What’s that special person in your life’s fondness for? If it’s not games, computers or home entertainment, we’re going to take a wild stab and say it’s music. But they’ve already got an iPod, you say… or another music player.
What can I get them? Plenty actually, and we’ve got a rundown of all the novel (but crucially, useful) gadgets and gizmos to make the most of their audio in every price range. Get some inspiration after the jump!
Need a stocking filler? Don’t buy a CD, they’re more old hat than an old hat. Give these terrific trinkets instead, and let the giftee deal with their own music tastes instead.
iLogic Sound Hat
It’s far too cold right now, even if it is December, but listening to music with over-the-head headphones while wearing a hat on the commute can make a person look, well, stupid. Give your friend the gift of dignity with iLogic’s sound hat, a beanie with built in earphones that’ll plug into any 3.5mm socket, available from iwoot for £14.95.
Sandisk Sans Clip 2GB
Just about the best Mp3 player for under £20, the Sansa Clip packs more memory than an iPod Shuffle, a screen (unlike the iPod Shuffle) and a price less than half the Shuffle. It’s basically better in every way, so if the person you’re buying for is on the lookout for a mini music player, throw one of these their way.
Aluratek AIRJ01F USB Internet Radio Jukebox
You can’t quite buy a digital radio for £20 (Almost though), but you could get someone a gadget with access to even more stations for less than that. The AIRJ01F slots into any computer, no install is needed, and there’s always the option to add more stations to the 13,000 preset. All these stations are online, granted, but it’s a handy database offering location specific search too. It’s going for $24.95 from Amazon.com, but you’ll have to be quick if you want to import it in time for the 25th.
Got a bit more moolah to spend? Splash out on these gadgets and we’re sure you’ll get that special person under the mistletoe. Unless it’s a relative, in which case, they’ll just be very grateful instead, because that other stuff’s frowned upon.
Lip along with Lips
If the music fan you’re buying for is also a gamer, Lips on the Xbox 360 combines the best of both worlds with a classic karaoke game. He or she can sing along to the tracks provided, but if they really know the words, they can plug in their own MP3 player and scream along to any song of their choice instead. No lyrics sadly, but it’ll still measure them against the song’s pitch and tone. It’s going for a reduced price of £40 right now on Play.com, with two wireless microphones.
Sennheiser HD 215 Headphones
Make no mistake, these are the very best headphones on the market for under £50. Light and comfy, they come with a lengthy 3m cable for home listening and rotating cups if the person you’re buying for is a budding DJ who does that “cool” thing where they only listen with one ear. £44.95 is a steal, frankly.
Light up a music library
Lasers shows at gigs are fun, but usually a little bit too pricey to emulate in the home. The Lightcast is the next best thing though, offering a lightshow that blazes in time to the music playing, inside the house. It’ll work with just about any audio source from MP3 players to electric guitars, so if your friend is into playing as well as listening, this will up their stage shows in the living room no end. £49.95 from Firebox.
Multi-iPod charging
Does your loved one have an iPod and an iPhone? Maybe they live in a household full of ‘Pods, with everyone fighting over the charger. If so, the Griffin Powerdock 2 is the answer. It’s a neat all-in-one stand that’ll juice up two of Apple’s gadgets at the same time. Simple and effective. They’ll thank you for cutting down on arguments, and clutter at the same time. Just under £29 from Amazon.
Where did you get all this money from? Don’t be a scrooge with it anyway: give someone an amazing audio experience this Christmas with these high end pieces of kit. We promise you get more than what you pay for.
Apple TV
Ignore the name – Apple‘s media centre is more than just a video box. The new firmware upgrade will let it act as a server, so the lucky recipient can stuff it full of music (the upper model packs as much space as an iPod Classic) and sling it to any other Apple TVs in the house. Pricey, yes, but slightly less than a Sonos set up, and that can’t hack video. Prices start from £195 at the Apple Store.
Nokia Comes With Music
It seems too good to be true, but it isn’t. Nokia‘s new iTunes-trampler really will let the owner download unlimited songs from a massive catalogue for a whole year, and let them keep them afterwards. No catches, just a one-off cost of £127 form the Carphone Warehouse, and bear in that mind that’ll also come with a swish Pay As You Go Nokia 5310 to keep too. If you think he or she is tempted by the Amazon MP3 store, tell them to hold on and check this out first.
Nokia 5310 Xpress Music with Comes With Music from Carphone Warehouse
Sony MDR-NC500D Digital Noise Cancelling Headphones
The world’s first noise cancellers with digital processing are also some of the world’s best headphones, full stop. The person who receives these will receive the gift of peace and quiet when they put them on Christmas morning, they just won’t hear you ask if they want another mince pie. Instead, they’ll be listening to the incredible music reproduction, and wondering what you’re mouthing at them. And why they’re the only one without a mince pie. £195 from stoneuadio.co.uk.
