Between $200 and $400

Apple iPhone 5, Samsung Galaxy S3, HTC Windows Phone 8X

The best on each platform - $200

Although non-subsidized prices go from $450 and upwardly, few people e'er pay this much for their phones. If signing up for a ii-yr contract is non an issue there are plenty of devices available at the $200 price signal. Nosotros'll recommend one for each of our three preferred platforms. For the Apple tree faithful the iPhone 5 is a no-brainer. Android fans are spoilt for choice merely we'd go for the Samsung Galaxy S3 or HTC Droid NDA over the new Nexus four (on-contract) due to LTE back up. On the Windows front, it's a close phone call betwixt the Nokia Lumia 920 and HTC 8X -- Nokia has a slight edge in specs only we like HTC'southward design.

Nexus 7 / iPad mini

The boxing for the 7-inch market is on - $200

Like last year, tablets are expected to be a hot item this holiday flavor, but now at that place are more than and much meliorate options at lower price points. At $200, the Nexus 7 offers a good blend of performance, utility and a price that won't upset your wallet. Its screen is vivid and well-baked, it has a beefy quad-core Tegra 3 processor, and should receive timely OS updates. That'southward our top choice for Android tablets -- not just affordable ones -- simply you might also desire to expect into the Kindle Burn Hard disk drive ($199) and Nexus 10 ($399). On the other side of the fence, the iPad at present starts at $330 -- the 7.ix-inch mini variant, that is. The build quality is top notch, and while it lacks Apple's Retina display, the overall user feel and app selection is the same.

Enthusiast-Grade Graphics Carte du jour

The backbone of every PC gaming rig - $240

There are few parts every bit essential to gaming equally a decent graphics card. You tin can get by with an sometime difficult drive, a dated processor and a modest amount of memory, but you lot'll need a reasonably loftier-end GPU to play modernistic PC games on max quality with 60 frames per second or more. That isn't to say you demand to spend a fortune, yet, as both Nvidia and AMD offer mid-range cards that'll manhandle about of today'south titles. Assuming the gamer in your life hasn't upgrade their GPU recently, the GeForce GTX 660 Ti or Radeon Hard disk 7870 ought to exist a prophylactic buy.

Off-contract Google Nexus iv

High-terminate specs, low price, no strings attached - $300

Any globetrotters on your list? The LG-made Nexus iv is a truthful world telephone that's sold without the nuisance of a contract at a price that won't break the bank. It's only $300 or $350 for the 8GB or 16GB model, as opposed to $600 or more for today's high-end phones if you tin can find them off contract, and since it comes unlocked you'll be able to get a cheaper or pre-paid plan rather than locking yourself into two years of overpriced phonation and information. Specs are about on par with today's top performing phones except for the lack of LTE and microSD expansion. On the upside, it runs a make clean build of Android 4.2 Jelly Bean and as Google's flagship telephone it volition get software updates before whatever other Android device.

AR Drone ii.0

Cool toy. Adults use. - $300

The Parrot AR Drone ii.0 is hands downwards the coolest remote controlled toy you can buy this vacation flavour. It's a smartphone or tablet controlled quadrocopter with a 720p camera for aerial video and photography (aka spying on your neighbors) that can take its fair share of bumps, knocks and crashes thanks to its lightweight foam and carbon structure. Information technology can fly upwardly to 165 feet abroad, maintain a still position in the air, and offers both bones and advanced piloting options. Unfortunately, the battery merely lasts betwixt 15-20 minutes per charge, though you lot tin purchase spare ones for $40. Bank check out a selection of AR Drone flying videos from real users to become a better sense of what this powerful toy can do.

3M Streaming Projector Powered by Roku

A big screen that fits in your mitt - $300

This pico projector is small enough to fit in your manus just can still beam images to a wall or projection screen upwards to 120-inches across. What's more, it's bundled with a Roku Streaming Stick so you can stream online content from services similar Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant, Pandora and more while enjoying a big-screen cinema experience anywhere you accept a Wi-Fi signal. The 3M Streaming Projector offers a brightness of 60 lumens and 800 x 480 WVGA resolution. It won't claiming a full fledged Hard disk drive projector by any ways but the convenience factor for presentations and movies on the go can't exist denied.

High-Resolution 27-Inch IPS Display

More than pixels than 737,000 hands could count - $300+

Although the superior colors and viewing angles of IPS panels used to be prohibitively expensive, Southward Korean outfits take flooded eBay with many attractive options that toll half as much as equivalents from Dell, HP and Apple tree. Depending on the vendor and features, 27-inch 2560x1440 IPS displays can exist had for every bit niggling every bit $300 shipped. Granted, overseas eBay merchants aren't exactly renowned for their quality appurtenances or reliable service, just many folks including our own DivideByZero have vouched for displays from Achieva and Yamakasi.

Have more than tech gift ideas than the ones listed here? Postal service them in the comments, nosotros'll consider all your suggestions to include them on this guide until the terminate of the year.