $1,000
tigerdirect.com |
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SpyderTV
Seven silicon sensors tuned to different sections of the light spectrum determine how to adjust your set for the best picture. Suction it to a TV screen and follow the prompts on your computer to set it up. $250
colorvision.com/spydertv_usa.shtml |
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Optoma DV10 DLP Projector
Delivering home theater anywhere, Optoma Technology's MovieTime system integrates a DVD player and speakers right into the unit. It isn't high-definition, and although the onboard speakers are fine, you can also use the audio outputs to connect to an A/V receiver for 5.1-channel surround sound. $1,500
optomausa.com |
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Yamaha YSP-1 Digital Sound Projector
Using 40 1.5-inch speakers, each with a two-watt digital amplifier, and two 4 3/8-inch woofers driven by 20-watt amps, this one speaker delivers five channels of Dolby surround. Focused into beams, sound bounces off the walls to perfect the illusion. $1,500
yamaha.com/yec |
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Philips RC 9800i
The easiest to use of the all-in-one command-center universal remotes, this touchscreen model also has 802.11b/g Wi-Fi that enables it to stream MP3 files off any computer on the network and play those files on your stereo system. $600
philipsusa.com |
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Next: The Early Adopter >>
THE EARLY ADOPTER
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iRobot Scooba
In a chassis only a couple inches larger than a dinner plate, iRobot engineers stuffed a vacuum, scrub brush, waste and wash tanks, squeegee, assorted pumps, a propulsion system and a computer, making it the world's first robotic mop 'bot. $400
irobot.com |
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I-House Smart Hydro
Control this Ethernet-connected bathtub via the Web or your cellphone. Call up or log onto the I-House site, enter your tub's ID number, and tell it what temperature water you'd like. The tub will call you when your bath is ready. $10,000
ihouse.com.br |
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Linksys CIT 200 AIM Phone
It's like a VoIP telephone, but it uses AOL Instant Messenger's voice-chat function. The phone, connected to your PC via Wi-Fi, downloads your buddy list and lets you navigate it with the handset. Select a friend and talk to him as though you were chatting on a landline. $150
linksys.com |
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Bowflex Revolution
This home gym system was developed for use in zero gravity. Heavy-duty elastic bands are wound tight around a coil inside a cartridge that resembles a weight plate. Slide one or more onto the machine's spindle; as you exercise, the machine twists the spindle, stretching the already taut band to provide resistance. $2,400
bowflexrevolution.com |
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Hearth & Home Aqueon
The world's first consumer hydrogen-burning fireplace electrolyzes water to harvest its hydrogen. The combustion's by-products are heat and water vapor, so you don't need to install a chimney. $50,000.
heatnglo.com |
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Next: The Outdoorsman >>
THE OUTDOORSMAN
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MSR Denali Lightning Ascent
Toothy aluminum rails make for easy traversing, the rubber deck stops snow from clumping, and a heel bail eases Achilles strain. 3.38 pounds per pair. $250
msrcorp.com |
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Coleman 9949-750 Roadtrip Grill LXE
Here's a grill that collapses into its own dolly. Lift a handle and tow your propane cooker like rolling luggage. It'll connect to a portable canister or a 20-pound tank. $188
coleman.com |
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Leatherman Surge
The best Leatherman yet, it has 24 tools (not counting the swappable bits and blades), Leatherman's strongest scissors ever, and a dual-locking system that lets you open locking tools from the inside and outside of the handles. $80
leatherman.com |
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Zeiss 10x42 T FL Victory Series
Fluoride-impregnated glass, typically found in telescopes, is now in binoculars. Its chemical composition keeps light waves largely intact, so colors are truer than in standard optics. $1,500
zeiss.com |
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