Gift for an audiophile

so many that if you're trying to find a gift for an audiophile, it can be actually hard to choose. If you're looking for a nice balance of audio quality and great style, you might want to check out The House of Marley's line of headphones. Ranging from the $59.99 Positive Vibrations model to the high-end $299.99 Destiny TTR, these headphones feature an organic look using wood, recycled plastics and leather accents.

The sound quality is shockingly good

The sound quality is shockingly good. I'd say right up with best of $150 sealed on-ear headphones --- especially when viewed from the perspective of the intended audience. I auditioned them comparing with the V-Moda V-80, Skullcandy Roc Nation Aviators, Quincy Jones Q460, and Beats Solo. To my ears they fairly easily bested all however the V-Moda, and there it was surprisingly close.

You might as well like: dB Logic's HP-100 Headphones and EP-100 Earphones limit sound pressure to 85 decibels based on OSHA guidelines to help users avoid damaging their hearing while for all that enjoying their music.

Universal affliction

It's a universal affliction: No matter how neat and tidy you try to keep the earphone cords for your phone, music player, tablet or other device, they always end up in a tangled mess in the bottom of your bag.

The Sinch's reinforced hole fits snugly over a standard 3.5mm earphone plug, and the whole thing hangs down unobtrusively behind the phone or other device during the earphones are in use. At that time you just wrap the cord around the device and the Sinch at the same time, and lift the magnetized bottom end of the Sinch up to meet its other magnet nearly the top. The Sinch holds the cord neatly in place even when the device is tossed in a bag.

The headphone cord separately from the device

To store the headphone cord separately from the device, just slide the wrapped-and-Sinched cord off the end of the device, or else wrap the cord around your fingers and the Sinch at the same time. Either way, the Sinch will hold the cord in a tidy, tangle-free coil until it's needed again.

When you want to use the earphones again, simply give them a little tug to release the cord from the Sinch. It as a matter of fact couldn't be easier -- to tell the truth, it's far simpler to use than to describe. Available in black or white, the Sinch is pricy at $16, however it beats out other cord-management gadgets with its good looks, ease of use and quick release.

The office all day

You've been out of the office all day and need to check in, so you pull out your smartphone. Oops! You forgot to turn off the GPS, the battery drained and now you've got like as not five minutes left previously you're out of power. What do you do?

Well, if you're using a Powerbag backpack or messenger bag, all you do is hook it up to your phone and stop worrying. Powerbags include their own rechargeable batteries plus four separate hookups: an Apple connector, micro- and mini-USB connectors and a USB port.

The Powerbags come in a variety of colors

The Powerbags come in a variety of colors and styles, including messenger bags, backpacks, slings and wheeled briefcases; prices on the Powerbag site range from $139.99 to $249.99. Unfortunately, they currently can't power laptops, nevertheless for those who can't leave home without their tablets, smartphones or cameras, these are the perfect power insurance policy.

These handy little devices are a mere 1.75 in. tall so they can hang from a backpack, keychain or zipper. They alert you to an incoming phone call by spinning madly around -- you get a choice of a spinning Tardis, Cyberman or Dalek -- and flashing tiny lights at the base. What could be more useful when you're fighting Daleks and can't hear your smartphone above the screams of "Ex-ter-mi-nate!!"

There is a catch, unfortunately: The charms only work with phones that are on an 800-1600MHz GSM network. Nevertheless if your friends have phones and service providers that can handle GSM, at the time these snazzy trinkets can ensure they don't miss those important calls during traveling through time.

A compact megazoom camera makes an excellent holiday gift for beginning photographers; these cameras can be had for less than $300, and they offer features and image quality that can't be matched by the built-in camera on a phone. They're as well appealing for people who already have a high-end digital SLR camera however want a small, inexpensive second camera that they can take everywhere.

Jawbone has made its reputation on its then-designed and high-quality headsets for mobile phones, and its most recent headset, the Jawbone Era, doesn't disappoint. The Era offers a variety of features just as noise and wind reduction, automatic volume control and a single multifunction button to keep things simple.

Built-in accelerometer

It as well has a built-in accelerometer, which makes it possible to use a feature that Jawbone calls ShakeShake -- if the headset isn't in your ear, you can give it two quick shakes to pick up a call. And if you're wearing the Jawbone and get a call, or are already on the phone and get a second call, you can tap the Era twice to receive or switch calls -- in doing so avoiding the need to spend precious seconds finding and pressing the headset button.

In short, the Jawbone Era is the perfect gift for anyone who is constantly on the phone, and wants to make that experience as pleasant as possible. The Era lists for $129.99, however can be found for significantly less at many online retailers.

