Issue Date: December 4, 2005

HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE

High-tech holiday gift ideas

With so many gadgets, how do you know which is right for your special someone? We challenge a tech expert to find the perfect solutions for three common scenarios.

By Janice Chen

In shopping for tech gifts, matching the gift to the recipient's lifestyle is always important. And, at CNET.com, we're happy to scout for new gadgets suited to that special someone's needs. Whether the person is on the road, in a new home, at work or at play, there's something for everyone. (Prices listed here are subject to change, depending on the retailer.)

Ricky Martin's holidy wish list below

WORKING MOM ON THE ROAD

The situation: Tammy, a sales representative in suburban Milwaukee, spends her workday driving from client to client in her virtual office: her SUV. She has to stay in touch with the homefront, and sometimes she needs to get to unfamiliar terrain in a hurry. And she can't stand it when she loses the signals for her favorite preset radio stations.
The solution: The TomTom GO 700 GPS ($899) would keep Tammy on the right track while she's on the road. The device provides turn-by-turn directions to any address in the United States, so she'll never get lost. And wireless Bluetooth support lets the TomTom GPS double as a hands-free speaker for certain cellphones, like the super-slick, hip Motorola RAZR 3.

As for losing her radio stations, Tammy needs a portable satellite radio device, like the Tao TXM1020 XM2go ($299). This includes kits for the car and home, and it lets her listen to more than 150 commercial-free XM stations from anywhere.

BMOC BECOMES NEW KID ON THE CUBICLE BLOCK

The situation: Dan just started his first job out of college. Hey, Dan, you thought the dorm was small -- check out your 5-foot cubicle! His employer, a data research outfit, provides a PC and an old digital camera for fieldwork. Dan's hoping to score some new gadget gifts under the holiday tree this season for 9-to-5 and the weekends. In addition to a slick digital camera, he'd love a laptop to use on location so he can snap quality photos of client sites and immediately upload them to the office. Dan also hopes he will receive a portable music device.
The solution: At the top of Dan's wish list is Sony's VAIO TX ($2,299), a featherweight laptop with a high-resolution screen. It's not cheap, but it's tricked out with a cellular modem for surfing the Net over a high-speed cell network, which would make sending digital photos from the field back to the office a snap. Dan could use the pocket-sized 7.1-megapixel Canon PowerShot SD550 ($449.99) with 3x optical zoom and a large LCD screen for work and for play. He could send shots of what the "real world" looks like to his old college fraternity brothers who are on the seven-year plan, if you catch our drift.

Finally, the Creative Zen Vision ($400), available in a number of 30GB styles, will let Dan listen to all those digital tunes that he has amassed on his computer. Plus, he'll be able to store and view photos and videos on the Vision's 3.7-inch screen.

HOME SWEET E-HOME

The situation: The Millers have hit the home-equity lottery jackpot! After a promotion, raise and cross-country transfer, Paul and Julie trade their two-bedroom condo in San Francisco for a relative mansion in Jacksonville, N.C. They are looking to fill the space with some high-tech flash.
The solution: At the top of their list is a jumbotron-sized TV. Get a load of the Pioneer PureVision PDP-5060HD 50-inch plasma TV ($9,500 suggested price, but it can be purchased for thousands less at stores). Its elegant lines and glossy black finish make it a sleek addition to any room, and the 4-inch-thick plasma is wall-mountable.

For more entertainment, the Buffalo LinkTheater PC-P3LWG/DVD ($349) is a DVD player and digital media receiver. It can stream music, photos and video over the wireless network from your computer. Paul and Julie will be able to view shots from their digital camera on the new 50-inch TV or listen to MP3s (via their PC) on their home stereo system.

With so many rooms and computers, setting up a wireless home network makes sense. The Belkin Wireless G Plus MIMO Router ($99) would be a great wireless hub. It delivers a range of up to 1,000 feet and is less susceptible to interference from other devices.

The kitchen is the center of all activity in the Miller home, so they want to outfit it with a space-saving PC. The Apple iMac G5 ($1,299 for a 17-inch model) would be perfect. They also could get the Elgato EyeTV 200 ($299 after mail-in rebate) for TV and TiVo-like functions. The EyeTV hooks up to the iMac, so the family can surf the Web or watch "Iron Chef" on TV while cooking.

SONY VAIO TX LAPTOP ($2,299)

THE TAO SATELLITE RADIO ($299)
BELKIN WIRELESS NETWORK HUB ($99)

Janice Chen is editor at large at CNET.com, the leading online sourcefor personal tech shopping.

Cover and cover story photographs by Gio Alma for USA WEEKEND

Grooming by Davis Carrasquillo; styling by Irma Martinez, Trendy Inc.; Christmas decorations provided by The Christmas Palace

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A Christmas Wish List for Ricky Martin

After a long sabbatical, the Latin pop star has a new record and a new view of life.

By Melanie D.G. Kaplan

Ricky Martin, in a black T-shirt and with un-gelled hair, arrives for our Gift Guide cover shoot at One Source Studios in Miami two days before Hurricane Wilma. During the session, he falls in love with a pair of Paul Smith combat boots and laughs and jokes with the crew. Soon, he'll fly to Moscow to kick off his two-year tour, but today, he's so relaxed he's even giving his thumbs a break from his BlackBerry.

"For the last two weeks I haven't used it," he says later. "Normally, I'm a BlackBerry addict. On the road, they're great for checking e-mail and calling people. I call them CrackBerries." He's a perfect cover boy for our special issue, not only because he loves his gadgets, but because he's a Christmas Eve baby. He'll turn 34 this month.

Martin also keeps himself in model shape with capoeira training. "It's hard-core," he says, laughing. "You've got boxing, kickboxing, gymnastics and music. It's a complete martial art."

The capoeira bug bit Martin when he was in Brazil shooting a video. For a year after that, he trained at an academy in Miami for five hours a day. "It came down to, either I keep on training, or I release an album," he says. "I thought it made sense to start working on the album."

In the five years since his last English-language CD, "Sound Loaded," he has been on a sabbatical of sorts. He traveled for three years, backpacking in India, Egypt and Thailand with his iPod and a few T-shirts. He surfed, skydived, rode his motorcycle cross-country and generally put on the brakes from his "Livin' La Vida Loca" days.

With his new album of world music, "Life," Martin says he has evolved, but he's not ashamed of his bon-bon-shaking era: "It's part of my history. You look at Madonna and her "Like a Virgin" days, and it's part of her history. It's who I was at the moment."

"Life," which debuted in the Top 10 and includes the Scott Storch-produced hit "I Don't Care," reflects these changes. The album features instruments from around the world. Martin recorded sounds on the streets of Brazil and brought a chanting monk from Tibet to his studio. Even the music Martin plays on his iPod has changed: His favorite is Brazilian artist Suba.

The iPod is the one gadget Martin can't live without. For Christmas he'd like a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy (he has two other models). But spending the holiday at home in Puerto Rico will be the best gift: "We have Christmas carols, and after dinner, it's music and singing, sometimes until the sun comes up."

Photo by Gio Alma for USA WEEKEND
T-shirt: Wardrobe Finds; scarf: Paul Smith, courtesy Neiman Marcus