The Amazon Kindle has been a hot item since it’s inception a few years ago, and with their latest addition to the Kindle family, Amazon takes it one step farther.

Of all the reviews and research The Hot Gift Guys did on the new Wi-Fi Kindle, we found very few complaints.

The Hot

• The new Kindle Wi-Fi is 21% smaller than the previous model (without making the screen any smaller!), making it much more portable.

• At 17% lighter, your arms won’t get tired lying in bed and reading.
  

  The New Kindle Wi-Fi is 17% Lighter

• There were no complaints about the high contrast e-ink screen, or reading ability.  From dark bedrooms to bright sunlight, the e-ink screen is easy on the eyes, and easily adjustable to varying light conditions. (Plus it’s much easier on the battery than say and iPad or laptop )

• There are hundreds of thousands of book titles available for download through the built in Wi-Fi connection.

• One Month of Battery Life!  (Let’s see the iPad do that )

• Store 3,500 books (I don’t think our small town library even has that many books!)

The Affordable

• Priced at just a little over $100 ($139 to be exact), Amazon has made the new Kindle Wi-Fi very affordable for anyone who is a reading aficionado!

Merry Christmas!

P.S.- According to Amazon.com, “The Kindle is our #1 bestselling item for two years running. It’s also the most-wished-for, most-gifted, and has the most 5-star reviews of any product on Amazon.”  Thousands of people can’t be wrong! 

For the Gadget Lovers - Apple iPad

The Apple iPad is definitely showing up on the radar as a hot Christmas gift this year.  Looking on Apple’s official website, you see all the hype and advertising that you would expect.  But The Hot Gift Guys (as we always do) wanted to dig a little deeper to see if the hype could be substantiated.  Here’s what we found.

The Good

Think of the Apple iPad as a supercharged smartphone on steroids.  If you want to give the gift of connectivity, the iPad is the way to go.  All our research indicates that the iPad is ingenious at performing social and media applications.

With built in WiFi (and optional 3G) the iPad will keep whoever you give it to connected to email, Facebook, Twitter, and any other form of social media with ease.

The Apple iPad also smoothly plays Netflix movies and YouTube videos with great clarity, and quick download speeds, for those who love to stay entertained on the go.

With a list of available apps growing daily, and hundreds of thousands currently available, there’s not much you can’t do with the Apple iPad. You name it, ebooks (even books available for Kindle), photos, videos, games, if it’s digital the iPad can play it.

The Bad

If you’re thinking you’ll be gifting a traditional computer, think again.  While there are apps available for word processing, and spreadsheets, they’re not as powerful as you would find on a laptop, or desktop computer.

You may want to get a traditional laptop, if your recipient will need a multipurpose electronic device (say college students).

If, on the other hand, they just need something to stay connected and do light computing, the iPad is the perfect hot Christmas gift.

The Not so Ugly

Apple iPad - Christmas 2010 Hottest Gift

According to CNET.com, the iPad is “the most entertaining gadget we’ll see all year.”

The Hot Gift Guys completely agree.

If you want to give a hot Christmas gift that is mostly entertainment, and a little work horse, then the Apple iPad is the perfect hot Christmas gift!

Merry Christmas!

P.S. – The iPad is available with 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB of memory.  It’s a great buy to give your loved ones the connectivity they want!

Apple iPod Touch

It is that time of year again – Graduation.  What better  graduation gift idea, than the gift of music?

In our world, the Apple iPod Touch is the best product at a reasonable price.

