25 great gadget and appliance holiday gifts

Introducing the ultimate gift guide: electronics, small appliances, and other gear in 25 categories.

These items should cover you no matter what your loved ones (or, hey, you) want. We’ve tested all these models, and we recommend them. Pictured products appear first on the category lists and other choices follow.

Happy shopping.

ELECTRONICS
Blu-ray players

• Panasonic DMP-BDT220, $115
• Samsung BD-E5300, $80
• Toshiba BDX5300, $110
  

Camcorders

• Sony HDR-CX210, $370
• Canon Vixia HF R300, $250
• JVC Everio GZ-EX250, $320

(See also: Five large appliance features that are worth it)

E-book readers

• Amazon Kindle Paperwhite with special offers, $120
• Barnes & Noble Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, $120
• Amazon Kindle with special offers, $70

GPS navigators

• Garmin Nuvi 2455LT, $160
• Magellan Roadmate 3055, $150
• Garmin Nuvi 2250LT, $150

Headphones

• Klipsch Image S4i (II), $100
• Bose QuietComfort 15, $300
• Grado Prestige SR80i, $100

Laptop

• Apple MacBook Air 13-inch MD231LL/A, $1,200
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

LCD TVs

• Vizio E552VLE (55-inch), $850
• Samsung UN46EH5300 (46-inch), $750
• Sony Bravia KDL-40EX640 (40-inch), $800

Plasma TVs

• Panasonic Viera TC-P55ST50 (55-inch), $1,200
• Samsung PN51E550 (51-inch), $850
• LG 50PA5500 (50-inch), $650

Rugged point-and-shoot cameras

• Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS4, $320
• Canon PowerShot D20, $350

Smart Phones

• Samsung Galaxy S III (16GB), $200 to $280 (varies by carrier) with two-year contract
• Apple iPhone 5 (16GB), $200 with two-year contract

                     SLR Cameras

• Nikon D3200, $700
• Canon EOS Rebel T3, $500

Speaker system

• Edifier Spinnaker Bluetooth Speaker System, $350

blets

• Amazon Kindle Fire HD (16GB, Wi-Fi only), $200 (plus $10 for charger)
• Google Nexus 7 (16GB, Wi-Fi only), $200

APPLIANCES & HOME
Blenders

• Vita-Mix 5200, $450
• Ninja Master Prep Professional QB1004, $60
• KitchenAid KSB 565, $100

Cookware

• Calphalon Contemporary, $450
• Scanpan Classic, $400 (non-stick)
• Starfrit Alternative Eco Pan, $110 (non-stick)

Cordless drills

• Hitachi DS18DSAL, $140
• Rigid R9600, $180
• Craftsman 17310, $90

                                                                    


 
Copyright © 2006-2012 Consumers Union of U.S., Inc. No reproduction, in whole or in part, without written permission.