How to Buy a Great Gifts for a Gadget Lover

We’re in the height of the technological boom it would seem. Video games that have us not just sitting idly in our gaming chairs, but actually participating in the games physically, albeit virtually.  GPS units in our vehicles have replaced the good old-fashioned map. And, everyone from five to 95 seems to have embraced the cell phone/text messaging craze.

So, when faced with what to get your gadget loving friends and family this year, you may be wondering what’s left. Oh, are you in for a big surprise. Take a look at some of these nifty ideas…

Just Released Gadgets

The Germ Eliminating Knife Block may be just the thing for the Food Network lover on your Christmas list.

Anybody who loves to cook knows that dreaded cross-contamination from germ-ridden utensils can turn your culinary masterpiece into a visit to the nearest emergency room if you’re not careful.

Well, the Germ Eliminating Knife Block can have your favorite cook focusing their efforts on what they love to do most… cooking.  This sleek looking knife block has four slots that can accommodate knives and kitchen shears up to 8 ¾” long.

Simply slip the knife into the slot, and the knife block will blast it with a 20-second burst of ultraviolet light that will kill 99.99 percent of pathogens such as salmonella, listeria, and staphylococcus dead in their tracks.

The Germ Eliminating Knife Block sells for $89.95 and can be seen at Hammacher Schlemmer.

And, keeping with the culinary theme is the Demy Digital Recipe Reader. Cooks always struggle with keeping their recipes organized and handy. Of course, those favorite recipes and cookbooks that get used again and again are usually stained, wrinkled, and torn.

Well, the Demy Digital Recipe Reader, a PDA-type device with its 7-inch LCD touch screen, can organize and store up to 2,500 favorite recipes including photos.  Recipes are only moments away, and safe from the hazards of kitchen spatters and sticky fingers.

Recipes can be downloaded to the reader via USB from keyingredient.com, or users can upload their own recipes into this handy, easy-to-clean device.  The reader also comes with a couple of bells and whistles, like an ingredient conversion and substitution database, and three individual built-in timers.

If you’re interesting in laying out $300 for such a nifty little item, take a look at it on the Neiman Marcus website.

And, for the fashion conscious man/photographer in your life, comes the MK V Shutter Watch. Functional? Well, yes, as timepieces go. But, mostly it’s very cool to look at, particularly if you’re a “shutter bug”.

It sports a chunky brushed stainless steel case that comes in a choice of a rose gold, slate, or black finish. The case houses a shutter mechanism that opens to reveal the watch. It attaches to the arm with an ultra chic smooth rubber strap.

Intrigued? Well, you should be. At just $179, it’s definitely worth a peek at Storm Watches.

Above And Beyond – Totally For Fun – Gadgets

For those lucky few who have some  – er, make that a lot – of extra dough to spend on their favorite gadget lovers, you might find this interesting.

Hammacher Schlemmer offers up quite a few unique gift ideas. Take the remote controlled Ferrari Arno XI Hydroplane, for instance. It’s modeled after the 1953 world 800kg-class speed record breaker, complete with a hand-crafted all wood deck and hull, and authentic replications of the plush leather seats, brass steering wheel, and brass-trimmed instrument gauges of the original.

Craftsmen spend more than 200 hours putting this 1:10 scale racer together. The beryllium/copper alloy propeller is driven by a water-cooled, brushless electric motor to reach speeds of up to 20 miles per hour, which actually makes it faster than the real thing… relatively speaking.

The boat can be controlled from 500 feet away for up to 30 minutes before the batteries need recharged. At $2000, this is a very classy gift.

And, for the man or woman who has absolutely everything, consider springing for the Triton 1000 Luxury Submersible. This two-person mini-submarine is actually designed with the megayacht owner in mind. Of course, we all know one of those, don’t we?

The glass bubble design provides passengers sitting in the fine leather seats in air-conditioned comfort, with a splendid view of underwater life. This little guy can safely visit depths up to 1,000 feet below the surface for up to six hours.

Don’t think your loved one can drive a sub? That’s okay, because U.S. Submarines will teach them the ins and outs of submarining for free. That’s after you’ve laid out the $1,690,000 for the Triton, of course.

However, if you think the person you’re shopping for prefers to keep their head above water, Tecnologia Aeroespacial Mexicana has just the thing. Imagine the look on the lucky recipient’s face when you surprise them with a Rocket Belt. If you’ve seen Iron Man, you know that’s a cool gadget.

For just $250,000, TAM will build the lucky individual a custom made rocket belt, provide them with 10 training flights, a special machine that will make an unlimited supply of rocket fuel, and round the clock support.

Seen in James Bond’s films, rocket belts were originally developed for the military in the 1960’s by Bell Aerosystem’s Engineer, Wendell Moore. The idea was to get soldiers safely across minefields and ravines while on their missions. While the rocket packs worked splendidly, the military ended up canning the idea because the short flight time wasn’t practical for the military applications they had in mind.

Propelled by 90 percent Hydrogen Peroxide, the duration of the flight is relatively short – about 20 seconds. But, what an awesome 20 seconds it is. Flyers can blast through the air at more than 10 miles per hour with a 280-pound thruster attached.

Hydrogen Peroxide is considered to be the safest fuel for such a device, as there is no real combustion – only the release of highly pressurized oxygen and water vapor.