From Nintendo's Wii console to Apple's shrinking iPod Shuffle, Davin O'Dwyerchooses some of the coolest gifts that might turn up in your stocking.
FUN FOR RUNNERS: NIKE+ IPOD
If you have an iPod Nano, this is a tempting little accessory. Slot the pack's wireless transmitter into the sole of a Nike+ training shoe, and its receiver into your Nano, and a voice will fade up over your music to tell you about the speed you're moving at, how far you've run, how many calories you've burned and more. Hook up your Nano to your computer after your run and it will give you more statistics than even Jimmy Magee could make use of. Go to the Nike+ website and you can compare your progress with others', and even engage in virtual races. If the Nike+ trainers don't appeal, you can buy a pouch from www.marware.com that will let you attach the sensor to any brand. €29 from www.apple.ie and stockists
ANYWHERE TV: SLINGBOX
Gone are the days when you'd flick on your television and have a choice of RTÉ1 and 2. Not only are we inundated with channels on cable and satellite, but we don't even have to flick on the TV to watch them any more. With the Slingbox you can watch your favourite programmes on your computer, anywhere in the world, provided you have a broadband connection. How does it "placeshift"? Here's the science bit: plug the Slingbox into your TV, cable box or digital video recorder (DVR), then connect it to your broadband modem. The Slingbox compresses the signal and sends it over the internet to your laptop or Windows-based smartphone, wherever you may be. With its software you can even change channels or look through recordings on your DVR. The Slingbox sounds like some hare-brained prediction for the future of TV, but you can pick it up today - and get the future now. €230 from Dixons and Currys
TAKE YOUR PIC: CANON IXUS 65
If you're in the market for a digital camera, it can be hard to work out what model would suit you best, how many megapixels you need (five or six is plenty for most people) or what type of memory card to go for (SD cards tend to be the cheapest and most widely compatible). Each user's needs are different, so do your research online or buy some photography magazines before you make a decision, but few camera manufacturers have as exalted a reputation as Canon currently does. Its range of small point-and-shoot digitals offer an attractive mix of classy metal bodies, intuitive ease of use and, crucially, superb picture quality. The Ixus 65 seems like a particularly good buy: so small you'll never need to leave it behind and good enough to do some serious snapping. If you want an SLR, Canon's EOS 400D seems to rule the roost - just check out its popularity on the photo-sharing site www.flickr.com to see how widely used it is by camera enthusiasts. €259.50, plus €13 for DHL two-day delivery, from www.pixmania.com; €389 from www.berminghamcameras.com
CONSOLE YOURSELF: NINTENDO WII, SONY PLAYSTATION, MICROSOFT XBOX 360
Whatever about the gunfights between characters in Doom, the battles between competing console manufacturers is where the real bloody stuff happens in the gaming world. The big three - Sony, Microsoft and a resurgent Nintendo - are at it again, and gamers everywhere are rejoicing (although not all of them before Christmas).
Microsoft got its Xbox 360 out last year; its mix of powerful processor and Xbox Live online-gaming environment has ensured it's even more successful than its predecessor. Also, you can now buy an external HD DVD drive, making it one of the first players compatible with next-generation DVD.
The Playstation 3 is a bit of a gaming beast, featuring Sony's new Cell processor, more power under the hood than a Lamborghini, and a Blu-Ray drive (the competitor to HD DVD: just wait for the VHS-versus-Betamax analogies to hit the headlines). You probably won't be able to buy it here until the spring, such is the demand in Japan and the US, so Santa won't be leaving any in this part of the world.
