Top Travel Gifts, Travel Gifts Ideas, Ideas for Travel Gifts

After writing the post about top Christmas gifts for road warriors, I thought I’d expand the blog post a little and feature 3 of the best gadgets one can give a frequent traveler for Christmas. If you think this suspiciously looked like my own wishlist, then you are not in the wrong – I DO so want every single item in this list!

1. Netbook
Some travelers prefer to stay away from all nuances of technology but I’m not like that – I’ve been living in the company of technology for so long that I simply cannot do away with them even when I am traveling. For those who share the same sentiments as me, they deserve to buy themselves a nice netbook. For those not in the know, netbooks are like laptops or portable computers, only smaller, lighter and comes with less features. They are also more affordable too, and when one only needs to surf the Internet when they are on the go, they don’t need any other unnecessary feature, do they? If you’ve got cash to spare, the SONY Vaio P Series Lifestyle netbooks are highly desirable but on the high end.
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2. Crunchpad (RIP)
You may not be familiar with the phrase couch computing but the people behind TechCrunch.com (most notably its founder Michael Arrington) had a vision to make it accessible to everyone via a CrunchPad, a touch screen tablet PC that enables everyone surf the Internet with a touch of their fingers. TechCrunch originally planned for the web tablet to cost $200 but it seems more feasible to price it at $300 or so, seeing how most Netbooks would cost around the same price, more if it comes packed with features some consumers may not need.

That was in 2008. Fast forward few weeks back, and when all seemed right to unveil the CrunchPad, a dispute between Arrington and partner company Fusion Garage halted production of what is touted as the most awaited device this year. The end of CrunchPad came as a surprise to most of us but due to “greed, jealousy and miscommunication”, the project stalled indefinitely, with news of pending lawsuits by Michael Arrington heading Chandra Rathakrishnan’s way (CEO of Fusion Garage). The saga continues, and things get heated up even more as Fusion Garage is now re-branding the CrunchPad under the label TheJooJoo.com.

We think the CrunchPad would make an awesome gift for travelers who are always on the go. The touch tablet is a thing of beauty and weighs nothing more than a single kilogram. RIP CrunchPad, perhaps there is hope just yet…
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3. Nintendo DSi / DSi LL
First then was the Nintendo DS, then DS Lite, and here comes the DSi. It is a hand held console launched recently this year. We think this hand held beauty is ideal for travelers who want don’t wish to lose touch with the gaming scene even when they are on a holiday. There are many games available, both for those young or old. A larger model called the Nintedon DSi LL is also available but I will be content with just a DSi, if only Santa would bring me one
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