Bendable Media

A brief tour Monday of the local Best Buy uncovered several fine deals if you are still searching for gadget-themed holiday treats. Here are six that caught my eye:

Nike Flight headphones

Nike Flight Sport headphones, $25. How good do these sound? I have no idea but I’m sure they are no worse than what ships with an iPod. These headphones are for the runner or avid stationary bike rider in your family. Athletes tend to care more about how headphones fit than how they sound, so if these stay in place during a workout you’ll be a hero.

Insignia wireless Blu-ray player, $119. This is a great price if you’re thinking of taking the Blu-ray plunge — heck, it’s a great price even if you need a new DVD player. This Blu-ray player includes Wi-Fi and can connect to the Netflix movie streaming service. Insignia is the Best Buy house brand and I’ve had good fortune with the product line.

JVC CD car stereo w/built-in HD Radio, $160. The key term here is “built-in” HD Radio. That means when this JVC car stereo is installed, the HD Radio tuner will work. Most HD Radio car stereos are sold as “HD ready,” an enormously frustrating practice that needs to stop. HD ready means you need to add an HD Radio tuner — a.k.a. another part –  which can cost an additional $100. This ready-to-go JVC unit was the only “built-in” model available at the Best Buy I visited. HD Radio is a great yet misunderstood technology; In Chicago, HD Radio offers more than 25 additional free stations to the radio dial. But how HD Radio is marketed and sold is simply a disaster.

Colortunes by iHome

Colortunes by iHome, $60. If you’re looking for a fun and decent-sounding iPod dock for a kid’s room — or the kitchen — this is a fine choice. Here’s what I wrote about this model for the Chicago Tribune’s Eric 2.0 blog in April: “This speaker changes colors. No, it’s not a ‘mood’ player that changes colors to match the nature of a song like a mood ring (happy, nervous, sad or stressed) from the ‘70s. It alternates between five colors at different paces. You can change colors rapidly, slowly or keep it on the color of your choice.” It can also double as a night light.

Magellan SE4 GPS, $90. I’m pretty sure this is not the best GPS money can buy, but I wouldn’t spend much more for a GPS these days. The mobile phone is doing a pretty good job of destroying the category, as smartphones like the Motorola Droid offer turn-by-turn driving directions for free. Best Buy was filled with GPS devices priced under $150 — pretty good units selling for about twice the price last year. Dashboard-mounted GPS devices won’t disappear soon, but the end of the road is in sight. Until we get there, take advantage of the good deals.

Axion 7-inch portable TV

Axion 7″ Portable LCD TV, $90. If you own a portable TV that’s at least a few years old, you probably realize it doesn’t work anymore thanks to the digital TV transition. But over-the-air digital TV, like HD Radio, offers many more free channels thanks to the technology known as multicasting. That allows broadcasters to air multiple programming options over the same channel. In Chicago, you can watch NBC programming on Ch. 5, weather from NBC on 5.2 and NBC’s Universal Sports — great for Olympic prep! — on Ch. 5.3. To get that free programming at a tailgate party, on your back porch or perhaps your bathroom,  you’ll need a new portable TV. This Axion is a good deal.

Related Posts, Bendable Gadgets:

• Father’s Day gift ideas for the geeky dad
• Superb sound, fresh cable design define new Shure SE535 earphones
• The Sonos S5 is a fine player for (almost) every music option