'Tis the Season to Give Great Gadgets – Holiday Gift Guide Vol. 1

The holiday season is quickly approaching, making it a time for one to carefully consider how to properly appease the tech fan on his list. In volume one of the Marketnews holiday gift guide, we look at DJ-style headphones for the comic book lover, a pocket-sized tool designed to vanquish fingerprints from touchscreen products, and an electronic flossing device that blasts the gunk out from between your teeth.

Other Worldly

The Samsung Galaxy S II X features a 4.5" Super AMOLED Plus display, and is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, and the Android 2.3 operating system. It also possesses an 8 MP rear camera with flash, a 2 MP front facing camera, 1,080p HD video recording capability, and 16 GB of internal memory (expandable up to 32 GB). Additionally, this smartphone incorporates NFC technology, which allows the consumer to make contactless payments or communicate wirelessly with other NFC-enabled devices, WiFi, and Samsung's AllShare. The company says that this is the first phone in Canada to have dual cell HSPA+ speeds of up to 42Mbps. Available through Telus for $100 on a three-year term.

Fun Flossing

Philips Sonicare Air Floss is an electric flosser that is designed to blast away plaque from between the teeth with a quick burst of air and micro-water droplets. Simply fill the device with less than one teaspoon of water or mouthwash, hold the pointed Guidance Tip between two teeth and flip the switch to blast out the gunk. It has a slim, lightweight design, and is able to clean between all teeth in 60 seconds. I personally enjoy this device because it is a far more convenient, less painful way to floss. I've never been a fan of using the traditional string floss, because I find to be a rather messy process after awhile. The Air Floss allows me to keep my fingers out of my mouth, and therefore likely keeps more germs away. I haven't been to my dentist since putting this product to use, but I'm interested to hear if it has in fact improved my flossing skills. $100.

Game On!

The National Hockey League-licensed phone skins from Gentec represent all seven Canadian franchises, and are constructed out of durable, extra-thick, black silicone rubber. They have the same textured finish that's found on the edge of hockey pucks. Additionally, these skins have been designed to fit the iPhone 4 and 4S, the BlackBerry Bold (models 9700,9780, 9900, and 9930), and BlackBerry Curve 9360. Each comes with a screen protector. $25.

Taking a Swipe

The Swipe Plus Fingerprint Eraser is a handy carbon-based screen-cleaning tool that is able to remove fingerprints from touchscreen devices without leaving behind any streaks or residue. The company says what makes Swipe different is that it doesn't degrade the quality of a screen's coating over time like a standard cleaning solution might, nor does it just move oil and grease around to different spots like a micro fibre cloth would. It instead takes all of that grime right off. The Swipe pad folds up into a pocket-sized casing, is good for up to 150 uses, and comes with a cleaning pad. $15 MSRP for the kit, $13 for a pair of replaceable pads.

Bean Me Up

Once the iPad 2 is docked into Vantage Point's Bean Pad for iPad 2, it can be used to comfortably prop the iPad up on one's lap, or other surface, for easy viewing of movies or Web pages; or for Web surfing. Thebag also possesses a sufficient weight so that it can properly hold and display the iPad 2 in a variety of positions. It doesn't require an even surface like other mounts. This means that the bag could be placed on the arm of a chair, or someone's knee. It also provides vibration dampening for those who do a lot of on-screen typing or use the tablet in a vehicle. Indeed, it's easy to touch, swipe, and click on the device while it's securely positioned on your lap without the tablet teetering about. The BeanPad comes in black, white and pink. Unfortunately, it only fits the second-generation iPad; not the original. $60.

X Marks the Spot

MountMe has released the X-Me mount, a universal mounting accessory that is designed to securely mount vertically-standing gaming consoles in one's home or car. It is made from high-end acrylics, and features a non-slip base as well as security straps that prevent the console from sliding around. The X-Me is also wall mountable. X-Me works on popular systems like Xbox, Wii and PlayStation. $70.

Comic Cans

For the comic book fan, there are the licensed Marvel Retro Extreme DJ-Style headphones by iHip, and distributed by Fidelity Electronics. This product features large drivers to provide a booming bass, and has soft-touch leather padded earcups that can swivel for single-ear monitoring. These headphones also feature inline volume control, a 3.5mm plug, and a headphone splitter. Comic characters displayed on the headphones include the heroic Iron Man, Thor, and Spider-Man. $50.

Stomp Away

Griffin Technology Inc.'s StompBox is a programmable multi-functional foot controller that enables virtual guitar effects. It can work with any instrument that has a quarter-inch jack, such as a guitar, bass, keyboard, or electric violin. It was developed to work withFrontier Design's iShred LIVE app. When the two are combined, musicians can switch effects with their feet, without having to take their hands off the instrument. Additionally, the four-foot switches on the StompBox can be assigned to control different effects within the app. It comes with the Griffin GuitarConnect cable, which allows for simultaneous connection to other instruments, headphones, and an iOS based device, as well as a one-metre, heavy-duty dock connector cable. $100.

Easy Glide

Glider Gloves make it easier for individuals to operate their smartphones, tablets and any other touchscreen devices once the weather gets cooler. They have a thin copper threading built in to the fabric, which allows for controlling capacitive touch screens while your finger is still safely (and warmly!) housed within them, and come in black, grey, and pink. There's a winter glove set constructed with a thicker lining, priced at $30, as well as a thinner, urban style glove set that's recommended for fall usage, priced at $25.

Mini Music

The SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip MP3 player is a miniature audio player that comes in 4 and 8 GB capacities, with the ability to hold 1,000 and 2,000 songs via built-in storage, respectively. It also possesses a microSD/SDHC card slot that can hold up to 32 GB of additional memory via optional memory card media. Other features include a 1.1" colour LCD screen, FM radio, voice recording capability, and a built-in mic. It is compatible with most music formats, including the AAC codec. This tiny pocket-sized player comes in black, blue, red, purple, orange, white, and grey finishes. $70.