Our stockings have been stuffed, emptied and stored away for next year. The holiday cookies and leftovers are long gone. We're back in State College, ready to start a fresh semester, ready to get a jump-start on our New Year's resolutions and ready to analyze our holiday gifts.
That's right. Instead of preparing for the first week of classes, we Arts Staffers have been pouring over the loot we didn't deem as crap: the good, the unexpected and the drool-worthy. Read our evaluations, take some notes and find out what's really worth receiving.
Nokia N-Gage
It's a gamer girl's dream gift: a cell phone that plays games at PlayStation quality as well as MP3s and music videos.
The Nokia N-Gage is an amazing piece of technology. It's perfect for playing games like Tomb Raider, Red Faction, SonicN and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater in the back row of a boring lecture. You can play against others in an array of multi-player games, thanks to built-in wireless Bluetooth support.
The graphics are incredible for the N-Gage's size. It's smaller than a Game Boy Advance but has the graphic quality of an original Playstation.
If you're willing to part with another $60 to $100 (the deck itself is going for about $200), you can purchase a multimedia card to store MP3 and video files. The N-Gage comes equipped with a RealOne Player, music player and radio capabilities, and the sound quality is surprisingly great coming from a game deck.
The only downside of the N-Gage is its design. The user must remove the battery before inserting a game card, which often results in shocking the battery and losing its charge. As a phone, the deck is awkward to hold, and I'd recommend getting a headset for it. But despite these drawbacks, the N-Gage still rocks.
-- Reviewed by Allison Heller
Sony's MiniDisc Recorder
If you are as electronically challenged as I am, but need music in your ears in order to function, Sony's MiniDisc Recorder is the contraption for you.
After you learn to download MP3s from the Internet (easy), plug in a cord (easier) and click a few buttons on your computer (oh, come on), you will instantly be able to breeze through your daily activities with a personalized soundtrack.
And for about $100, that's a pretty sweet deal.
If you dare to venture into its more complex functions, I found the most handy to be its ability to store different groups of music. This means its 56-hour capacity can hold everything from tunes to pump up your workout to songs that will allow you to drift off into dreamland, whether you're in bed or in class.
But a warning to electronics aficionados: You may want to invest your money in a more sophisticated MP3 player. Sony's MiniDisc Recorder is a simple device for electronically simpleminded people who simply love music.
-- Reviewed by Katy Lindenmuth
iPod
Steve Jobs is a freakin' genius.
Case in point: the iPod by Apple, arguably the all-around best portable digital music player on the market today.
With three different drive sizes to choose from -- 15, 20 and 40 gigabytes --- and the encumbrance factor of a metallic pack of cigarettes, it's a music lover's dream.
The hardware is gorgeous, the bundled iTunes software is great for organizing the music files on your computer and ripping your CD collection, and the interface is easy and fun to use (I love playing with that touch wheel!).
Caution, PC users: You may need to get a FireWire card (another $35 or so) to avoid tortoise-like USB file transfer speeds. Trust me, it took over eight hours to load my music collection.
And that's on top of the already steep price tags: $299, $399 and $499, respectively, unless of course you have a buddy from high school who works at an Apple store and can get you a 15 percent discount (thanks, Ryan).
-- Reviewed by David Tatasciore
Gift Certificate to www.sharebuilder.com
Despite the obvious first persecutions of "geeky" and even "how Reaganomics" that I received after telling friends about this gift, investing online turns out to be a lot more fun that may first meet the eye.
After easily setting up my account with ShareBuilder (www.sharebuilder.com), I was ready to start investing, doing my best to view my gift certificate of $100 as play money and my investments as a project I once did in grade school. There were no brokers to deal with, no phone calls to make and no sweat to waste since it wasn't my money, technically.
With a few clicks of the mouse and keyboard, I was buying shares with glee and ease. Of course, $100 won't get you very far, but it's been an entertaining enough experience to consider actually putting in a few bucks of my own.
It's the most fun way to gamble by yourself.
-- Reviewed by Jay Cox
Cross-country skis
Despite the lack of snow in State College, my favorite present this Christmas was the pair of cross-country skis underneath my tree. I don't actually cross-country, but the skis and the advice that I should take them on the golf course were hints from my mom that I should start.
Only having tried the sport once, it was an incredibly unexpected present; I was almost disappointed that my big present was something I had no desire for. But as I started thinking about it, cross-country skiing sounded a lot more interesting than one might imagine.
It's one of very few outdoor activities meant for freezing temperatures, it's a full body workout and it is the perfect way to enjoy State College in the snow.
-- Reviewed by Ali Gray
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