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Show SpecialFeatures Page 12 ■■■■ MEM= MEM MEM MEM ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ MEM ME MEM ME= MEM ■■■ ME ■■■■ H ■■■ MEM ME MEM MEM MEM ■■■ ■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ••• ••• ••• ••• •••••••• ••• ••• ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ME ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ME ■■■■ ■■■ MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM ■■■ ME ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ MEM MEM ■■■ ■■■ Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012 ■■■ ■■■ ME ME MEM ME ME ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■■■ EMMEN •••••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■■ ■ ■■ ■■■ MEM ME MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM MEM ■■■ ME ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ ■■■ 1 L.1 L.:• 111 mme 1-9IFT r;LIIDE . 1 '•r' 0!I R: F FI iv' 0 FE' ITE G M CH3 E T F H im% By Gregg Ellman, McClatchy-Tribune Tech gifts are always a good way to go, especially with teens, young adults, men, women... oh, and kids. Which is to say, pretty much everyone. So with lots of people to shop for, here's a guide to help you select the best tech gifts for everyone on your list. Wireless is the trend this holiday season, with audio, tablet and smartphone accessories (all hail Bluetooth!) leading the way. Here are our picks for holiday shopping 2012: Gift boxes to keep them guessing The 30 Watt Prank Packs fake gift boxes keeps your gift recipient guessing what's in the box. What the company calls ridiculous products from non-existent companies are printed on the boxes, giving no clue of what's really inside. Some of the choices include motorized rolling pins and PetPetter, which gives your pet up to 85ppm (pats per minute). • $8 each or 3 for $20, www.prankpack.com Mlmai Powered Debris Removal System 14 30 Watt Prank Packs fake gift boxes Protect (your iPhone) and secure (your cash) CUBEDGE EDGE.sound portable wireless speaker Speaker/mic offers sound on demand If you must stuff your audio gift in a stocking, try the CUBEDGE EDGE.sound portable wireless speaker. It's shaped like a brick and connects via Bluetooth 3.0 for a wireless connection or with a 3.5-millimeter headphone connection. In addition to the great portable sound, you get 10 hours of battery life after a USB charge; it also works to answer calls, Skype or other voice options with a built-in microphone. • Available in black or white for $149, http:// cubedge.com Kensington's slim profile and pocket-sized Portafolio Duo wallet for iPhone 5 works like any other case to protect all sides of the iPhone and even covers up the screen when it's tucked away, not in use. What gives it an edge versus the other millions of iPhone cases available is it doubles as a wallet with slots on the inside for a driver's license, credit cards or — crazy idea — even cash. But it doesn't end there: It has a built-in stand to keep your device hands-free for calls, video Kensington Portafolio Duo wallet conferencing or just to look cool in both vertical and landscape positions. • $39.99, in choices of brown marble, red snake and black, www.kensington.com Kitschy cup adds power options to your car The 200 watt PowerLine PowerCup looks like a coffee cup, but don't fill it with liquid. It sits in your vehicle's cup holder and has an 18-inch cord to plug into a vehicle's 12V power port. On top of the cup is a pair of AC outlets and a USB port for powering and charging just about any electronic gadget for a road trip or camping. PowerLine PowerCup • $26, www.powerline.com r II 4*. Bluetooth tablet speaker/stand has style, too iLuv Mo'Beats (iSP245) portable stereo Bluetooth speaker stand turns tablets into a portable hands-free speaker system. At first glance, this stand looks really cool. It's a simple but handy desktop device, with a stand for your tablet (vertical or horizontal) and has speakers on both ends. The speakers are powered by a USB-charged internal battery and non-Bluetooth devices can connect with a 3.5-millimeter cable. It also comes with a carrying bag for travel. iLuv • $82, www.iluv.com Mo'Beats The Dexim ClickStick remote and stand Get in the shot with shutter remote for iPhone Dexim's ClickStik Bluetooth remote for iOS will come in handy right out of the box for the holidays. Just pair the devices via Bluetooth and now you can not only take the photo but also be in the photo using the shutter release button from up to 30 feet away. A free ClickStik app controls the digital photos and also gives you the option for a direct upload to social media. The app also lets you add text, frames or photo filters to the images before uploading. The ClickStik remote is available with a stand, which works with the smaller iOS devices including the iPhone 5 ($42.98, amazon.com), or without ($29.99, bestbuy.com). iHome iP76 tower stereo Stocking-sized portable chargers perfect for travel, power outages Energizer's pocket-sized USB device and how much of a charge Universal Multi-Port Charger it needs. ($75.99) has a pair of 10-watt They also have the Instant USB ports. This allows simultane- Charger made for iPod/iPhone ous charging of a 10-watt tablet ($19.99 online) with a 30-pin and a 5-watt smartphone. connection for Apple devices. It The 5000 mAh Lithium Ion runs on three AA (included) lithibattery charges up in about 6 um batteries to give your device hours and can triple the amount of up to double the run time. run time for many device. How Both are really handy, pocket long it lasts depends on your sized and stocking stuffer-friendly chargers. • www.energizer.com Energizer USB Universal Multi-Port Charger • www.dexim.net Contact Gregg Ellman at greggellman@mac.com . Follow him on Twitter: @ greggellman. TECH GIFT GUIDE MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE Surround the room with sound The 3-foot tall iHome iP76 tower stereo speaker system isn't stocking-stuffer friendly and will cost you a bundle in wrapping paper, but bigger is better when you hear the room-filling sound. Your device can connect via Bluetooth, use a top-loading Apple-friendly dock with the included wireless remote or just plug it into the aux-in jack for using any portable media player. iHome's website says they will "deliver astounding clarity, depth and power" and after hearing them — well, hearing is believing. Additionally, the sides of the tower have LEDs, which change colors in a choice of modes — indigo, blue, green, white, orange, red, violet and yellow. • $199, www.ihomeaudio.com |