“I’ve got gadgets and gizmos aplenty; I’ve got whozits and whatzits galore!”

It’s that time of year again and you’re left wondering what to buy the person who has everything or at least give something besides that lame gift card. Here are 21 different gifts at every price point that are sure to be a delight to whoever receives them.

Open it!  $9.99

Did you know that each year an estimated 300,000 people visit the hospital as a result of a laceration incurred from packaging, mostly during the holiday season? To avoid having your own Larry David breakdown over a plastic wrapped gift, pull these out of the drawer before anyone starts unwrapping anything on Christmas morning to save your sanity and to avoid spiking the coffee.  This highly anticipated package opener now offers a five-in-one method to open everything under the Christmas tree safely and easily.  Open it! Allows you to cut it, snip it, slice it, unscrew it and pop it open.  It’s even lefty compatible.

Scosche: flipSYNC $19.99

Scosche’s flipSYNC is pretty damn awesome if you ask me. If you’re not home or near a car, how do you plan to charge your phone? The flipSYNC attaches to your keychain so you always have a way to charge and sync your phone or MP3 player. The flipSYNC features a USB 2.0 for fastest data transfer possible. Available for both Blackberry and iPhone/iPod with the data cable included.

Desk Pets: SKITTERBOT $19.99

Save the coffee mug full of peppermints for the coworkers you don’t like and buy your neighbor who always has your back one of these for when “doin’ work” ain’t on the schedule. Who needs the water cooler to have a joke when at your desk you can race these for endless bragging rights. The world’s fastest legged micro-robotic toy that travels one foot per second with 5 full-function remote control that allows you to go forward/back/left/right/stop and retractable USB charger for 15 minutes of play. While it sits on your desk begging you to ignore your TPS reports it the SKITTERBOT has red heartbeat eyes that pulse to egg you on. Available in red, blue, clear and green all operating on their own frequency for multi-player racing and battling.

EZ Grill $4.99 – 9.99 (depending on size)

Is there anything better than tailgating? Tailgating can be more fun than the actual event if you do it right but who wants to deal with messy grills you have to transport home later? Not I said the hostess. EZ Grill’s are ready-to-use recyclable, convenient and portable instant grills complete with foil pan, grill grate, stand and charcoal.  Instant all-natural charcoal included – NO additives, unnatural chemicals, fillers or lighter fluid.  Convenient clean-up means no mess. Lights with one match and cooks for at least 1 ½ hours and it’s approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). So encourage your diehard Dolphin fan, or whoever it is you root for to tailgate and gtfu out of your living room for a silent Sunday.

Hercules: XPS 2.0 35 USB Speakers $19.99

I confess, I do not own a stereo, an iPod or any other device to listen to music from other than my laptop. The speakers on my laptop just don’t cut it for when I get the urge to sing into my hairbrush either. The Hercules XPS 2.0 35 USB speakers provide that extra oomph. They are so easy to plug into your headphone jack so in you can listen to it wherever without needing an outlet to plug into. It comes equipped with a padded carrying case for portability.

IDAPT i3 Universal Desktop Charger $49.99

If you have a power strip devoted entirely to charging your gadgets, toss it. The i3 Universal Desktop charger simultaneously charge three different portable devices and clear cord clutter with one affordable system. Interchangeable “quick release” tip system allows for easy, customizable charging

System that is compatible with over 3,500 brands of mobile devices, including Apple, Nintendo, PSP,

Blackberry, Garmin, and more. Package includes either six of the most popularly used interchangeable tips, or you can custom chose 4 tips. Available in black, silver, white, and pink

iSkin: iPad Vu $64.99

If you just so happen to have an iPad on your holiday shopping list, a case cannot be forgot. The iPad Vu case is designed for fashion, functionality and protection with an environmentally friendly soft plastic with a beautifully patterned hard plastic back shield that entirely embedded Microban antimicrobial protection, which is exclusive to iSkin. Vu’s unique rear-bottom hatch that can be easily removed for docking it into the iPad keyboard or standard dock. Recessed volume and power button coverage, an integrated earphone port cover, and home button protection. Available in multiple colors: Pink, Aqua blue, Blue, Red, Orange, Purple and Black.

FINIS: Lap Track $74.99

An avid swimmer would appreciate the ability to easily keep track of the number of laps they have swam, lap times, lap chrono function, split times, calories burned as well as the date and time on a clear 6” by 6” display. With four ways to mount the device for different size tiles.

Sony 8GB E Series Walkman Video MP3 $79.99

For those nonconformists like myself, there are some MP3 players out there that do not reflect a certain piece of fruit in order to be of quality or easy to use not to mention for a lesser price. The Sony E series Walkman has a long lasting battery with up 50 hours of music or up to10 hours of video playback, FM turner, drag-and-drop file transfer, Clear Audio technologies, headphones and a 2.0” LCD. Available in black, red or blue.

I’m somewhat enamored with stage monitors that were developed for use in music video games. But I can’t help but wonder — WTF took you guys so long?

