There is still time to pick up a perfect gift for those blanks on your list!

5. Digital Photo Frame, $9.99-49.99

I once thought these were an awkward way of displaying photographs, but they’ve become more commonplace and thus they have grown on me…and I want one! Sold under many brands at any computer–or even gift–store. Consider picking one up for your favorite digital photographer this Christmas.

4. Rubik’s Touchcube, $84.99

This toy is a new twist on an old favorite—but it’ll actually give you hints! Swipe your finger across the rows to find the solution, and just tap on a middle cube when you’re stuck, or even *gasp* tell it to auto-solve.

3. Dell’s Mini 10v Netbook, $299

A must-have for techies on-the-go, the small Dell netbook has all the bells and whistles of a full-size laptop but can fit in a purse or briefcase. Specs: 1 GB Memory, 160 GB hard drive, WIFI with optional Bluetooth, and a 10.1” display.

2. iPhone 3GS, $299 with a new AT&T plan, $499 without new AT&T plan

The fastest, most powerful iPhone is up for grabs this year. New features include voice recording, voice control, video, a 3-megapixel camera, advanced text messaging with pictures, copy-paste, and up to 32 GB of storage.

1. Amazon Kindle 2, $259

The Kindle’s revolutionary way of delivering books has been touted “the future of reading.” Over 390,000 titles are available to read on the “electronic-paper” screen, including 101 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers. Magazines and newspapers are available too, and all of this can be done without wires, cables, or syncing. The new Kindle 2 is thinner, has a sleeker design, and the pictures are sharper with enhanced 16-shade technology.

As the generations’ age and identity theft remains, Internet users continue to debate on whether or not online shopping is a good idea.  The Pew Internet Project found that while theft, age and income all play factors in the individuals’ choice in online shopping, the demand and usage of online buying has risen over the past years.  While the older generations are becoming less resistant to the idea of shopping online, it isn’t always age and Internet usability that necessarily determines who will click “buy”. 

To Be 

Shopping online can be good when you don’t have much time and/or you have forgotten an important date or holiday such as Valentine’s Day.  Valentine’s Day, for instance, can create much havoc in the lives of lovebirds especially if a significant other fails to remember the date or presents the other with a less-than-exciting gift.  Although V-day has passed, bookmark this link from Chiff, as this site offers a great list of sites to shop online for a quick gift. 

I have found that many places offer online only products and/or deals.  This can be good or bad.  If you do not like to shop online and there is something that you want that is an online only product – guess what – you are going to have to do without it or face your fears and buy it online.  Online only deals are exceptionally nice in my opinion because I have found numerous good deals online versus prices I have found in the stores.  Amazon.com, for example, offers an abundance of merchants and retailers which enables Amazon to present the online consumer with the best deal available.  I recently purchased a watch online that was $300 more at Macy’s. 

Several online sources site that online shopping is the preferred method entering into 2008.  GeekSugar reported in an ongoing poll that 57 percent of poll takers prefer online shopping, 33 percent prefer going to the store and 9 percent of people had another idea.  By far, the best list on how to not shop at a store is at Consumerist.com.  This list is hilarious and was a huge hit on Digg.  If you truly want to look out for yourself and get the best deals, no matter if you are decreasing sales for the retail industry, check it out.    

Not to Be 

The AskTog Blog published an extensive and interesting article on the top ten reasons not to shop online.  One great point from the AskTog Blog is ‘many times when shopping online, you end up having to call customer service – so why not call them in the first place?’ 

When attempting to complete any task online, it can be frustrating for many reasons.  Liz Ford, writer from the UK, calls online shopping ‘really bad’ and contributes much of it to boredom.  In my opinion, boredom can be the downfall of many things; spending too much money, ruining your reputation or gaining weight.  Other reasons include faulty Websites that empty your shopping cart, waiting on unreliable mail services, being lured into scams and complicated returns or exchanges.       

Maybe it’s income that determines whether or not we will be online shoppers.  ABC NEWS reported, “Online shopping peaks among higher-income and better-educated Americans. Thirty-nine percent of those in households earning $50,000 or more plan to shop on the Internet for gifts, compared to 15 percent in households earning less than that. Similarly, 35 percent of those who’ve been to college say they’ll buy gifts online; it’s just 13 percent among less-educated people.”  My guess is that people with lower household incomes are probably not shopping at the store either, so it may not be directly tied with online shopping. 

