The Holiday Gadget Guide

Slingbox Pro: $249.99

By allowing users to control and watch TV from anywhere serviced by a broadband connection, the Slingbox Pro makes the perfect gift for anyone who travels frequently and has access to a broadband connection on the road.

I've been a fan of the original Slingbox since it was introduced in 2004, and I use it weekly to control and watch my TV on my Motorola (MOT Quote) Q. A few months ago, I met with two Sling Media executives in my office, and I was very impressed when they showed me the prototype of the Slingbox Pro.

The Slingbox Pro does not try to reinvent what made the original Slingbox great; instead, it builds upon the original Slingbox by increasing the number of video sources it allows and improving the video quality streaming over the Internet. With the Slingbox Pro, users can now control one high-definition and three standard-definition video sources (up from one standard source). With this increased control, the only limitation that users face is the speed of their broadband connections, which can be an issue, especially with wireless service providers like Verizon (VZ Quote). But, hey, we're talking about watching live TV from a cell phone. I don't think we're really allowed to complain about living in the future already.

The Garmin nüvi 360: $749.99

When you think about GPS, only one name should come to mind, and that is Garmin (GRMN Quote). The nüvi 360 only helps bolster this reputation. It comes preloaded with North American and European maps, supports Bluetooth wireless calling, and (with extra hardware and a monthly fee), it can alert users to and reroute them around traffic problems automatically in supported cities. Other useful, but far from necessary, features include MP3 and audiobook playback, a picture viewer, a calculator and a currency converter.

Palm Treo 680: $199 (with two-year Cingular contract), $399 (any GSM service provider)

Palm's (PALM Quote) latest update to its family of smartphones keeps the basic functionality we've come to expect (email, Web, application support) and offers some features we've been waiting for. Personally, I've been waiting for Palm to figure out how to make its phones smaller and to remove the external antenna. The 680 delivers that. However, the one glaring weakness is that it only supports GSM wireless operators like Cingular. So this phone makes a perfect gift if you either live somewhere outside New York City, where Verizon broadband rules, or will be living and/or traveling out of the country frequently.