LAPTOP Staff Holiday Wish List: The Gadgets We Want

If you’ve spent some quality time on laptopmag.com in the past month, you’ve probably seen our Gadget Gift Guide, which features hundreds of mobile tech gift recommendations, from notebooks and smart phones to toy robots and portable hard drives. If you haven’t read the Gift Guide and you’re still shopping, go check it out. It will help you a great deal, no matter what your budget.

However, we thought you might be wondering what a bunch of tech journalists who spend all day playing with the latest gadgets want for themselves this year. So we polled our editorial staff to ask what they’d like to receive. Our wish lists should help you shop for the geeks in your life. We’re also sending this post to our families in hopes they’ll take the hint.

Mark Spoonauer: Editor-in-Chief

• LG VL600: 4G LTE speed puts other networks—and my cable modem—to shame.
  Price: $99.00 | Read Review
• Sony Alpha NEX-5 Camera: D-SLR quality photos and 1080 video in a compact design.
  Lowest Price: $598.00
• Sony VAIO Z : My favorite ultraportable of the year, complete with twin SSDs, a backlit keyboard, and a 1600 x 900 display.
  Lowest Price: $1,998.88 | Read Review
• Samsung Epic 4G: The best slider keyboard ever meets Sprint’s 4G network and a gorgeous Super AMOLED screen.
  Lowest Price: $499.00 | Read Review

Anna Attkisson: Managing Editor

• Barnes & Noble Nook Color: While the Nook is great, I’m excited that the Nook Color will soon be a full-blown Android tablet, and I can’t wait to start getting my magazine subscriptions via Barnes & Noble.
  Price: $249.00 | Read Review
• Samsung Vibrant: My old gray horse–the Motorola Cliq–just ain’t what she used to be. I think it’s time I stepped up to a smart phone without a real keyboard.
  Lowest Price: $599.00 | Read Review
• Clingo Sound Sphere: Since I use my phone as my alarm clock, it would be nice to have a little more volume to get me up in the morning.
  

K. T. Bradford: News Editor

• Barnes & Noble Nook Color: I’m an E Ink girl at heart, but this LCD eReader won me over with the interface, content, and hardware. This “reader’s tablet” is actually perfect for me since I have a smart phone and don’t need every app in the world on the bigger device. Here’s hoping that the Nook app store will have the few apps I’m wishing for as well.
  Price: $249.00 | Read Review
• Samsung Epic 4G: The one aspect of this phone that makes me love it above all others is the keyboard. I enjoy updating Twitter and Facebook, answering e-mail, and even writing blog posts on the go. Software keyboards are okay, but if you’re looking to type with speed and accuracy, a good hardware keyboard will always be better.
  Lowest Price: $499.00 | Read Review
• ASUS Eee PC 1215N: I love my netbook, but there are times I wish I could do more with it, including watching HD video. This Eee PC closes the gap between netbook and notebook nicely, and I love that it’s still light and small enough to carry every day.
  Price: $499.00 | Read Review
• Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid: I know this product isn’t on the market yet, but I’ve been wishing for it pretty hard ever since CES last year. If someone can pull of a Christmas Miracle and make it a reality before the new year, I’d love you forever. The combo tablet and netbook that’s essentially two computer that work together is such a cool idea. And I love that the tablet OS is going to be Android, my favorite mobile operating system. But it needs to hurry up!

Brian Bennett: Senior Writer

• Sony Alpha NEX-5: While it has served up legendary photo quality over the years, my ancient Canon PowerShot S80 needs a replacement. This year I need a shooter that is compact, takes HD video, and approaches the flexibility and high ISO offered by D-SLRs. Sony’s new 14.2-megapixel NEX-5 does all this, plus it boasts interchangeable lenses.
  Lowest Price: $598.00
• Samsung Galaxy Tab for T-Mobile: I’m a T-Mobile subscriber and an Android addict, but I often want to conduct my mobile computing in a more casual, civilized manner. From reading eBooks to seeing what folks are up to on FourSquare and Twitter, the $399 Tab’s got me covered while commuting or hanging around the house.
  Lowest Price: $499.00 | Read Review
• Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5vi: My dream of wireless noise-canceling headphones for my smart phone isn’t quite a reality. In the meantime, the SuperFi 5vi would do me fine. The $119 earbuds are designed for high audio quality and they block out ambient sound. Plus, they have a mic for taking calls.
  Price: $149.00 | Read Review

Mike Prospero: Reviews Editor

• Freehands Men’s Stretch Gloves: The fold-back fingertips will let me use my phone in case someone calls me when I’m on the slopes.
  Price: $30.00
• Zeal Transcend GPS Goggles: Not only do they tell you where you are, but these goggles also display altitude and speed on a heads-up display built right into the goggles. How cool is that? Also, the photochromatic lens automatically adjusts the tint based on light conditions.
  Price: $399.00
• Contour HD Webcam: I need this so I can record all my outdoor exploits in full 1080p. This small, rugged, and water-resistant helmet cam can take up to 32GB SD cards, has a laser level, and can be fitted to everything from helmets to handlebars.

