December 13, 2005

By Mike Goldfein / Belo Capital Bureau

Tech Files are video reports examining popular topics about technology and the Internet. Links to helpful Web sites are listed. Mike Goldfein reports from the Belo Washington bureau.

STORY
If you could wish for any high-tech gift this holiday season, regardless of cost, what would it be? Here are our favorite pricey gadgets that most anyone would love to have.

Here's Mike Goldfein:

If you're determined to give the very best, be prepared. The best doesn't come cheap.

For those who need help getting from place to place, consider the TomTom GO 300. The $700 car navigation system uses GPS to accurately pinpoint your location and direct you to your destination.

The touch screen is colorful and easy to see, and the sound loud enough to hear while driving. It comes with street-level maps for all 50 states, and is so well thought out, most people can use it without reading the manual.

Our favorite cellphone this year is the Samsung i730 being offered by Verizon.

Cost: $600 with a two-year contract.

The Windows Mobile-based smartphone has a great pullout keyboard.

And since it is a Pocket PC, it opens Word and Excel documents, and plays multimedia, like videos and MP3s.

It comes equipped with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and the ability to connect to Verizon's broadband EV-DO network.

No, those aren't the world's goofiest sunglasses.

The Z800 from eMagin is, possibly, the world's best 3-D visor.

The $900 device is designed for gamers who want total immersion.

The visor is equipped with gyroscopes, accelerometers and compasses, so when the wearer moves, the image moves.

If you look left, for example, you see left.

Wearing the visor is roughly the equivalent of sitting in front of a 9-foot screen.

On the Web for Belo Interactive, I'm Mike Goldfein.