Choosing a gadget can be a complicated task. There are a huge number of gadget retailers, both online and off, and they offer a numbing array of items. If you’re looking to buy someone a gadget, a lot of your decision will depend on how much money you plan on spending. There are gadgets for every budget, and for every season.

Here’s a few gadgets that may be of interest:

Smartphones: Smartphones are just that, phones with a whole lot of additional smart features. SmartPhones are a new generation of handheld devices which allow you to make cellular and data calls with ease. More powerful than some PDAs, SmartPhones threaten the entire PDA business. The Palm Treo is a notable brand.

UMPCs – Ultra Mobile Personal Computers, also known as the Origami Form factor are geared for the market between PDAs and Laptops. Smaller than laptops, they boast of longer lasting battery life and more software. In fact, one of the main selling points of UMPCs is the fact they run Windows Tablet OS and are compatible with Office. Microsoft and Intel championed the UMPC form factor initially to be offered in the $500-$1000 price range. The reality is, the units will be closer to $1200. Samsung is the first OEM to market with its’innovative Q1 UMPC. They plan on offering it for sale in the US and most of the world in May 2006.

Robots – Domesticated robots like the Roomba are quite a sensation. People are definitely interested in the potential time saving qualities of robots. Robots that mow the lawn and clean the house are now a reality. In the future, more tasks will be assigned to robotic helpers.

Cameras and Camcorders – Sony Handycam has a very hot offering right now with it’s MiniDV Digital Video Recorders. The units have excellent picture quality and shoot straight to mini-DVDs, which should play anywhere. For the price, the HandyCam MiniDV has a rich feature set, which allows for flicker-free filming. You can’t beat a camcorder for capturing precious moments.

Tablet PCs and PDAs – Although feeling pressure from the UMPCs and SmartPhones, PDAs and Tablet PCs are still a popular item.

Blackberry and Palms are still extremely popular PDAs, and Blackberry has over 2 million people using its’ commercial email service. Tablet PCs carry a hefty price-tag, but have excellent features like hand-writing recognition. In fact, use of the stylus is natural, and anyone with an artistic bent would seemingly love this device.

Any of the above items would make an excellent gift for a gadget enthusiast. The main thing to do is consider the person’s lifestyle before making a purchase. Since almost all gadgets carry relatively high price tags, it’s worth finding out for sure what the person wants, or you run the risk of making an expensive mistake. Check all gadgets for the presence of extras, such as service plans, that aren’t included in the purchase price.

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What the deuce? This looks like some sort of Swiffer/robot cyborg that mated with an Apple power supply. Apparently the Mint floor cleaner is available for $249 and is now on pre-order. The sweeper dusts and wet mops floors and you can add Swiffer cloths to it.

It’s much smaller than the Roomba and I’d actually wager it’s a bit more handsome. This is truly an exciting time for the terminally lazy!

Click through for a video of the Mint in action.

via Gizmag

Let it be said that I do not like heights. I also do not like cleaning out gutters. Add those two “dislikes” together and you get the iRobot Looj. The Looj, unlike iRobot’s Roomba, is slightly less intelligent than a broom on the end of a large stick, but it serves a very important purpose: to reduce the amount of time you spend on a ladder when cleaning gutters.

The Looj is basically a motorized tank with a remote control and a front sweeper. You ride it down your gutters, flipping out twigs and leaves as you go. Does it work? Absolutely. Is it foolproof? Probably not, but it’s a lot of fun. It also has a safety line attachment in case it gets stuck on dead bird guts. Generally, it’s not too bad for $169.

As you see, I have an older house with tighter gutters. While the Looj was able to ride down the gutter, it got caught up on the sides as it travelled. I was, however, able to force it to move out of tight spots as necessary and it never hung up irretrievably. The flippy-flappy head on the device was able to push out dust and branches and, although our gutters were surprisingly clear, I could imagine they’d do a job on leaves and other crud.

The Looj has a remote control that runs the machine forwards, backwards, and activates the brush. The handle connects directly to the device and snaps off quickly and easily. Sadly, the Looj suffered a three story drop during my testing but the fall only broke a back wheel and smashed the rope attachment. The Looj still worked, even after that rough treatment.

Bottom Line
I would definitely recommend this to owners of newer homes who may have heavy schmutz in their gutters. If you place your ladder at a corner of the house – and your gutters are wide enough – you can easily clean out two sides of a house in a few minutes.

Cleaning out gutters is a tedious job. The Looj, in its own madcap way, makes that job considerably easier.

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iRobot, perhaps best known for having created the Roomba, turns 20 today. Let’s give them a virtual high five for helping so much in bringing roboticism into the home. Sure, in the end, it might be the death of us all, but in the mean time, it’s nice not having to vacuum so much, am I right?