In case you’re curious, we’ll fill you in on all of Apple’s music makers!

iPod Shuffle - For around $80, you can get into the iPod craze.  A compact and basic design, the iPod shuffle is the first step into digital music playback.  Lacking the software extras of the other iPod models, the iPod Shuffle is the base model with no extras.

iPod Nano – Starting at just over $120, the iPod Nano may be the best budget high school graduation gift idea.  With plenty of cool, and useful accessories, it is the perfect music player for the college bound student, and it won’t break the budget.  Lightweight, sturdy, and user friendly.  Your high school grad will think of you every time they play their music!

iPod Classic - $220 buys you a step up from the Nano.  For the extra hundred dollars, you get some software upgrades, more storage space and a larger screen.  Worth the extra $$.. you be the judge.

iPod Touch - The king of the hill, the top of the line, the best of the best.  For around $200 you can get the 8GB model (nowhere near the 80GB you get with the classic), with more memory costing more money.  But you also get all of the software that comes very close to making the iPod Touch a hand held computer.  If you have the budget for it, and your high school grad is looking for a good all in one device, the iPod Touch is the way to go.  And with the 3rd generation just released, now is the time to get the hot new iPod Touch.

Of all the graduation gift ideas, the Apple iPod Touch is the best product for the music loving grad in your life.  With quality products, and prices to fit everyone’s budget, the iPod is the way to go.

Congratulations Grads!

P.S. – A gift card to iTunes to go along with their new iPod is a great addition.  They can start downloading their favorite music immediately.

Asus eee 1001P Intel Atom Netbook (Black)

Everyone’s looking for graduation gift ideas this time of year.  Take the time to do some research before you run out to your local box store and get sold on laptops & netbooks that won’t fit your needs (perhaps it’s not the best buy )

Laptop vs. Netbook – The difference

As you can see from the stats, the laptop is designed to be a computer more similar to a desktop.  More computing power, more memory, and a more versatile Operating System.  (If your grad is into gaming, videos etc. this is probably your best bet.)  The Netbook is more of a bare bones, keep it simple computer.  Great at accessing the internet and doing word processing etc.  Also, the Netbooks are smaller, lighter weight and typically with a longer battery life, they are easier to carry from class to class.

Below is our list of top performers on multiple review sites.  Take it for what you will, but be informed before you buy.

Laptops -

Gateway NV7915u-

Processor- 2.13 GHz Intel Corei3
Ram- 4GB
Hard drive-  500 GB
Operating System- Windows 7 Home

HP G62t -

Processor- 2.13 GHz Intel Core i3
Ram- 4GB
Hard drive- 500 GB
Operating System- Windows 7 Home

These two make the top of the list, earning honors in multiple reviews, on multiple sites (cnet and laptopmag)  At around $600, all of our research says these are both great laptops, and very comparable (the hard drive on the HP spinning a little quicker)  . Earning honors for best laptops as well as best budget laptops, they’ve got all the software and computing power the college bound grads will need.

Netbooks -

ASUS Eee PC 1001P –

Processor- 1.66 GHz Intel Atom N450
Ram- 1GB
Hard Drive- 160 GB
Operating System- Windows 7 Starter

Netbooks are the hot new thing in computing power, and this one is the computer earning top recognition on multiple sites.  This seems to be the pick, and at about half the price of a laptop, not a bad investment for your High School Graduate.

If laptops & netbooks rank high on your list of graduation gift ideas, then look into these recommendations.  We promise you won’t be disappointed.

Happy Computing!

P.S. – Our experience shows it’s best to opt out of the extended warranty.  Most electronics come with a solid manufacturers warranty that will cover any issues that may come up.  The extended warranty is a great way to increase the retailer’s bottom line.

So, does this game really live up to all the hype that has been out there?  Here is what my nephew had to say about it, “It is awesome!”  He purchased this game not long ago and stayed up most of the night playing through all the songs.  He loves The Beatles and The Beatles Rock Band was the perfect fit for him.

Anymore, it seems like everyone has the Rock Band video games.  I know families who play this for their weekly entertainment.  The whole family gathers around the TV, each with their own instrument ready to rock out.  What better way to bring the family together for a good time than playing together as a band.

Ah, can you hear it?  All I can imagine is the Brady Bunch and the Partridge Family.  Now I am dating myself.  The Beatles Rock Band video game is one of the hottest games going this Christmas.  If you know someone who loves playing either the Wii, Playstation3 or Xbox 360, then I guarantee you will want to check this game out.

Check out the video below for a great review!