Family tech: Tech gifts come in all prices

When gift givers think of tech gifts, they think of expensive things like laptops or 60-inch plasma screens. Those are nice and no one on your list will object, but tech gifts do not have to be expensive. There are gifts out there that are both affordable and let you get better use out of your existing tech products.

Be sure to see the Links Web site mentioned at the end for some places offering devices mentioned here.

For many, our cell phones have become indispensible. More than 20 percent of households are now wire-less only, according to the CTIA. For the rest of us, these little devices, once used primarily during business hours, are out with us during evening activities. If there is a middle of the night run to the ER for a sick child, we need them desperately.

Having a battery that lasts for the business hours is not good enough anymore. Extra cell batteries are great gifts and usually are less than $10. If the phones does not have a replaceable battery, such as the iPhone, there are external batteries available.

Consider a remote charging unit so a battery can be charged away from the phone. If the phone can be charged through the USB port of a computer but did not come with the cable, they too are useful. Charge up your phone while sitting at desk at work.

It is also a really good idea to get a car charger for every car you own.

One cool new device out there is a car cigarette charger with two USB ports on it. You plug the cord for your phone that connects to your laptop and charge your phone in the car. Often, Bluetooth wireless head-sets have a USB charger cable too so you can plug in both devices. I know one young man for whom even two is not enough when you factor in his PSP.

With so many of our devices able to recharge from USB ports, there is now even an electrical outlet you can install in your home with both normal power plugs and USB ports.

And to keep your cell phone from bouncing around your front seat, there are phone mounts to hold your phone. Many are universal so you do not need to find one for your specific phone.

Is there a suit wearer on your list who leaves every day with their pockets weighed down with phones and other gadgets? Fairfax's ThinkGeek.com sells a shoulder holster to store multiple devices, keys, and all. A guy could feel like James Bond, but packing an iPhone instead of a Walther PPK.

Is your poorest cell reception in your own home? Both Sprint and Verizon now offer femtocells. These are devices with antennas that sit in your home and connect to the internet. They serve as your very own in-home cell tower. My house went from one bar to five bars after we installed Sprint's Airwave fem-tocell.

Comment on this column at InsideNova.com. Let's get a dialog going. Links for items mentioned in this column can be found at bit.ly/FamilyTech Mark's blog is at markstout.blogspot.com and his email address is markstout@gmail.com.

Mi-Fi's are a similar device for on-the-go. These index card size devices provide a local Wi-Fi hotspot for up to four gadgets. With one of these your laptop, your iPod Touch, your PSP, and similar devices can be on the Web away from home. Sprint and Verizon sell them; they link into their wireless data networks.

Both Mi-Fi's and Femtocells have a purchase price and a monthly cost.

A geek can never have too much hard drive storage. Terabyte size (that's a 1000 gigabytes) drives are found often for less than $100. And if you accumulate many drives, Thinkgeek.com and others sell Drive Docks. You can plug in hard drives like they were cartridges in a game console.

ThinkGeek.com is also a great source for fun gifts for both your youngest and oldest geeks.

And finally, Flip digital video cameras make much better videos then any phone. They cost between a $100 and $200 depending on the model andthey are great for capturing memories.