10 Great Tech Gadgets for 2012 Holiday Season

Still looking for a gift for a gadget-lover this year? We’ve put together a mix of the latest speakers, headphones, tablet keyboards and other gadgets that work well for both work and play.

Paul Mah is a freelance writer and blogger who lives in Singapore. He’s worked a number of years in various capacities within the IT industry and enjoys tinkering with tech gadgets, smartphones and networking devices. You can reach Mah at paul@mah.sg and follow him on Twitter at @paulmah.

The Audyssey Wireless Speakers is a Bluetooth desktop speaker system that offers freedom from having to manually plug a cable to your laptop. Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) steaming offers great sound and clarity over wireless and is enhanced by Audyssey technology for greater clarity and bass. Each speaker comes with a separate woofer and tweeter, while a 4-inch passive bass radiator delivers additional oomph.

Price: $299.99

The Bowers and Wilkins P3 Headphones is a great-looking pair of headphones by the British audio company B&W. Designed to be travel-friendly, the high-end P3 headphones folds for easy storage in a hard travel case. There are 30mm sound drivers that deliver excellent sound quality, and there’s a remote and microphone attachment that will work with an iPhone and can be removed for other mobile phones.

Price: $199.95

The BlueAnt Ribbon is best described as a portable Bluetooth adapter that can be used either at home or on the road. The device supports apt-X for high-quality wireless streaming from a supported device to a Hi-Fi system or speaker dock via its standard 3.5mm stereo output port. Alternatively, you can clip the Ribbon to your shirt and plug in a wired earphones or headphones for up to six hours of wireless music playback from a smartphone or tablet.

Price: $69; includes a pair of earphones

The Griffin MOTO TC Monster is a remote-controlled truck that’s driven via Bluetooth wireless from an iOS device. The truck is controlled from an app that offers multiple ways of driving, and comes with the ability to record and store “Drive Plans” so as to repeat a favorite route. Aside from zipping around the office, its flatbed can probably be used to ferry trinkets between cubicles too.

Price: $59.99

The IRIScan Anywhere 3 is a portable cordless scanner that stores scanned documents onto a SD memory card or a USB flash drive. The battery-powered device is capable of capturing up to 100 A4 or letter-sized documents at a time; documents are detected and automatically fed through the device using its sheet-feed mechanism. For flexibility, scanned images can also be downloaded from a computer using the provided USB cable, which also acts as a charger.

Price: $199; optional carrying case available for $24.99

The Libratone Zipp is a portable AirPlay speaker that delivers up to four hours of wireless playback when on the move; PlayDirect technology allows it to be used even without a Wi-Fi network. Under the hood, a 60-watt digital amplifier, coupled with acoustic technology from Libratone, offers exceptional sound performance delivered through a 4-inch bass driver unit and two 1-inch ribbon tweeters. The Libratone Zipp is about fashion too, and comes with three changeable wool covers of different colors.

Price: $449

The Logitech Bluetooth Illuminated Keyboard K810 is a beautiful keyboard designed for multiple platforms, including Windows, Android and iOS. As its name suggests, the keyboard is backlit with adjustable levels of illumination, while its slim, compact size allows it to be slipped into a bag together with a tablet. The K810 keyboard supports pairing with up to three different devices, and switches between them in seconds using dedicated Easy-Switch buttons.

Price: $99.99

The SuperTooth HD is a Bluetooth-enabled car speakerphone that allows for hands-free calls while driving. It attaches to the sun visor using a magnetic clip. The advanced speakerphone supports Bluetooth version 3.0, and can connect to two phones simultaneously. A range of voice commands are recognized, including the use of a voice command to answer an incoming call. Dual speakers offer more than sufficient volume, while dual microphones and DSP noise cancellation delivers superior sound pickup.

Price: $129

The StarTech Encrypted Hard Drive Enclosure, as its name suggests, is a portable enclosure for 2.5-inch hard disk drive or solid state drive, so it’s about the same size as a standard drive enclosure. It comes with on-board 256-bit AES hardware encryption that works in real time, allowing it to operate independently of the operating system. The StarTech has a miniature OLED display and a touch-sensitive numeric touchpad for keying in the requisite keycode to access the data.

Price: $117; disk drives not included

The ZAGGkeys PROPlus is an ultra-thin Bluetooth keyboard case designed especially for the Apple iPad. The wireless keyboard is made of aluminum to match the look and feel of the iPad. It uses a magnet closure to hold it in place against the screen while you’re on the move. When deployed, the integrated stand holds the tablet at an optimal viewing angle and is complemented by the unique multi-color backlighting on the PROPlus. Finally, efficient Bluetooth 3.0 wireless allows the keyboard to be used for months between charges.

Price: $129.99