Without a doubt, 2009 was the year of the iPhone, the rise of Google’s Android operating system and the netbook. For this year’s Christmas, there’s plenty more to pick from when it comes to finding presents for that special geek or tech chick.

Books are back
Books are back with a twist. Not those heavy paper thingies from the last century, but a solution that lets you carry your 1500-volume library wherever you go, minus the weight.
Amazon recently added free 3G wireless to its Kindle e-reader, which allows you to download any of 300 000 books from the Amazon collection straight to your Kindle. With free 3G wireless also available to customers in Bulgaria, and starting at $259, the Kindle could be a hard bargain to beat. (http://amazon.com/kindle)

One to step up to the plate is Barnes & Noble with its nook (yes, written in lowercase). Priced to compete directly with the Kindle, it throws in wi-fi along with its free G3 wireless, although the latter, at least for now, is limited to the US only. It has a colour scrollbar at the bottom and works with the Barnes & Noble ebook store. (http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook)

For those who really want it all, there’s the iRex DR1000S-XW-GR. With its 10.2 inch display, support for a raft of document formats, including pdf and plain text, and its ability to let you make handwritten notes in your documents, the 699 euro price almost seems like a steal.(https://www.irexshop.com)

The big picture
Televisions are never big or flat enough, but the Bang&Olufson Beovision 10 seems to come pretty close to solving that problem. Thin as a sheet of glass, fixed in an elegant aluminium frame, the Beovision 10 is probably one of the slimmest 40-inch flatscreens you will find.

Besides the screen, its square frame also houses the system’s loudspeakers, including a custom-made two-inch mid-range and a three-quarter-inch tweeter, all hidden behind elegant black fabric that is almost imperceptible from the black glass surrounding it.

A concealed wall bracket on the back lets you swing out the screen at angles up to 45 degrees, letting you watch your favourite show from almost anywhere in the room.
At around 5700 euro, this is a present for those with a big heart. (https://www.bang-olufsen.com/beovision10)

Snapshots in HD
Get the full excitement of your extreme sports experience into your living room with a camera that captures it all at professional quality 1080p HD resolution, with 30 or even 60 frames a second.

The GeoPro HD Hero comes in a range of versions, from the basic ‘naked’ (camera only, no extras, at $259.99) to the helmet-mounted HD-helmet Hero ($299.99), with additional versions for surf and motorsports enthusiasts available as well.

The HD-helmet Hero comes with several different types of mounts to attach the camera to a helmet, as well as a head strap that will allow you to wear the camera like a headlamp.
Thanks to its removable polycarbonate housing, this camera is waterproof to 60m and protected from anything that is thrown at it, quite literally.(http://www.goprocamera.com)

Loud, louder, loudest
When looking for a loudspeaker set for your laptop to add that extra "oomph," the perfect solution would be a go-anywhere solution. TwelveSouth Bassjump offers just that.

Designed specifically for the MacBook (yes it will work with other computers, but is optimized for the MacBook), the Bassjump is a small, USB-powered loudspeaker priced at $79.99 that comple ments the laptop’s internal speakers.

Its software lets you blend the sound of the two for dramatically enhanced audio performance. (http://twelvesouth.com/products/bassjump/)

DIY robotics
If you need a present for one of those tech geeks who like to build their own humanoid robots, Lego’s Mindstorm might be just what you are looking for.
Mindstom is Lego’s brick technology, but with a brain on steroids. Its computer controlled brick (the NXT) lets you connect a range of sensors and motors to any Lego construction. The brain itself contains a fully programmable 32-bit ARM7 microcontroller.

At $280, the NXT 2.0 comes with both Bluetooth and USB communication links, three interactive servo motors, four sensors for ultra-sound, touch and colour, and all the Lego pieces you need to start building your own robot. (http://mindstorms.lego.com)
Batteries not included.