After years of consumer electronics flying off the shelves every Christmas, retailers and manufacturers may find Christmas 2008 much tougher. Despite this, there are still plenty of devices out there that any self-respecting gadget-lover or technophile will be lusting after. Here, three of our technology writers share their Christmas wish list of what they would like to find under the tree.
1. Sony Reader eBook
As someone who has said electronic books are a "solution in search of a problem", Sony's offering had an uphill struggle to convince me.
Upon first glance, the black text on grey screen looks as though it would be hard to read and, during a year when touchscreen devices were de rigueur, the controls initially seem counter-intuitive.
But the Reader eBook comes into its own when travelling - weighing just 260g and 8mm thick, it can hold 160 books.
Sony has also hooked up with Waterstone's so you can buy the latest ebooks online and save anything from €2 to €5 on the price of the dead tree version.
Apparently ebooks are growing rapidly in popularity on peer-to- peer sharing networks - a sure sign that the technology is ready for primetime.
2. Nintendo Wii
Okay, so it's not new, but Nintendo's games console has gone from strength to strength this year with the release of software that stretches the definition of games and approaches interaction in a much more original way than the PlayStation or Xbox.
Wii Fit, the first game to take advantage of the balance board, showed it was possible to get couch potatoes to exercise, while Wii Music, a deceptively complex game that teaches the basics of music-making, could well be the surprise hit of the year.
Add in evergreen franchises such as Mario, Crash Bandicoot and Pokémon, and it's little surprise that the Wii will still be the console of choice for families this Christmas.
3. Solio Hybrid Solar Charger
Whether it's chilling at the Electric Picnic, charging up a mountain or flaked out on a beach, we've all wanted to charge an iPod or mobile phone in situations where we are far away from the nearest electrical socket.
Solio's charger is a discreet pocket-sized battery with solar panels that fan out and charge using sunlight. It has connections for a variety of mobile phones and other consumer electronics as well as a standard USB connection.
If the eco-warriors will forgive me, one of the beauties of the Solio is that the battery can be charged from the mains before you leave home. You can then top it up in the field even in relatively low levels of sunlight. Eminently practical.
4. Moo stuff
London-based Moo.com does brilliant personalised things with your photographs: not just the usual items, but also notecards, two-sided business cards and speciality "mini cards" that (like the business cards) can have photographs on one side and text on the other. The mini cards make great calling cards or gift tags. Moo.com also sells sticker books and postcards.
5. The techie bookshelf
Any geek is going to love these books: they are classics that deserve a space in every techie book collection.
1) Tracy Kidder's The Soul of a New Machine is non-fiction classic from the 1980s about the race to create a new computer;
2) Po Bronson's The Nudist on the Late Shift: and Other True Tales of Silicon Valley is hilarious, and catches the Valley atmosphere of manic invention and hype;
3) In the Beginning was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson is short and funny, and nothing better or more astringent has been written on the differences between operating systems;
4) Tom Standage's The Victorian Internet is a riveting history of the telegraph, with much relevance to today;
5) Accidental Empires: How the Boys of Silicon Valley Make Their Millions, Battle Foreign Competition, and Still Can't Get a Date by Robert X Cringely is a hilarious classic. It was made into the television series Revenge of the Nerds.
6. Geek jewellery
This is something for the geek girls - or a gift from the techie guys who care for them.
Valerie Vetter runs BlinkBlink (www.myblinkblink.com), a small company that imports items made from all sorts of recycled materials. Among the bags and wallets made from old bike tubes and handbags made from fishfeed sacks are beautiful bracelets made from old mobile phone keys and manual typewriter letters.
There are also earrings, bracelets and necklaces made from colourful electronics parts.
BlinkBlink jewellery is available from the Science Gallery shop in Trinity College Dublin and in the Loft area on the top floor of Powerscourt Townhouse centre.
7. Flip Mino
Aimed squarely at the YouTube generation, the Flip Mino mini camcorder gets the thumbs up for providing an easy way to share video with family, friends and random internet people.
Recording up to 60 minutes of video, the pocket-sized device comes with its own flip-out USB connection, eliminating the need to carry cables.
The video is reasonably sharp given the small size of the device, and the built-in mic picks up a decent amount of sound.
Once you've finished creating your masterpieces, the software that comes with the device allows you to edit the video, capture stills and upload it to YouTube or other videosharing websites.
8. Netbooks
What started with the Asus Eee PC has quickly spread among established PC makers: miniature notebooks, reasonably priced, and designed for web browsing on the move. HP, Dell, Lenovo, Samsung - everyone is clamouring to get in on the act.
Solid-state hard drives and stripped-down systems are teamed with small - but very welcome - extras such as built-in webcams.
CD drives have been thrown out to make the devices lighter, and, more importantly, cheaper than your average lightweight laptop.
Although initial models had only 4GB of storage space, newer ones have taken this up to 20GB for solid-state drives.
Perfect for frequent travellers, students and Facebook addicts.
9. Canon Eos 5D Mark II
There are many reasons why Canon's Eos 5D Mark II should be topping gadget lists this year.
Not only does it have a 21-megapixel full-frame sensor, but it can also take high-definition video clips, something digital SLRs have not included as a rule until now.
The camera itself feels pretty substantial, with a magnesium alloy body, and gives budding photographers more control over settings such as Raw file sizes.
The downside may be its slightly sluggish 3.8 frames per second, which won't blow experienced photographers away but will keep the average amateur more than happy.
