High-End Electronic Holiday Gifts for Your Tech Lover

Sometimes money is no object when giving a gift to your loved one. A lover of gadgets is sure to be pleased when opening a box containing high-end electronics. If you're considering splurging on a gift for the holidays, electronics should be on your list of things to consider.

Think mobile

The hottest toys for the adults are portable gadgets that fit in your pocket but do everything. In 2011, Apple's iPhone 4G smartphone (plus forthcoming iPhone 5) and its iPad2 tablet are on many wish lists. Besides making calls, the iPhone offers Web browsing, gaming, video chat and downloading music and movies. Apple and other third-party companies offer apps that allow the user to do things like start your car by remote or order pizza with the press of a button. Think of the iPad2 as a big-screen iPhone without the capability to make calls. Both devices are controlled by touchscreens.

The Apple products are not the only high-end smartphones and tablets on the market. In fact, they have many competitors with similar capabilities. You may consider phones and tablets running on the Android operating system. They come from many manufacturers, like Samsung, Motorola and HTC.

If your electronics lover is really into books, you may want to look into an eBook reader. These thin devices allow you to download books, magazines or even comics from the Internet (at a cost usually less than hardcover books). The book lover can take her entire library with her wherever she goes, and the screen is large enough to read easily, better than on a phone. Amazon's Kindle is the industry leader. The Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble Nook are two others. Most tablets also can read some eBook formats.

The laptop computer is the granddaddy of mobile devices. It can do all that the other devices can do, with greater speed and higher quality. The performance advantage comes at a price, of course. And the laptop is not quite as "mobile" as the other devices; it won't fit in a pocket or a regular-size purse.

Laptops come in a variety of styles from dozens of manufacturers. Desktop replacements are heavier and bulkier but are equipped with hardware that performs faster with better graphics. The Dell XPS-15 and 17 series are highly rated, all-around performers (with the top-of-the-line options). The HP EliteBook Mobile Workstation is an ultra-sturdy but stylish model geared toward the businessperson. The Apple MacBook Pro with the 15-inch screen fits into this category; however, it doesn't have key geek totems, like an HDMI port (for connecting your laptop to an HDTV) or a fast hard drive (topping out at 2.4GHz quad-core Intel or 2.7GHz dual-core Intel, either with 5,400 rpm).

The smaller and lighter laptops gain in mobility but lose in performance. Apple's smaller MacBook with a 13-inch screen is very popular. Samsung's Series 9, Toshiba's Portege and IBM's Lenovo Think Pad are less stylish but are similarly thin in design. You will also want to consider models from Sony's VAIO collection.

Fun and games

Gaming laptops are an option for a high-end electronic holiday gift for the tech lover on your list. They're often as big as the desktop replacements. However, some are available in the smaller/lighter weight class. Because they're aimed at a great gaming experience, they'll have the fastest available processors and graphics. Alienware is a popular gaming laptop name.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and music/video players continue to be hot gifts. However, they are so ubiquitous as to perhaps no longer be considered "high-end." Still, you can spend a lot of money on some versions of these items, like a GPS watch for outdoor enthusiasts or the iPod Touch with a 32GB hard drive.

If your tech lover isn't the mobile type, your gift possibilities broaden to larger items, such as a digital media player. It hooks up to an HDTV and allows you to watch movies or shows downloaded or streamed from the Internet. Western Digital, Roku and Apple make these devices. However, many high-end Blu-ray players and HDTVs, and some gaming system like the XBox 360, also allow you to stream video from the Internet.

No matter how vast your wallet and how enthusiastic the recipient, you'll have no problem finding a high-end electronic holiday gift for your tech lover this year.