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December 21, 2011

Twelve Gift Ideas for Apple Fans for Under $100

By Rachel Ramsey, TMCnet Contributor

It’s crunch time for holiday shopping. If you’re still procrastinating for the geek on your list, here are 12 great gift ideas for any Apple (News - Alert) fan from Gigamon, all for under $100.



Stylish MacBook bag

Stand out from the crowd and keep your MacBook nice and comfortable. The Switch Messenger Bag from Benthaven for $99.95 online is the perfect size (works with both 13” and 15” laptops) and has a built-in (removable) laptop sleeve, an interchangeable reversible flap system, a side gadget pocket, and shoulder strap earbud management.

Protective iPhone case

Otterbox is a combination of soft silicone, hard plastic and a screen protector that makes the Commuter series of cases stand out. It’s not as bulky as their Defender series, and Otterbox is only available for $35. Otterboxes are made for iPhones, iPads and iPod Touches for Apple products, and also has cases for a variety of other companies’ products, from Amazon Kindle to Sony cases.

Smart stylus

The Loglix Stylus Pro Jr. plugs into the headphone jack of the iPad, iPhone or iPod touch and improves precision while limited fingerprints on any touchscreen device. It’s available for $19.95.

Portable iOS keyboard

As more people trade desktops for laptops and laptops for iPads, sometimes a portable keyboard would come in handy. The Verbatim Wireless Bluetooth Keyboard is designed to work with any iPhone, iPad, iPad 2 and other Bluetooth enabled tablets, folds for maximum portability and easy storage in the included carrying case, allows for pairing with up to six devices at one time, a built-in media console allowing users to play, pause and control iTunes with the touch of a button, and a retractable iPhone stand is built into the keyboard. It’s available for $50 on Amazon.

Affordable home headset

Sennheiser HD 220 II Professional Headphones are lightweight, comfortable even during long periods of use, and provide decent isolation from surrounding noise. This pair is available for only $20. Other headphones under $100 include the Marshall Minor FX Earphones, available for $64.95, the SteelSeries Siberia Neckband Headset, available for $79.99, and the Sennheiser Adidas PMX 68oi, available for $69.95.

Bluetooth Headset

Wireless headsets may succeed in the future with the introduction of Siri. The Jawbone ERA Bluetooth Headset is on sale through Amazon for $88 (compared to $129.99 regularly.) The Jawbone ERA is the only Bluetooth headset equipped with military-grade NoiseAssassin 3.0, the latest version of Jawbone’s industry-first noise and wind canceling technology.

AirPrint-enabled printer

Having an AirPrint capable printer on the network that does not require an intermediary solution like Printopia is always a good thing. AirPrint only works with 16 printers, all from HP. Third-party solutions like Printopia enables AirPrint on any printer a Mac can connect to and works with both Leopard and Snow Leopard. Amazon has several AirPlay (News - Alert)-capable printers on sale for less than $60, like the Epson Stylus NX430 Small-In-One Inkjet Printer, which offers instant wireless printing from popular mobile devices, scanning and archiving of documents, quickly produce color copies and image enhancement tools to get the perfect photos.

Big-screen game console

One of the mot understate features of iOS 5 is the ability to broadcast to an HDTV connected to an Apple TV over the air. The Apple TV is available for $99, and can allow iPhone 4S and iPad 2 users to mirror everything done on the devices wirelessly. Apple TV gives users access to blockbuster movies, TV shows, your own music and photos, and news and sports. With content stored on the iCloud, previously purchased TV shows are easily accessed.

Tabletop game cabinet

The iCADE, the iPad Arcade Cabinet, is available for $79.99 from ThinkGeek. The iCADE uses Bluetooth to connect to the iPad, so all users have to do is slide it into the cradle and play. “Atari Greatest Hits” iPad App is ready to go with the iCADE, including support for over 100 classic Atar games. It also provides 27 games by iOS developers, including Space Inversion - Silverline Arts, Stardash – OrangePixel, and Muffin Knight – Angry Mob Games. The iCADE is compatible with both the original iPad and iPad 2.

Compact iPad stand

The Compass (News - Alert) Mobile Stand for the iPad is $40 but is one of the most compact solutions for supporting an iPad. The advantage is the foldaway storage size of the stand when it’s not in use, making it a great travel accessory. Provided by TwelveSouth, the stand is “an easel and an instant theater.” It can also transform into a typing stand by simply flipping down the secondary leg; it sits at a perfect angle for comfortable typing on the iPad onscreen keyboard. The Compass is available in iPad silver, tactical black, and candle apple red.

Portable document scanner

The VuPoint Solutions MagicWand accesses scanned images as you would using a digital camera -- via a microSD card. For $99, this scanner provides a quick and convenient means of scanning documents when on to the go. It’s easy to use and downloads scans to your computer via card reader or built in USB interface. Bluetooth transfer is also available on select modes and no software is required. The scan resolution is 300 or 600 DPI in JPEG format, and the microSD stores up to 32GB.

If you’re still stumped after this list, TMC (News - Alert) offers a holiday gift guide for 10 tech gifts for the pro on the go. These gadgets include the Barnes & Noble’s Nook, MiFi 3g/4G Mobile Hotspot for Sprint, the ThinkPad tablet from Lenovo and the Plantronics (News - Alert) Voyaer PRO UC.


Rachel Ramsey is a TMCnet editorial assistant, contributing news items and feature articles on a variety of communications and technology topics. Rachel has previously worked in PR and communications at The Wriglesworth Consultancy, an award-winning London PR firm. She has also contributed to the creative services department at CBS 3 and The CW Philly in Philadelphia. To read more of Rachel's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Tammy Wolf
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