What to give the geek in your life

By PRADEEPA de SILVA

Buying a gift for the geek in the family involves more than choosing a digital camera with more megapixels than last year's model.

The format wars must be considered, for a start. Don't get your loved-one a Memory Stick device if they've already converted to the rival SD standard. Steer clear of the Playstation rack if the gamer of the family just picked up a Nintendo Gamecube. Compatibility is the key in this interconnected world. This Herald guide to geeky presents is a starting point.

Digital cameras

Fuji Slimshot Digital Camera - $229 at DSE. Only 6mm thin so you can carry it easily in your purse or wallet. The resolution is 640 x 480 and there's 8MB of memory.

Casio Exlim EX-M2 Digital Camera and MP3 player - $929 at digitalcameras.co.nz. A bit bigger than a credit card, 2 megapixel images, it can also take movie clips and play your favourite MP3s.

Canon Powershot G3 - $1869 from Camera Warehouse. For serious camera buffs, the G3 takes an image of up to 4 megapixels, has a 4X optical zoom and can record movie clips of up to 180 seconds.

Gaming consoles

Nintendo Gamecube - $250 from Central Park. Nintendo's latest game offering with disks that can hold up to 1.5GB of game data. Super Mario Sunshine and Starfox adventures are exclusive to the Gamecube.

Sony Playstation 2 Extreme Power Pack - $549 from The Gamesman. The Playstation 2 console, two hand controllers, Tekken Tag Tournament and Gran Turismo A-Spec, the Spiderman DVD and three Blockbuster overnight rentals.

Microsoft Xbox Massive bundle - $590 at The GamePlanet Store. The Xbox console, a hand controller, a DVD remote control, Halo, Jet Set Radio Future and Sega GT 2002.

On the games front

It's strictly an R18, adults-only role player, but The Getaway ($109.95) on PS2 may well be the game of the year. Where else can you burst into Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels type shoot-outs and drive like a maniac around central London? The criminal underworld plot can be followed from the point of view of two characters - an ex-con trying to rescue his kidnapped son and a vigilante policeman trying to nail London's east-end mafia. Either way it's a bloody, thuggish fight from beginning to end.

Xbox serves up the similarly adult-oriented Splinter Cell ($109.95), a game in the graphic vein of the popular Metal Gear Solid franchise. A secret agent tracks down missing CIA agents in Eastern Europe. Plenty of sneaking around with night vision goggles on and dispatching Russian terrorists. The visuals are great, the array of controls staggering, it's probably the best secret agent-type game yet, although Halo is still Xbox's strongest title.

Other hot picks are WRC II: Extreme ($109.95) on PS2 and, for the kids, Ratchet and Clank ($109.95).

The new Lord of the Rings release is the elaborate Two Towers. If you can hang out for the New Year you will be able to pick up PC game blockbuster The Sims for the PS2 and Shrek on Xbox at The Gamesman.

Mobile Phones


Sony Ericsson T200 - $429 from Vodafone. The very stylish T200 has a dedicated mobile internet button which allows high-speed Wap internet access. Nokia 7650 - $1549 from Vodafone. Nokia's latest smartphone includes a camera which takes images at a resolution of 640x480. Extras include dictaphone and the ability to create simple text files.

Sony Ericsson T60c - $499 from Telecom The T60c
runs on Telecom's CDMA network and can handle high-speed data through Mobile JetStream.

Samsung SCH A212 - $749 from Telecom. A very high resolution display. Phone includes a personal information manager with a scheduler, to-do list, calculator, alarm and world time.

Printers, Scanners and Mice

Hewlett Packard DeskJet 656c InkJet - $150 from ComputerCity. This easy-on-the-pocket desktop printer gives great results in colour, plus photo-quality prints with the optional photo cartridge.

Epson Stylus Photo 1290 - $1297 from DSE. A desktop photo lab supporting resolution of up to 2880 x 720 dpi and featuring edge-to-edge printing.

Microtek Scanmaker 3800 - $155 from Gamma Computers. An affordable scanner with a nifty Scan to Web feature which automatically uploads the scanned image to an online photo share. DSE Internet Camera - $57 from DSE. This economical USB camera gives you the ability to capture video, take still shots and do video conferencing.

Logitech iFeel Mouse - $128 from Ascent. Feel gentle vibrations as you pull down menus and move around the desktop. Gamers too will feel the buzz of games enhanced to take advantage of the vibration technology.

Entertainment

Creative 32MB MP3 Player 2 - $349 from DSE. If you need to take your MP3s out of the home, this player could be the answer. Connects via USB. Benq DVDGEM-638 Home DVD/MP3 Player/DVD-Rom - $360 from Ascent. This portable device allows you to watch DVDs, play your MP3s and use as a DVD-ROM drive for your PC. Panasonic DVD-XV10GN Slimline DVD Player - $600 from Computer City. Compatible with Dolby Digital, DTS and MPEG2, it provides an excellent PCM linear digital output signal.

The Lord of the Rings : The Fellowship of the Ring Collectors Edition DVD - $75 from DVDshopNZ. The first instalment of Tolkien's saga with an additional 30 minutes of footage.

USB Drive 16MB - $69 at Digital Store. The convenience of multiple floppy disks on your keyring.

Mitsubishi Coloured 10-pack CDR - $15 at DSE. Add a bit of colour to your data copies with these CDRs holding 700MB of data or 80 minutes of audio.

DSE

digitalcameras.co.nz

Camera Warehouse

Central Park

The Gamesman

The GamePlanet store

Vodafone

Telecom

Computer City

Gamma Computers

Ascent

DVDshopNZ

Digital Store