Reply to comment

The holidays are upon us. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are both over, and the December rush has begun. Whether you're shopping online, through retailers like Amazon.com, Overstock.com, or offline in retail outlets such as Wal*Mart or Target you can be a smart consumer. By using sites like PriceGrabber or Google Product Search or mobile applications like ShopSavvy (Android & iPhone) you can be sure you're getting a good deal.

Of course, the best place to start is to look at who you're buying for, and how much you're willing to spend on them. But to get you started, I've thrown together a list of some of the bigger consumer products of the year. Ranging from the cheaper stocking stuffers, to the more expensive presents this list has a little bit of everything, although it's definitely for the geekier folk.

Audio

Sony XPLOD CDX-GT630UI $99.99

Sony's XPLOD line of car audio stereos is one of the best you can get, especially for the price. This one especially caught my eye while I was looking for my new car stereo, because it has both aux-in anda USB port, for both charging and playback on supported devices (including iPod and iPhone). In practice, some more minor features are nice, such as the ability to change the damn bright blue accents to a darker green, and while the volume control is touchy, it's nice. The ability to control music playback on the device itself is especially nice if you don't have an mount or dock in your car, so that you don't have to fumble with your phone or mp3 player while driving. Plus, it's one of the easiest car stereos that I've ever seen to install. Available with free shipping from Amazon.com.

Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 $119.95

Just as Sony has great stereos, Klipsch has great speakers. While I use my own standup and bookshelf speakers (with a 25 foot 3.5mm to RCA cable) for playing music, this 2.1 system is great for podcasts, movies, or TV on your computer. While 120 bucks may seem like a bit much for a computer speaker set, the price is definitely worth it; These sound amazing.

Bose QuietComfort 15 Acoustic Noise Canceling Headphones $299.95

Bose makes great speakers, as well as headphones. Although pricey, Bose products are great. These noise canceling headphones are great to isolate yourself from the outside world, and immerse yourself in your music, with super high audio quality.

Logitech ClearChat Comfort Headset $29.95

Maybe there's a pattern here, but Logitech makes... you guessed, some of the best headsets. Both in terms of quality of audio, as well as the comfort level this headset is a great bargin. And please folks, don't use your built-in webcam or laptop mic, it sounds like crap, and there will be echo.

This is the day nine of our Twelve Days of Christmas, Holiday Shopping Ideas from Maverick Revolution.