What to buy for a developer this holiday season

Remember when your “big” gift used to be a tie? These days, ties have been replaced by a new iPhone, socks have been replaced by a new gaming console (yes, even dads like to mix it up with “Call of Duty”) and books have been replaced by tablets – with a gift certificate to buy eBooks.

So, with the holiday season in full flux, below is a look at the latest gadgets that a developer or a geek in general would love to get. In fact, I bet some of the female readers will love this selection too!

Mini-Boom

The Mini-Boom speaker from Logitech and Ultimate Ears gives new meaning to big things – or big sounds – coming in small packages. At just under $100, the Mini-Boom is small at 4.5-by-2.5-by-2.5-inches, according to its website and weighs only 300 grams. Don’t let that fool you. According to various gadget guide news reports, the Mini-Boom can produce enough sound to shake the small device. But the little-speaker-that-could has received high marks for its mid-tones, non-muddled highs and, as Popular Mechanics described it, a throaty low end.

Advertisement

Nikon’s New Df Camera

Nikon recently unveiled its latest camera, the Nikon Df, after much speculation and rumors.  The full-frame DSLR comes with mechanical dials for your shutter speed, exposure compensation, ISO sensitivity and a 16.2 megapixel full frame CMOS sensor and EXPEED 3 image processor. You can also take photos at a rate of 5.5 frams per second. You also have access to Nikon’s full range of lenses. So what does all this mean? Your pictures will be cleaner, brighter and better, all in an extremely light, portable body. Prices range from around $2,700 on up.

Smartwatches

You’ve heard of a smartphone; now there’s smartwatches. They’re starting to gain in popularity, thanks in part to Samsung’s Galaxy Gear, which you can buy for around $300. You can link it wirelessly with your newer Samsung phones and tablets to set your alarm clocks, check your email, and check your social media sites. And, just like out of a spy movie, you can even make phone calls from your watch. Qualcomm and Sony are also expected to come out with new smartwatches, while Apple is rumored to be working on an iWatch.

Smartphones

No gadget wish-list can be complete without the latest smartphone. Apple has two new offerings: the iPhone 52, which you can buy for around $200, and the iPhone 5C, a less expensive option at just under $100. The phones come in three and five colors, respectively.

Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 and Sony’s Xperia Z1, which both use Google’s Android operating system, are a bit pricier, at around $300 and $800, respectively. And, of course, the new version of Android, which goes by the nickname KitKat, is also expected to be a hot seller.

Game Consoles

Just in time for the holidays comes the Xbox One (expected to sell for just under $500) and the PlayStation 4 (expected to sell for just under $400). The new Xbox comes with the Kinect motion-control, while the new PlayStation touts its social networking options and remote access.