By Janice Chen

So you really blew it last year when you bought that tech gift, didn't you? Oh, sure, the new gewgaw had all the bells and whistles, but you could see -- sniff! sniff! -- that look on your special someone's face. You know, that "I'm going to try not to look disappointed, but this gift simply isn't me" look.

Well, this year, you'll be far too smart to make that mistake again. You know now that tech products are far more than lifeless assemblages of chips, memory and disk drives. They have personalities -- personalities that simply must be matched to the right person. After all, your well-wired jock significant other isn't going to want the same goodies as your sister the fashion diva, right?

Here are some pointers when it comes to matching personality type with personal tech. (More information on these products, including price ranges, may be found at CNET.com, the leading online source for choosing and using tech gear.)

Do you have these people in your life? Here's what to get them:

ALPHA MOM
WHO'S THIS? She's the mom who's as in command in the boardroom as she is with the soccer team minivan brigade. Time means everything. But, at COB, this hard-charging force of nature reveals her softie inside, so she needs gadgets that will help her capture and display memories without weighing her down.

What works for her:
Sprint VM-A680. This cellphone has a camera for stills and video. Its nifty voice-command menu keeps her hands free to pass wet wipes to the kids when Cheetos dust is caking on their fingers.

Canon PowerShot S60. It's not the thinnest digital camera, but it can still slip into a pocket. And besides, Alpha Mom needs more features than you get in most ultracompacts. This product has a great zoom and wide-angle, so she can capture any shot close up or far away. A one-touch print-and-share button makes it easy to transfer photos for e-mailing and printing.

palmOne Tungsten T3. This PDA has all the features a busy mother needs. It synchronizes with the info on her computer so the calendar and contacts are always up to date -- "Yes, I can do that 7 a.m. meeting by conference call at home. I'll be in my slippers, making lunch for little Amber." The big color screen and multimedia software let her display photos and videos of the kids.

CORPORATE TRAVELIN', RED-EYE FLYIN' GUY
WHO'S THIS? Returning home from a business trip, he's the executive who's checking company e-mail while the other white-collar professionals are downing pints at the airport lounge. He's already read the quarterly report, "Fortune" and Trump's latest tome on the plane while his colleagues are still slapping their snooze buttons at home. He whisks right from an 8 a.m. arrival to the company conference presentation -- you snooze, you lose! And he's too mobile to weigh down his laptop bag with a bunch of heavy tech gear.

What works for him:
Treo 600 smartphone. It combines cellphone, PDA and wireless e-mail into one unit. He can access e-mail, sync with an office computer, surf the Web, manage a calendar and organize contacts. Why, he could run the entire office from his booth at his favorite sushi bar, between bites of tuna roll!

Creative MuVo Slim. This MP3 player is no larger than your platinum card (which, of course, Red-Eye Flyin' Guy happens to have) -- and no thicker than nine of them stacked together. It's the perfect entertainment device for the traveling executive. A voice recorder can take dictation and record meetings.

IBM ThinkPad X40. One of CNET's top picks, its light weight makes it easy to handle in the airport security line, and its long battery life lasts through the whole flight. Available built-in wireless connectivity keeps the busy exec connected at all times -- even in the airport coffee shop.

THE WIRED JOCK
WHO'S THIS? The person who invests as much in sweat equity as in tech assets.

What works for him:
Garmin Forerunner 201. This is a nifty runner's wrist gadget with a built-in GPS device. It pinpoints the runner's exact location and maps the route, while providing data on speed, distance, pace and calories burned. Think of it as a "virtual partner" to race against. Performance data can be archived and analyzed over time, and -- no slacking allowed! -- there's a lap timer and a pace manager that will chew you out if you're dogging it.
Philips/Nike MP3Run. Does your gift recipient like to crank tunes while burning carbs? This MP3 player lets you listen to music while working out without skipping. A separate wireless module that attaches to your shoe transmits to the player how far and fast you've run.
Suunto n3i. Step aside, Dick Tracy. This "smart watch" uses Microsoft's MSN Direct wireless service to access personalized location-based information from the service and displays news, sports, weather, messages, appointment reminders and more. Suunto is known for sports and diving watches; this one has an athletic design and is water-resistant to 100 meters.

FASHIONISTA
WHO'S THIS? She's the design diva who buys a cellphone just to match her jewel-encrusted Manolo Blahniks. For her, gadgets must do more than simply work well; they must accessorize.

What works for her:
Apple iPod mini. What's a night on the town without music? You can't get much hipper than the Apple iPod mini when it comes to MP3 players. Despite its tiny size, it holds about 70 hours' worth of music. It comes in five colors -- for this girl, consider a pink mini with personalized engraving. Or boost the bling factor with a gold or silver model.

LG VX6100. The slick, compact design of this cellphone will please any Fashionista -- it won't produce any unsightly bulges in her Louis Vuitton clutch! The bright color screen and flashy external display make this product look as if it should be strolling down the runway. The built-in camera is simply elegant. Oh, and when the Fashionista looks her fabu best, there's a tiny mirror that makes it easy to primp for self-portraits.

Sony VAIO T-Series. Can't be too rich or too thin, can we? This 3-pound notebook is super light and ultra-stylish. And super battery power means it can stay up all night clubbing with you.

Janice Chen, editor at large at CNET.com, has been named among the top five Web influencers for two years in a row by AdWeek's Technology Marketing.

Cover by Casey Shaw for USA WEEKEND