You might as well like: The Plantronics Voyager Pro UC headset offers high-quality audio, the ability to receive calls by simply placing the device in your ear, and a mini USB adapter that lets you as well use it for Skype and other computer-based phone services.

Summary: The Jawbone Era is a then-designed, full-featured mobile phone headset that will suit anyone who is always walking and talking.

The Bheestie Bag

Enter the Bheestie Bag: Its sole purpose in life is to dry out wet devices. Inside this silver-colored plastic pouch are two smaller sacs that contain water-absorbing pellets. You just place your phone, camera, MP3 player or other small device inside the pouch and seal it up with the Ziploc-style zipper, and the bead sacs will draw the moisture out of the device.

But where the bag can come as a matter of fact in handy is for immersion catastrophes. If you drop a phone in the pool, to illustrate, Bheestie advises suddenly drying it off with a towel, removing the battery if possible and leaving it sealed in the bag for 24 to 72 hours.

The bag will revive a waterlogged device

Bheestie doesn't make any guarantees that the bag will revive a waterlogged device, however it did dry out and revive an old LG clamshell phone that I submerged for long enough to get water stuck behind the screen.

Why not just put the device in a bag of rice to dry it out? That method can be effective too, and it costs a lot less than $20. However the Bheestie Bag makes a as a matter of fact useful -- maybe device-saving -- gift for college students, frequent travelers and others who may not always have a bag of rice handy.

The Ultimate SleeveCase vary

Prices for the Ultimate SleeveCase vary. For Android or Windows-based tablets, cost depends on the size of the tablet you're buying it for, from $50 for the Nook Simple Touch to $57 for the Toshiba Thrive; you can add the Brown Leather trim for an extra $5. The iPad Ultimate SleeveCase costs $55 for the Lead Iridium trim and $60 for the Brown Leather trim. In either case, you can add a basic shoulder strap for $12 or a more ergonomic padded one for $22.

Vinyl record sales may be up, however even the most dedicated fan of analog music can't specifically take an LP with her on her morning run. Enter Spin It Again, a Windows program to help bring record and cassette collections into the digital age.

You might as well like: Griffin Research's iMic USB adapter adds audio input and output to Macs that don't have them; it includes Final Vinyl, software designed for converting LPs to digital formats.

The music revolution wrought

The music revolution wrought by research has been largely about digitizing music onto computers and portable devices, and about the growth of streaming music services like Pandora and Internet radio. However while digital music is firmly entrenched in the 21st century, speaker research has largely stayed in the mid-20th.

Sure, you can buy speakers that play Internet radio or music streamed from a computer or mobile device wirelessly. Nevertheless the $299 Sonos Play:3 speaker, coupled with the company's Bridge networking device, represents the straightway step forward for digital music.

This great system lets you stream your entire digital music collection to any place in your house wirelessly, with remarkable sound quality in spite of a small footprint and very light weight. You can as well stream Spotify, Pandora and countless lesser-known streaming music services, as so then as tune in to thousands of Internet radio stations.

The Bridge into your Wi-Fi router

Just plug the Bridge into your Wi-Fi router, and it shares the wireless connection with one or many Sonos speakers. You control the speaker either from software on your PC or Mac, or via a free iOS or Android app.

Is there someone on your gift list who's always walking out the door without his cell phone? This handy little Bluetooth device may be just what he needs.

Less than two inches across and about half an inch thick, the disc-shaped Zomm Wireless Leash attaches to a keychain that can be easily slipped into a pocket or purse. If it gets too far away from the Bluetooth-enabled phone that it's paired with, the Zomm vibrates, flashes and emits loud beeps, making it very unlikely you'll forget your phone.

The Zomm as well works as a decent speakerphone for hands-free calling when clipped to a car's visor, and it has a panic button feature that sounds an alarm when you press and hold it for 10 seconds; hold it down longer and it calls 911.

Available in black, white or pink, the basic Wireless Leash lists for $90, however you can find it cheaper online. There's as well the Zomm Wireless Leash Plus, which costs $10 more and works with the free myZomm App for Android or iOS to help you keep track of all kinds of objects moreover your phone.

The Zomm does have some downsides

The Zomm does have some downsides: Leaving it paired with a phone can be a drain on the phone's battery, and it's easy to forget to turn the Zomm off when its distance alarm isn't needed -- to illustrate, when leaving your phone at your desk to attend a meeting. However for someone who has a bad habit of leaving expensive phones behind, it could in effect save the day.

Know someone who needs to keep two or more mobile devices charged when they travel? The iGo Charge Anywhere can provide juice to two devices simultaneously via its dual USB ports, and with an array of available adapter tips that plug into those ports, it's compatible with thousands of phones and other small devices.