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iPad mini

Next up in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide is the Apple iPad mini. We're sure many of you expected to see this one here, but we weren't so sure until we got our hands on one, and realized after a couple of weeks that our full-sized iPad with Retina display was collecting dust. The iPad mini lives up the the hype that it has generated for years, and it is beautifully designed, what with its anogized aluminum shell. Battery life seem to be better than any iPad before it, and the display, while not Retina quality, is not that bad at all. You get the 7.9-inch 1024 x 768 display powered by a dual-core A5 processor and 512MB RAM in a package that weighs just 0.68 pounds. Prices start at $329, and you can get one now from Apple.

Read More | iPad mini product page

Gallery: 2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Apple iPad mini


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Knomo Saxby laptop bag

We've given a bunch of gadget recommendations in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide, and now it's time we mention a fantastic bag to carry them all. This year we recommend the Knomo Saxby Business Tote. We've been using it over the past few months, and it's fantastic. The Saxby has a bunch of pockets, allowing you to appropriately separate things like your iPad from your notebook, and having neither of them come in contact with your keys or pens, thanks to its 4 exterior pockets, 2 interior pouch pockets, 1 interior zip pocket, and 1 interior padded laptop pocket. The size is great, and the look is really classy too (we went with the shiny navy, but you can also get it in matte black, gray, and slate.) Knomo makes high-quality, well-made bags, and this is as fine a laptop bag as you'll find. You can pick up the Knomo Saxby on Amazon starting at $119.99.

Read More | Knomo Saxby Business Tote

Gallery: 2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Knomo Saxby Business Tote


LEGO City Mining Truck

We think that LEGO sets are a super-fun holiday gift for kids that also gets the creative juices flowing, and the LEGO City Mining Truck is our pick for our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide. It's got a few cool, custom features like large all-terrain wheels, dumping function, dynamite with timer and big rock containing 2 gold crystals and 3 gold nuggets. The Mining Truck measures over 4-inches high, 7-inches wide, and 5-inches long. The set includes miner minifigure. You can pick up the LEGO City Mining Truck for $32.06 on Amazon.

Read More | LEGO City Mining Truck

Gallery: 2012 Holiday Gift Guide: LEGO City Mining Truck


Darbee Darblet

If you've got a home theater nut in your life and you wanna get them a gift that they'll use on an almost daily basis with joy, you'll wanna check out the Darbee Darblet, our next recommendation in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide. So, what's so special about the oddly-named Darblet? Well, it just makes your high-definition content look amazing. No, really, this is like nothing you've ever seen before. It adds a level of depth and clarity that is unmatched, all with a simple set-it-and-forget it interface. You can pick up the Darbee Darblet on Amazon.

Still not convinced? Check out our Darbee Darblet review, and Darblet unboxing gallery.

Read More | Darbee Darblet

Gallery: 2012 Holiday Gift Guide: DarbeeVision Darbee Darblet


Sony SDHC 32gb class 10

We try and feature some lust-worthy gadgets in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide, but we also like to call out great deals on things that you need for those gadgets as well, and that's why we are recommending the 32GB and 16GB Sony SDHC class 10 flash memory cards. Amazon currently has an amazing deal on these cards, sellign each at a substantial discount. The 32GB cards are 67% off, while the 16GB variety are 65% off. Of course, you can use these in anything from a digital camera, to the new Wii U, to simple file storage for your computer. Check them out on Amazon now!

Read More | Sony SDHC cards

Gallery: 2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Sony SDHC flash memory cards


Sonos Play:3

We're music fans here at Gear Live (seriously, check out the Gear Live Rdio channel!) so we wanna make sure to include great music gadgets in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide. This year, we're kicking it off with the Sonos PLAY:3. If you're unfamiliar with Sonos, it's basically the best way to get music from just about any location (your computer, your iPhone, the web, the cloud, etc.) to play in any room in your house. It's super intuitive, and even years after using Sonos, the technology still blows us away. The Sonos PLAY:3 is a wireless all-in-one music system that lets you jump right into the Sonos experience. If you have an iOS or Android device, you can download the Sonos remote control app, and you can also control the system with a computer using the Sonos Desktop Controller. Here are some other Sonos products that go nicely with the Sonos PLAY:3, which itself you can get for $299 from Sonos, or order from Amazon and get a free Sonos Bridge included with purchase!

You can use a pair of Play:3 or Play:5 units to create wide stereo sound as well!

Gallery: 2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Sonos PLAY:3


Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blu-ray

We love to focus on great tech deals in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide as well, and that's why we are recommending The Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blu-ray--it's currently available as an Amazon Gold Box special, and that makes it $43.49. That is a 64% discount off of Amazon's regular price, and makes a great gift for the movie lover in your life. The set includes the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King Extended Editions,) and has a bunch of footage that was left out of the theatrical releases of the films. Pick this set up today from Amazon before the price goes back up!

Read More | Lord of the Rings Extended Edition Blu-ray

Gallery: 2012 Holiday Gift Guide: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Extended Edition Blu-ray


kinect sesame street tv

Next up in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide is Kinect Sesame Street TV, an educational title for the Xbox 360 geared towards young children. In the game kids are invited to experience the world of Sesame Street alongside their favorite characters, such as Big Bird, Grover, Cookie Monster and Elmo, like never before. With Kinect players to share in the experience through visual and physical interactions with characters of Sesame Street, placing them right in the Sesame Street experience.

Children can interact with their favorite Sesame Street characters on screen to help them with tasks, play in their world, and learn together. Full-body gestures and voice recognition are used to move from experience to experience, and go from passive watching to active participation, and the game even includes hundreds of clips from the Sesame Street archive. You can pick up Kinect Sesame Street TV for about $30 on Amazon.

Read More | Kinect Sesame Street TV

Gallery: 2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Kinect Sesame Street TV


Amazon Kindle Fire

We continue our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide with the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet. Why the Fire, and not the Kindle Fire HD? While the HD is a fine tablet in its own right, the price of the regular Kindle Fire is just right--especially if you buy quickly! As it turns out, Amazon is selling the Kindle Fire at a 20% discount for the next 3 hours (or until it runs out of stock, whichever comes first!) Amazon's looking to disrupt the tablet landscape with the Fire, and is pricing the Fire aggressively at $129 during this sale.

Purchasers of the Kindle Fire also get a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, which'll let you get a nice sampling of what the company's Video on Demand service offers. Other services you can access from the Fire include Amazon's Android Appstore, Kindle books, a host of magazines, Cloud Drive, Cloud Player, and the Amazon MP3 service.

You can pick up a Kindle Fire now for $129 on Amazon. If you miss the sale, it's still a good deal at its regular $159 price.

Honorable Mention: Kindle Fire HD - $199

Read More | Amazon Kindle Fire

Gallery: 2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Amazon Kindle Fire


cooking for geeks

We've hit you with a bunch of gadgets in our 2012 Holiday Gift Guide this year, but don't think we forgot about the readers out there. One of the books that we recommend this year is Cooking for Geeks. Written by Jeff Potter, the book not only includes great tasting recipes, but it focuses on the science of cooking, and includes a bunch of kitchen hacks to actually teach cooking instead of just recipes to follow. It's loaded with info, and is worthy of being gifted to your favorite geek this hoiday season. It's available in paperback, as well as on Kindle. You can get it now from Amazon for $20.23, which is a 42% discount.

Honorable Mention: What Einstien Told His Cook: Kitchen Science Explained

Read More | Cooking for Geeks

Gallery: 2012 Holiday Gift Guide: Cooking for Geeks cookbook


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