Dads & Grads, that odd amalgam of gift recipients we�re faced with each summer.
Give �em with
the right tech and you�ll look like the father of smart gift giving, a post-doc in digital delights.
I�m Brian Cooley with the Top 5 tech gift categories for dads & grads for 2011, ranked by hotness
according to traffic on CNET.com
#5 is a two-fer: Tablets and e-readers.
Kindles, iPads, Nooks, Xooms & Playbooks are certainly the freshest category in tech.
If your
main goal is to give something they don�t already have, this is a pretty safe bet.
On the other hand, being kind of a green category, it also runs the risk of being something they
don�t use for long.
So make sure you pick a good one � it�ll have better eBay value!
#4 is a surprise to some: Digital cameras.
I say surprise only because so much of our photography these days is gone with a phone, but
affordable DSLR�s are red hot, so are the new micro 4/3�s cameras which give you DSLR power
without looking like a tourist all the time.
And all our picks will remind you that, oh yeah, photos and video can look great, not just good.
#3 is Personal audio gear.
Just ask Dr.
Dre: Headphones are hot.
Same goes for portable speakers, Bluetooth headsets,
and all the stuff that connects our ears to our iPods, phones, tablets and notebooks.
And anyone graduating from school today has lived with earbuds screwed into their head since
the age of 5, so most of the stuff from this category needs to justification as they unwrap it.
I also like this category because it rolls in some of the best budget buys.
#2 for dads & grads this year is the venerable notebook or netbook.
Even in the wake of all the hype around tablets, these are a huge category.
Tablets are cool, but
dad and the grad still know a real keyboard, file system and OS means wall to wall ability to do
whatever they want and with picks like the Samsung 9 Series, maybe not with much more heft
than a tablet.
Before we get to the #1 go to gift for d&g 2011, you know where my mind goes: When are these
fancy grads gonna� pop for their own tech gear ?
Well, according to PayScale.com these are the Top 5 schools ranked by what their undergrads
will make as a median starting salary after they wing the mortarboard.
Wow.
Looks like they can def afford to buy you can me something from our #1 category �
�which is�A phone.
And really, we�re talking about a smartphone, mostly, which just became
the majority of new phones sold in the U.S.
according to NPD research.
iPhone is a safe bet, of course, but this year we�re also hot on a slew of Android phones, which
are currently the hottest selling phones by platform by far � and just to prove we aren�t tech
elitists, we also dig the rugged Motorols Brute i686, great for the dad who maybe drinks a bit
and tends to fall down.
OK, this is just a weather vane.
For the full rundown on what�s hot and just about foolproof in
dad & grad land, head over to dadsandgrads.cnet.com.
And for more Top 5 videos like this one,
go to top5.cnet.com
I�m Brian Cooley, thanks for watching.