Conclusion 

I would consider myself an avid shopper and I am just now getting into shopping online.  For some reason, I would prefer to shop at the store.  I like being able to view, touch and try out products in the store.  Many times, what you see in person can make all the difference.  However, this past holiday season, I was 900 miles away from the people I wanted to give gifts to and I was traveling home to see them.  Several purchases online and free shipping to their homes, allowed me to wrap once I got there and not have to drive a ton of gifts across the country.  That has opened my eyes to online shopping quite a bit, but I am still a bit skeptical.  Not necessarily over identity theft but rather receiving a purchase that has been used, refurbished or sold with an embellished description.  My prediction is that online shopping will grow but will not put malls out of business.

If you are interested in the future of online shopping – this YouTube video is pretty amazing.

[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=Z4omx3zef5o[/youtube]

Technology has changed the way we do things. Emails are sent more often than letters; people visit movie theaters more often than drama theatres; text messages replace short phone calls. Even books have tried to make the change, with audio books, e-books, and services such as Book Glutton. But when it comes down to it, physical books are still the most preferred way to read. The Amazon Kindle aims to change that.

The Amazon Kindle, which has been on the drawing board for several years now, is finally ready to go. Essentially, the Kindle is a handheld e-book reader. Users purchase books and read them on the Kindle, and can also pay to access their favorite blogs on it. But at $400, $10 per book, and $1 per blog, is the Kindle really worth it?

Considering that most people don’t mind carrying a book or two around, and staring at a digital screen too long is a surefire way to get a headache, there are probably few people who really need it. Yes, with the Kindle you can carry fifty books with you at once if you’d like, but who reads fifty books at once? In addition to that, it’s UI has gotten less than positive reviews and, technically, one can get a good PDA or phone that can hold readable content, has better uses (and, most likely, a better interface) for a comparable price.

Not to mention, the Kindle is not the first gadget of its type. The Sony Reader may have fewer features, but it’s cheaper, you don’t have to pay for media you already get free (such as blogs), and it can actually open PDFs. But people still want the Kindle. My book crazy, non tech-savvy mom is one of them. But until it’s dropped in price and worked a few bugs out, Amazon can keep it. Learn more about the Kindle at amazon.com.

Check out more info at amazon.com:

Now, I am not a big reader – basically because I have no time. However, if I had tons of time I would read…a lot! It took me a few minutes to decide whether or not Shelfari was worth my time (since I have not read a million books) but, to my surprise, it is a wonderful site for the “over-achiever” reader and the “tons of excuses” wannabe reader like me.

Shelfari, partnered with Amazon, is an online community of book enthusiasts. This free Website allows you to build a “bookshelf” of all of the books you have ever read. People who have the same reading interests as you can add you to their friend list and you become fellow Shelfarians. This is an interesting concept because on many other social networking sites, people often become friends because of superficial attributes, however, on Shelfari it is possible to add comrades based on good ole wholesome reading. Really!

You can also become a member of the many Shelfari groups or you can start up your own group. Groups allow members to chat and suggest books that are of interest to the group, based on what premise the group is built upon. Books can also be added to your wish list, where friends can view what you hope to one day read.

When you search for a book title, you have the option to buy the book through Amazon.com. This is helpful because when you are reviewing posts from other members, they may suggest a book for you and if you are interested, you can look it up and buy it instantaneously.

Shelfari’s interface is advanced yet simple to use. Each book has a nice cover image and most books have several editions to choose from, enabling you to add the exact book cover that you’ve read to your bookshelf. On your bookshelf, you can add tags such as contemporary fiction, young adult and novels to your book which helps while searching through your titles. Searching for friends is also simple with the ability to search by name, nickname, city or email address.

I think I’ll use Shelfari to find a new book that I’d like to read. With tags, I’m sure that I’ll find exactly the type of book that I’m interested in. Remember, it isn’t the size of your bookshelf – it is the quality of the contents you put on it.