2006 Dads and Grads Gift Guide

This year's Dad's and Grad's gift guide will help you choose a good, affordable gift.

It’s June, and you know what that means…it’s time to shine the light on dads and grads and give them something they want, need or could really use. No need to waste your precious brainpowertrying to figure out what to get them, just use our handy Dads and Grads Gift Guide, featuring a dozen carefully selected items sure to be useful, practical or at the very least, something they wantinstead of a “World’s Best Dad” coffee mug or a desk set.       SanDisk Sansa e200-series MP3 player
With its sleek design, durable shell, large 1.8″ TFT color screen, ease of use and excellent audio quality, the SanDisk Sansa e260 is by far the best non-Apple player around. The player comes with anextensive feature set, including a removable, rechargeable Lithium battery, digital FM tuner, FM and voice recording, and the ability to add memory capacity via the microSD expansion slot. The playeris compatible with Rhapsody, MSN Music and other subscription services and can be purchased in three sizes, 2GB (e250 – $179.99), 4GB (e260 – $229.99) or 6GB (e270 – $279.99). Compare Prices Sennheiser PXC150 Active Noise Canceling Headphones
Ideal for the frequent flier and dorm room dweller alike, these small-but-powerful noise canceling headphones have the ability to cancel up to 70% of outside noise while providing incredible soundquality with deep, powerful bass performance. The system comes with two adapters for in-flight entertainment systems, including a 6.3 mm stereo jack and 3.5 mm double mono jack, and even includes aconvenient drawstring carrying pouch. The headphones require AAA batteries for the NoiseGard operation. $80.84, Compare Prices Canary WirelessWi-Fi Digital Hotspotter
The Canary Wireless Wi-Fi Digital Hotspotter goes above and beyond the usual call of duty when sniffing out Wi-Fi signals. This handy little device offers a the world’s first 12-character LCD screenthat not only provides information on signal strength and availability, but also includes important network information, including network ID (SSID), encryption status and channel. And if multiplenetworks are detected, the hotspotter enables you to scroll through to select one that suits you. $59.95, http://www.canarywireless.com/ SanDisk Cruzer Titanium USB Flash Drive
The new SanDisk Cruzer Titanium USB Flash Drive is a stylish, rugged, fast and reliable flash drive with enough capacity to store documents, pictures, music and video clips easily. The compact flashdrive fits on a keychain, is crush-resistant, and offers a capless, retractable USB port to protect the connectors. Available in 1GB or 2 GB for $74.99 and $119.99. Compare Prices Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote Control
Armchair jockeys rejoice! The Logitech Harmony 880 Advanced Universal Remote actually works as advertised and offers an interactive color display as well as a docking station to recharge the Lithiumion battery, so you’ll never have to worry about buying batteries again, and is optimized for HDTV and PVR systems. To program the Harmony 880, just connect it to your PC and follow the web wizardprompts, which will ask for model numbers to easily set up and control even the most elaborate of systems. $249.99, Compare Prices; Read the Digital Trends Review Logitech Harmony 550 Advanced Universal Remote
For a simpler version of the universal remote listed above that will control up to 15 devices, check out the Logitech Harmony 550, enabling users to access an entire home entertainment system withjust one button. If you want to watch a DVD and all systems are turned off, this little handy device will power on your TV, DVD player, stereo receiver and all inputs – and then it will hit”Play” for you. And at $100 less than the above, it’s not a bad way to go. $149.99, Compare Prices Sprint Power Vision Phone MM-A920 bySamsung
In addition to digital dual band, up to 3.5 hours of continuous talk time and a sleek design, the Sprint Power Vision Phone MM-A920 by Samsung offers an embedded MP3 player with external musiccontrols and the ability to download music via Sprint Music Store, as well as 30 channels of live and on-demand news, traffic, weather, sports audio and video via Sprint TV and On Demand. The phoneis compatible with Bluetooth Wireless Technology, an external TransFlash memory card slot, and there’s even a 1.3 megapixel camera/camcorder. $149.99, http://www.sprint.com/; Read the Digital Trends Review Canon PowerShot SD630
Get your snap happy dad or grad this compact, high-quality, multi-tasking 6 megapixel digital ELPH camera features 3x optical zoom, a 3-inch LCD screen, accurate color and he’ll have enough featuresto keep him busy for awhile. Shaky hands? No problem, the new 800 ISO reduces blurry photos and sharpens photos in low light. Other goodies include the 16:9 Widescreen mode that allows for fullviewing on widescreen TVs and computer monitors, and the Fast Frame Rate Movie mode enabling users to shoot movies up to 60 fps QVGA (320×240). The handy Print/Share button allows users the option ofprinting directly from the camera to a PictBridge compatible photo printer, or to transfer to a PC or Mac. $399.99, Compare Prices; Read the Digital Trends Review GiftCertificate to eMusic
Give the universal gift that puts freedom in the hands of the recipient, the gift certificate. eMusic’s library of more than a million songs, from 3,800 record labels worldwide, offers downloadablemusic that is compatible with any MP3 player. Three gift certificate options are available, depending on the amount of months you would like to give your dad or grad. Each of the three options allowsfor up to 40 downloads per month. 3 months is $29.97, 6 months is $59.94 and 12 months is typically $119.88. Their current promotion offers 12 months for $96. http://www.emusic.com/ Swiss Army s.beat MP3 Digital Media Player
For the multi-tasking gadget-lover, check out the Swiss Army knife and MP3 player all in one. The 1GB memory stick is small and light, stores MP3, WMA, WAV and OGG files, and offers loads of featuresincluding digital voice and stereo recording, an FM radio with 15 FM presets, 3-line backlit LCD display for easy viewing, a rechargeable battery (lithium polymer) and up to 8 hours play time. Theplayer supports Mac, Windows (98/me/2000/xp) platforms and even comes with headphones, a remote and an arm strap to wear while jogging. The multi-tool includes a knife blade, scissors and a nailfile/screwdriver. While you’re at it, have it engraved with up to 10 characters, like “You Rock Dad” or “Class of ‘06″. $189.95, Compare Prices Crumpler Embarrassment Line
In this case, size does matter. Crumpler’s Embarrassment line of laptop/messenger bags, including The Moderate Embarrassment (12″ laptops), The Considerable Embarrassment (15″ laptops) and TheDreadful Embarrassment (17″ laptops), are perfect for those wanting something that’s practical, simplistically styled and extremely roomy. Each bag is made of water resistant 1000D Nylon and featuresa large exterior cargo pocket, a fully padded laptop compartment with a 6-pocket organizer, 3 interior front pockets, Velcro release straps and an adjustable and removable carrying strap withshoulder pad. Available in seven color combinations. $110-$130 Australian dollars (approximately $83-$98 US dollars), http://www.crumplerbags.com/

Puzzle Alarm Clock
If you have a heavy sleeping grad heading off to college this fall, give them the gift that’s sure to get them up and out the door in time for that 8:00 a.m. class, the Puzzle Alarm Clock. This handy little device will do the trick with four puzzle pieces that shoot straight up in the air when the alarm goes off. The best part is, it won’t shut off until all of the pieces are back in place, even if they throw it across the room. Runs on two AA batteries. $42, http://www.bimbambanana.com/