Early Techie Christmas Wish List

The Christmas bells are loudly ringing as we enter the second “-BER” month, which is just more than 65 days away from what-could-be the most waited season of the year. Have you gotten your dream gifts jotted down already? If not, go ahead and get started before it’s too late to indirectly whisper your lusted tech toys to your family and friends. Still not sure what to ask for? I’ve rounded up several tech enthusiasts from different industries with diverse interests to recommend what geeky things would be great to include in your early Christmas wish list.

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Ruben John Basa

Government Executive

• MiLi Power Crystal

Being in a government position that demands continuous use of mobile phone for SMS and calls within the day, battery drain is the usual problem I face. This portable battery extender is designed to keep any phone (iPhone, Nokia, BlackBerry or LG) powered when the internal battery is low. Its package comes with a retractable USB cable and seven connecting adapters that power devices whenever and wherever.

• Bento 4

This new version of Bento by FileMaker is an outstanding personal database for Mac, iPad, and iPhone. It will allow me to organize my contacts, print lists and labels, track projects, plan events, and so much more!

• Airport Extreme

The Apple fan in me wants an Airport Extreme, so I can have the perfect wireless solution while at home or at work. This useful device can turn my external USB hard drive, which stores all my critical office documents, videos, and MP3’s, into a device I can share over a network. And I won’t have to be selfish, because up to 50 people can connect to my shared drive wirelessly. By Apple’s standards, this device is ultra-fast too! It operates in the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands simultaneously and offers incredible performance and range for all my WiFi-capable devices.

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Magic Liwanag

Events Photographer

• Nikon D7000

The one that will surely replace my Nikon D40 is Nikon’s newest addition to the DSLR line up – D7000. It has the all-new Multi-CAM 4800DX autofocus sensor module with 39 focus points, and showcases 16.2 effective megapixels. In addition, it’s light and has a new CMOS sensor for absolutely stunning photo quality. I would suggest this camera for hobbyists or aspiring professionals.

• Olympus PEN E-P3

I admit that it does become tiring at times to carry my DSLR all around, because it is a bit bulky and heavy. Being an events photographer, I also want to have a pocket-sized camera that can give me quality photos like the Digital SLR. The Olympus PEN E-P3, announced a few months ago, surely fits the description. It features interchangeable Olympus lenses, 12.3 megapixels, full 1080p HD video recording, 3” OLED display, and fast-touch shutter response.

• Drobo-S

As a professional, I would have to make sure all my work is best kept safe and out of harm’s way. The Drobo-S is the ultimate expandable storage device! The 5-bay swappable drive running in USB 3.0, Firewire 800 and eSATA would not just store files, but will keep them safe forever. Aside from that, the Drobo-S has a high-performance multiple-drive bay that makes backing up files simple and easy.

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Kassy Pajarillo

Fitness Enthusiast

• Garmin Forerunner 305 with Heart Rate Monitor

Running in marathons as part of my health regimen, the Garmin Forerunner 305 would give a lot of help in monitoring my race pace, time, and heart rate. However, this gadget is not just for running. I can also wear this to whichever sport I’m into, except for underwater sports – there’s Garmin Forerunner 310xt for that, especially designed for triathletes.

• GoPro Surf Hero

Not only runners do want their photos taken, Surfers also do have the hype for their own surf session documented. Ride and get stoke, every time with the world’s only HD on-board video and still photo surfing camera! It easily mounts to any surfboard in seconds, and you won’t even feel it’s there due to it being lightweight.

• Surge Waterproof Headphones

There’s no need to worry about wrecking out expensive ear plugs thanks to the Surge headphones. Even14-time Gold Medalist Michael Phelps swears by it! You can take it underwater or during your runs, and it will still provide rich sound and a comfortable fit. Great!

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Mark Ordonez

Movie, Music, TV Geek

• Samsung Internet@TV

Life needs to be in High Definition. Especially when watching your favorite BluRays or that live football broadcast featuring our very own Azkals. Let's say you missed that live broadcast. With Internet@TV, you can watch HD game highlights in YouTube, read reaction entries on Facebook and tweet your thoughts without needing to boot your PC. Welcome the NextGen of couch potato.

• Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Studio High-Definition Headphones

“If you wanna get with me, there’s some things you gotta know... I like my beats fast and my bass... down... low...” so plays Dev featuring The Cataracs' latest hit. And the only way to enjoy it is with these nifty headphones. High resolution, deep bass. You're bound to hear everything from a pin drop to the passing of light.

• Popcorn Hour Networked Media Jukebox

Who says we still need an external hard disk just to store and watch videos from the computer? Sit back, relax and hit the Popcorn Hour for that seamless streaming of rice media digital video, audio and photos from your PC or storage device. With this media player, you'll never be without your favorite Glee covers or HIMYM back episodes.

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Johnn Mendoza

Med Student

• Samsung Galaxy Tab (P1000)

While there are a lot of other nice tablets out there, the Galaxy Tab fits my needs. It’s not pricey, not too big to fit in one hand, has great performance quality, and carries the Android Scene. I can use it for reading e-books, browsing (Flash-capable), accessing notes (via Chat.com app), working on documents, and even playing some pretty heavy games. This would definitely be a student's best friend.

• HP Deskjet Ink Advantage K209

Thanks to HP, the Deskjet Ink Advantage K209 has cut the price to about half of old ink cartridges. By “advantage” it does not only pertain to the ink, but also to how economical it is. Case in point, the predecessor of this model got me printing documents for almost a year. Wow!

• Dell M109S Mini Projector

Although some may not agree, students like me need a portable projector for case presentations or monthly reports. Technology today is indeed amazing as some leading companies are coming up with palm-sized projectors, such as the Dell M109S On-the-Go Mini Projector. Aside from being handy, the biggest advantage of this product is its bulb life at 10,000 hours.

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Archie Buenafe

Registered Nurse

• Hartmann Tensoval Mobil

This fully automatic blood pressure watch is a must-have for nurses like me. All I have to do is to put it on the wrist of the patient and instantly get the results seen on the large, built-in digital display. With its compact size and simple operation, it makes an attractive, useful, and handy device.

• AccuVein AV300

Patients are mostly scared of injection mainly because some nurses aren’t so good in tapping the right veins to put the injection on. With the AV300, I won’t have a hard time locating the veins anymore, as I only need to point the device at an area of the skin and click to display the peripheral veins beneath. In addition, this device is portable, lightweight, and designed to be non-contact (therefore no need to sterilize after every use).

• Stethoscope Light

Two common tools of nurses are stethoscope and penlight. However, using two things instead of one can be a hassle at times. Alas, I can say goodbye to endless looking of penlight through my pocket. This handy stethoscope light fastens to most stethoscopes and can easily be used by simply squeezing the sides of the light. Voila, instant light!

This article is my 37^th contribution to Manila Bulletin -- one of the Philippines' leading broadsheets -- published on October 14, 2011 (Friday) in the quarterly supplement Digital Generations.

Photo Source: Google Images