Between the Polk Audio Hitmaster, which my friend Big Jim Murray reviewed a few weeks back, and the Altec Lansing Stage-Gig, we have a few good ideas here that have come out several years after Guitar Hero and Rock Band (and about a year after the games hit their maximum popularity).

At its core, the Stage-Gig is a versatile, 40-watt speaker with strong bass response and clear highs. It plugs in via standard Red/White audio plugs, so it works with PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, and anything else that, you know, makes sound.

It’s only about 1/2 as big as a “real” stage monitor. It’s meant to give you some more realism when you (and hopefully your friends) are making fake music in your living room. You can also string together multiple units for added audio power.

The problem is, and the problem was with the Polk product, is timing. This would have been a fantastic product to showcase at all the music game booths at E3 in 2008.

But as a bonus, both stage monitors we’ve tested are just $100. The Stage-Gig is a great speaker, which will sound fantastic at a party with your iPod or stereo. It even hooks up to your computer if you want it to.

If you already have a great home theater setup, you don’t need the Stage-Gig, but if you’re relying on your television’s speaker, this will make everything sound better.

Blast Factor: The Stage-Gig is a great speaker, if you need a great speaker. While it might be more practical for picnic music than for pretending to be the next great American band, the product does what it says it will do without costing much.

The Altec Lansing Stage-Gig is $99. A sample was given to us by the developer for reviewing purposes.

A few years ago, you were looking at $400+ for any decent Cambridge SoundWorks product at their mall-front audio boutiques.

You got a good product, but they sort of fell into the Sharper Image category of “oh, this is nice, but I’d never spend that much money on it.”

The big difference, however, is that Cambridge actually has useful products that normal people can benefit from instead of hundreds of different back massagers.

Cambridge SoundWorks, now owned by Creative Labs, decided to close all of its retail outlets and focus on direct marketing — reducing their and our costs.

Thus, the SW820 HD Radio, which would run you hundreds more in the store days, is only $129.99, and it still sounds like $400.

Not everyone is a believer in HD Radio, and we’re not necessarily sold on the concept either. But look at it this way: Radio is here to stay. Why not give HD a shot if it really does offer more programming options for free?

There’s just one flaw in that otherwise impeccable logic. The HD signals are often spotty at best, especially getting 15-20 miles into the suburbs, away from a metro radio signal.

Here in Boston, you’ll have a hard time getting a good HD signal — or the stations-between-the-stations — on the South or North Shore or beyond Framingham. (West Coasters — think of that as deep into Orange County from Downtown Los Angeles.)

The other big flaw with the SW820 is that the antenna is a bitch to screw on, requiring a special wrench that comes with the radio. Don’t lose it, or you can forget about HD programming no matter where you are.

The radio does sound very good, and tuning via the knob instead of repeatedly mashing buttons is a relief. When you do get an HD signal, you clearly notice the difference.

Like it or not, HD Radio sounds good, and for the $100 you’ll spend on Amazon for this baby, Cambridge SoundWorks makes their case.

Don’t miss John Guilfoil’s “Five ways to listen to music without an iPod” story, in The Boston Globe.

We love the little Orbit. It’s like a little baby who’s so cute and cuddly until you wake it up and it lets out a bellowing scream, the depth of which you didn’t feel possible from something so tiny. The iM237 is a new model with mainly design changes.

I’m an audio guy. I like the wires and plugs and cones and crossovers. I’m not a pro, but I know what I like.

When you get something like the Altec Lansing Orbit Mp3 and a crisp, clean sound with great bass and highs (read the back of the box, they quoted me) it’s easy to realize why name is still the first thing audiophiles look at when they buy a toy.

The best thing about this little speaker is that you can plug anything into it and share your tunes. Don’t underestimate it either; it’s loud!

You get a solid day out of 3 AAA batteries, so have the rechargeables ready to go.

5 out of 5 stars

Oh. Ohhhh… Interesting.

It’s heavy and shiny and costs as much as a high-end home audio center channel, but the Bowers & Wilkins Zeppelin will do things to your iPod audio that you weren’t sure she was capable of.

Sure, at $600, it’s more expensive than any iPod, but if you want a $20 speaker system, there’s plenty of those out there that sound like amplified earbuds.

The Zeppelin sounds phenomenal. It weighs in at almost 17 pounds and packs five drivers.

It’s built around a central 5″ bass driver, two 3.5″ midranges and two 1″ metal dome tweeters for those high notes and puts out 100 total watts of power, which is as powerful as any standard home theater setup.

Why the constant comparison to home theater components? Because the Zeppelin acts more like a piece of equipment than a device. It feels more like an antique wood coffee table than a plastic folding card table. The majority of audio components sound “good.” A bunch of them sound “bad.” And then there’s a breed that sounds like what your “always-has-to-have-the-best” neighbor has. The audio quality on the Zeppelin is amazing, and it’s even more amazing that this device was specifically built for iPods.