Avram Piltch: Online Editorial Director

• Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive: Not only is Iomega’s portable USB 3.0 hard drive one of the fastest on the block, it’s also the best looking. Better still, it can support drops of up to 7 feet and has 256-bit encryption in case I lose it. At under $80, it’s affordable to boot. Just make sure to get me the blue one!
  Price: $132.95 | Read Review
• Sony VAIO Z Series: You probably can’t get this for me, but this is a “wish list,” right? The VAIO Z is the ultimate ultraportable, with a high-res 1600 x 900 (or optional full HD screen) and dual SSDs inside its 3-pound chassis. You can never have too many pixels or too much solid-state storage, I say!
  Lowest Price: $1,998.88 | Read Review
• Viliv N5: I love my smart phone to death, but it would be just plain awesome to have a fully functional Windows PC that fits in my pocket. With a starting price of $649, the Viliv N5 is neither cheap nor powerful enough to replace my regular notebook, but it is a really neat little device and something even hardcore geeks like me don’t have yet.
  Price: $649.00 | Read Review
• Patriot Inferno SSD: Upgrading my notebook from its old-school 5,400-rpm hard drive to a brand new SSD will bring it to a whole new level of performance. The Patriot Inferno is a good choice because of its blazing-fast SandForce-SF1200 controller, sub-$250 price (for the 120GB size), and striking red color.
  Lowest Price: $141.99

Kenneth Butler: Staff Writer

• Sony VAIO Canvas Urban Messenger Bag: This canvas bag from Sony is perfect for me—simple but not boring, stylish but not flashy. Plus it can hold notebooks up to 18.4 inches wide, so I know it’s roomy.
  Price: $63.99
• Bose QuietComfort 15: Active noise-canceling technology and a tight over-the-ear seal means I’ll share less of my music and podcasts with cranky subway commuters.
  Price: $299.00 | Read Review
• Altec Lansing Expressionist Ultra: I’m sure the 200-watt power Expressionist Ultra would deliver the oomph I love to hear in my music and movies. The subwoofer in this 2.1 surround system is almost 16 inches tall; just thinking about that kind of bass response makes me giddy.
  Lowest Price: $175.96

Meghan McDonough: Multimedia Editor

• Apple MacBook Air 13-inch: The ultimate ultraportable that’s speedy to boot and has long battery life.
  Price: $1,299.00 | Read Review
• Nikon D3000: I’d love to find a DSLR from Santa under my tree and this one is easy enough to use that my friends won’t freak when I ask them to take a picture of me.
  Price: $549.00 | Read Review
• Amazon Kindle 3G: Between my laptop and my phone, I spend a lot of time looking at bright color screens. Curling up with an e-ink screen is the perfect way to forget about e-mails and get wrapped up in a good book.
  Price: $189.00 | Read Review
• HTC Evo 4G: This one’s for my husband because he’s always watching YouTube, playing Angry Birds, and checking his fantasy scores on my Evo.
  Price: $199.00 | Read Review

Jamall Oluokun: Web Producer

• Samsung Nexus S: I want a powerful smart phone that runs the latest Android software, and with NFC support, the Nexus S might be able to replace my wallet some day.
  Price: $199.00 | Read Review
• Beats Studio by Dre Headphones: As an avid music lover, I think these are the ideal headphones to provide the soundtrack to my life. Plus, they look really cool.
  Price: $349.99
• Google Cr-48 Chrome OS Netbook: While it’s not coming to retail, the CR-48 Chrome OS notebook is being shipped out to a few lucky people for testing, and I would like to join in on the “browser-as-computer” action.
  Read Review

Sarah Silbert: Associate Editor

• Apple iPad: As a recently converted Angry Birds addict, I could spend hours gaming on this tablet’s brilliant 9.7-inch display.
  Price: $499.00 | Read Review
• B&W P5 Headphones: They’re certainly a splurge, but B&W’s P5 headphones boast a sleek design, great sound quality, and an inline mic for taking calls on the iPhone.
  Price: $399.00
• ViewSonic VX2250wm 22-inch Monitor: With a 1920 x 1080-pixel display and integrated speakers, this HD monitor will plug into my notebook to give me more screen real estate and better media playback when I’m at home.
  Price: $279.00 | Read Review