The just-released Nintendo Wii is the plucky little guy with all the character - a little like Super Mario, it might be argued. Pronounced Wee, it might not have the processing power of its rivals, but it does have the pioneering Wiimote, a motion-sensitive wireless remote control that allows you to control some games via waves of your hand, which translate into sword swipes, tennis swings, steering-wheel turns and so on. You don't need to know your Silent Hills from your Resident Evils to know that sounds cool. Armed with a classic back catalogue of games, the Wii might just clinch the console crown from its more brawny competitors. Nintendo Wii: about €270 from electronics retailers. Sony PlayStation 3: about €500 from electronics retailers. Microsoft Xbox 360: about €300 from electronics retailers
iWANT IT NOW:APPLE MACBOOK
Proving the iPod's design was no fluke is this new laptop from Apple. Basically a new version of the classic iBook, the MacBook, which comes in black or white, features an Intel Core 2 Duo chip, meaning Mac users finally have the power to go with the security and superior usability of the Mac operating system. Replete with the marvellous iLife series of lifestyle applications - including iPhoto for managing your digital photographs and iMovie for editing your camcorder footage (Apple does love its "i" prefix, doesn't it?) - an integrated webcam, DVD burner and a remote control for watching movies, the MacBook is the best value for money of any laptop on the market. And if you're absolutely wedded to the ways of Microsoft, you can even install Windows on it, which makes it probably the best PC laptop on the market, too. If you're feeling flush, you could splash out on the more powerful MacBook Pro, whose aluminium case contains even more features, including a larger screen and an ambient-light sensor that works out how bright to make the display and the back-lit keyboard. MacBook: €1,119-€1,519 from www.apple.ie and stockists. MacBook Pro: €2,019-€2,829 from www.apple.ieand stockists.
PHONES WITH FEATURES: NOKIA N91, SONY ERICSSON W810i, BLACKBERRY PEARL 8100
Mobile phones are perhaps the most common gadget of all these days. They've been ubiquitous for less than a decade but have gone through so many iterations that they're like a technological proof of Darwinism. Nokia's smooth-looking Nokia N91 and Sony Ericsson's nimble W810i emphasise their music-playing prowess, the W810i even boasting of its shared ancestry with the fabled Walkman. Both hope to corner the hybrid phone-MP3 market before Apple launches its long-rumoured iPhone, and in their own ways they succeed in being attractive, multifunctional devices.
The features a 4GB hard drive - the largest capacity of any phone - and a regular 3.5mm earphone jack rather than a proprietorial headphone set. It also features an FM radio and the apparently obligatory two-megapixel camera. It might be a bit on the bulky side, due to that hard drive, but it's certainly eye-catching. The looks rather more prosaic but is arguably a more complete device. You can bulk up the capacity to 4GB, and it features - drum roll - an FM radio and a two-megapixel camera. Best of all, you can turn on only the music player and leave everything else switched off, thereby averting any awkward mid-air catastrophes if you're on an aircraft. The BlackBerry Pearl is the latest version of the personal-organiser-cum-mobile-phone, but in an effort to look less businesslike it has shed quite a bit off the waist by using an abridged Qwerty keypad with two letters per key. This is also the first BlackBerry to feature - you'll never guess - a camera and MP3 support.
Feature-rich phones such as these are going to get more common, before eventually developing sentience and taking over the planet, so enjoy them while you can. Nokia N91: €504.95 from www.expansys.ie; from €239 with Vodafone contact; from €349 with Meteor contract. Sony Ericsson W810i: €289.95 from www.expansys.ie; €49-€169 with O2 contract. BlackBerry Pearl 8100: €149-€239 with O2 contract
A CLIP ON THE EAR: iPOD SHUFFLE
This time last year a sketch on the US comedy show Saturday Night Live featured an impression of Steve Jobs, Apple's founder, announcing ever-smaller versions of the iPod. "One last thing: the iPod Invisa," he said, introducing an invisible device that could hold eight million songs and "every photograph ever taken". The new version of the iPod Shuffle brings the joke a step closer to reality. It's so small that you could probably clip it to your ear without noticing it. But don't let its dainty proportions fool you, because it's tough as nails, too. One intrepid gadget-buster in the US went to town on the device, dropping it from four storeys up and driving over it in a 4x4, and the Shuffle kept on playing. With a 1GB capacity - enough for about 240 songs - it's perfect for running with, and it will certainly hold enough music to get you through a few marathons. It might not have the video capabilities of the regular iPod, or the photo-display features of the iPod Nano, but, at the size of a matchbox, the new Shuffle is extremely seductive. Order from Apple and it will engrave it for you, free. €89 from www.apple.ie and stockists.