And if there is to be any complaint about the Zeppelin, it’s that it is 99 percent iPod-centric. Obviously there’s no CD player. There’s no radio. You can plug a Zune or any other audio device in, but then you’re left with this arm in the middle where the iPod is supposed to go.

Maybe that’s not a complaint, because this seems to work just fine. We’re a music consuming world that’s now 99 percent iPod (or iPhone now) centric, so why not plop your pod into something like the Zeppelin?

The remote control doesn’t work that well. There, I issued a complaint. It’s good up till about 10 feet and then it’s hit or miss.

With a product like this, all we’re missing out on here is the fact that we’re still largely using compressed MP3 files that don’t sound as good as pure, unadulterated audio. Do yourself a favor sometime, plug a CD player into a device like this. I did.

Digression over.

The Zeppelin works with iPod Touch, Classic, 4th and 5th generation, Nano and Mini. There’s also an auxiliary input port so that you can plug in just about any device. You can also use composite or S-Video to output video to a television or display.

This is a peach of a product that you should definitely check out.

When the subwoofer earned its rightful place in the realm of computer audio, one of the smallest computer peripherals became one of the largest overnight. The deep bass and added clarity gave computer audio a tremendous gift, but that gift has been one of the hardest aspects of computing to micro-ize as computer footprints get smaller and monitors universally become flat.

We have seen some excellent smaller, two-piece computer speakers (Bose has a great one for $400). There are also some excellent one-piece systems, like a Polk Audio product for $1,000.

There are several choices in subwooferless computer speakers. There always have been. Most of them suck or are too expensive or both. The challenge has always been to somehow capture the sound that comes with today’s 2.1, 4.1 and 5.1 (even 6.1 and 7.1 that we’ve seen…) computer speaker systems. Let’s face it, a lot of users just don’t feel like mounting a complete surround system around their desktop.

The Altec Lansing SoundBar tries to pick up the slack and give users a compact solution that won’t sound like two tin cans and a string.

At $80, it is not going to compete with the Polk SurroundBar, but it’s a long shot better than the $10 Dell Sound Bar that is made to retrofit their Ultrasharp monitors.

The Altec Lansing SoundBar sits comfortably below any flat monitor and lets you connect your computer and any other headphone-jack device, like an iPod, simultaneously.

Here’s what you should know about the SoundBar: it does its job. He’s a blue-collar, clock-punching factory worker who’s happy with his lot in life. The product has good bass, excellent highs and projects a pretty clear sound. But it’s not going to shake a room.

The SoundBar is still a one-piece speaker system without a subwoofer, and nobody is trying to sell it as anything different. So don’t expect it. It also doesn’t deliver (or claim to deliver) a three-dimensional surround sound experience. This isn’t a home theater unit. It’s not going to make you jerk your head around to see where that sound came from. The SoundBar is essentially a center channel that does a decent job of separating left and right effects.

The SoundBar is powered by three 2″ divers; two of them are active, full-range speakers, while the third is passive and handles the bass. The device is controlled by a single knob that handles power, volume and muting. The line-in and headphone jacks are also useful, and they give you audio ports right at your fingertips.

It’s certainly priced right, and if you’re looking for a clear, compact speaker that won’t need its own room and require multiple wall and ceiling mountings, this is a great choice.

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Altec Lansing’s new ultra-portable iPod/MP3 speaker, the Orbit, hit my desk recently.

Battery-powered and at under 3″, the iM207 Orbit doesn’t look like much. I mean, how much power can you pull out of 3 AAA batteries?

I gotta say I was surprised. The Orbit’s got a good little “thump” to it. The sound was really impressive for a speaker with no AC power. It’s also LOUD. The Orbit’s volume is controlled by the iPod, and it cranks when turned all the way up.

The Orbit does lose some clarity at full volume, but at 50-80 percent, you get a crisp, clean sound with great bass and highs that are surprisingly clear.

The big test — the theme from “House” played perfectly. The song starts with a crackling record player effect and beams out highs and lows that will test anything. This “House” fan approves.

You get about a full day of battery life out of the unit. Invest in some rechargeables. You might get less per charge, but you won’t have to buy them over, and over, and over again. Orbit is also shock-resistant so you can use it in any iPod application.

The Orbit works with any audio source that accepts a 3.5mm or 2.5mm headphone jack, and there are dozens of cheap adapters that will let you use it for other devices. It’s small with a big sound, cheap price tag and excellent sound.

Check out Altec’s FAQ for technical support.

Speaker features:

• Sound clarity with depth — powered by acoustic tayloring
• Fusion360 technology — Integrates a cone design with a custom-built Altec Lansing speaker to project a 360-degree sound field
• Personal configuration — place the Orbit on its edge for directed, more personal listening

Quick hits:

Developer: Altec Lansing
Launch Date: November 15, 2007
Price: MSRP $39.95 ($29.95 in most stores)

Overall: 4 out of 5 stars