If someone on your holiday gift list has been hinting about computer accessories, you’re probably thinking, “That’s no fun. Computer equipment is black and grey and blah.” You want to give gifts that excite, not tire—that enchant, not bore.
The holidays are coming, so take a look around as there are plenty of opinions in the computer world for almost any person and almost any pocketbook. There are always some boundaries that you need to understand: Is the person pro or con on Apple or Android? This will limit your choices, to a degree. Do they have tons of music and would benefit from a new MP3 player or a hard drive to store it on? Fortunately, there are plenty of choices available at the Adorama Computer Accessories department. Here are some of our favorites.
When You’re Ready To Shop…
When you’re ready to tackle that holiday gift list, Adorama can help. We’ve got all the fun computer-related gifts this holiday season, including detailed product descriptions and reviews.
Storage
Storage comes in many forms, from traditional spinning drives to flash drives to memory sticks and a variety of MicroSD cards. Starting with the memory cards there is a host of options as they are not all created equally. Faster ones, Class 6 and above, are needed for camcorders or devices that record video. Not all devices support the highest capacity cards, but a quick look online at a products FAQ will quickly let you know if the one you are looking at will work, such as the $119.95 Lexar Professional 128GB 400x SDXC UHS-I Class 10 Memory Card, right, available at Adorama, designed for high speed video use. Suppose you are looking to transfer the video to an external drive? Try the G-Technology G-Drive 4th Generation, above, an Adorama-priced $219.00 fast 2TB external drive designed for video storage and editing. (Shown below)
Wireless Keyboards and Mice
Once you cut the cord you will wonder why it has taken you so log, and this is a feeling that others will share. While desktops are increasingly competing with laptops, netbooks and tablets, serious gamers and programmers, among others, primarily rely on their desktop systems. But just because someone uses a desktop does not mean that you need to sit directly in front of it. You can go all in on a bundle like the Logitech MK320 Wireless Desktop, above, which for $35.99 at Adorama you get both a wireless mouse and a wireless keyboard that have a 30 foot range. Or you could just select the component that you want such as a wireless mouse like the The Microsoft Wireless Laser Mouse 7000 WM, which, at the Adorama price of $19, should fit any budget. One note on buying a mouse, some are left or right handed while some are for either hand. A wireless keyboard might set you back a bit more at $37.99 at Adorama for the Arpeggio Bluetooth Keyboard Kit, right, a device that adds a keyboard to an Apple iPad. (see below)
Tablets
Tablets were one of the hottest selling items last holiday season and this year there is a much wider variety of shapes, sizes forms and prices for the mobile devices than in the previous year. The most popular last year and likely to retain its crown this year is Apple’s iPad family, which is available at Adorama. An Apple 32GB New iPad system with 32GB of storage and its highly touted 2048 x 1536 Retina Display has a $599 Adorama price tag.
It is good to remember that Apple is not the only game in town and there are other top notch offerings available such as the Asus Nexus 7″ 16GB 4.1 Android Tablet, a smaller, yet full feature tablet that has a 7-inch display and a $249.99 Adorama price tag. Other interesting offerings include the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1″ at the Adorama price of $349.99, and the $109.99 The Coby Kyros MID7042-4 Tablet.
Netbooks
Not everybody wants a tablet, and a good, low-cost, lightweight offering that rivals tablets come from the netbook product family. Hewlett-Packard makes a very nice offering with its Adorama-priced $454.99 HP Mini 1104 that includes a 320GB hard drive and 2GB RAM. A bit lower cost Netbook is the $272.99 Asus 1025C-MU17 that includes a 12-hour battery and a web cam for video conferencing. It is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom processor.
Flatscreen Display
A second display, or even a replacement for an aging CRT display, is often very well appreciated. Flatscreen displays come in sizes from very small to very large. If lack of space is a consideration, a solid option is the ViewSonic VA2448M-LED, a 24-inch display that features 1920 x 1080 resolution and a very nice $173.99 Adorama price.
If you are looking for a larger display, say for a graphics professional, then look at an offering such as the $1,199.99 ZR30w 30″ Widescreen LCD Computer Display from Hewlett-Packard and available at Adorama that can serve as a four port USB hub and provides 2560 x 1600 resolution that should meet the needs of the most demanding professionals.
Also read: “How To Choose a Computer Monitor” at the Adorama Learning Center.
Other Accessories
There is a wide range of additional accessories that might fit in well with the desires of the person for whom you are looking for a gift. A B910 HD Webcam from Logitech at the Adorama price of $69.99 gives you a good way to video conference with friends that live far away. A large form messenger bag such as the $25.99 Case Logic TK Expandable Messenger Bag to tote around a large sized notebook computer or even a joystick so that they can improve their score and hope to one day challenge you at your favorite fame.
