Apple iPad Mini. Photo courtesy Apple Computer Inc.

1. Apple iPad mini
The late Steve Jobs once declared 7-inch tablets too tiny to be useful, but the company he cofounded decided otherwise when it saw consumers snapping up smaller slates made by its competitors. The result is the iPad Mini, which does nearly everything its predecessor does, but at a much lower price. The iPad Mini has a 7.9-inch screen that works well for Web browsing and streaming video, although the resolution is surprisingly lower than that of Apple’s 7-inch competitors, which cost $80 to $130 less. The iPad Mini includes optional 4G LTE service, which costs an additional $130 plus a monthly cellular charge. The tablet’s aluminum and glass exterior is sleek and slim—just what you’d expect from Apple. Its front- and rear-facing cameras capture high-definition pictures and video too. Its biggest advantage can be summed up in one word: apps. Apple’s App Store has more than 275,000 programs created for the iPad—a vastly greater selection than what you’ll find in competing app markets from Google, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. Priced from $329 for a Wi-Fi model with 16GB of storage to $659 for a Wi-Fi plus cellular unit with 64GB; the iPad Mini is the upscale option in a crowded market.

Top 4 Tiny Tablets The Saturday Evening Post

Microsoft Surface RT

Microsoft Surface RT. Photo courtesy Microsoft.

While the Apple iPad is the, um, apple of everyone’s eye, the Microsoft Surface RT may be the best iPad challenger to date. Featuring a tablet version of touch-oriented Windows 8 software and an innovative built-in kickstand and a screen cover that doubles as a keyboard, the Surface RT looks like a winner. As of press time, its release was scheduled for October 26. If you can wait a bit, other hardware manufacturers, including Asus,
Dell, Lenovo, and Samsung, plan to sell Windows RT tablets, too.
Price: Microsoft Surface RT $300-$800.

Nintendo 3DS XL and Wii U

Nindento 3DS XL. Photo courtesy Nintendo of America Inc.

Game consoles and games are always welcome gifts, and Nintendo has the novelty edge this season with two new products. Its 3DS XL is a larger version of its 3DS handheld console, and the Wii U console (on sale November 18) has an innovative touch-screen controller called the GamePad that works as a handheld game machine when your TV is off.
Price: 3DS XL $200; Wii U $300 (basic), $350 (deluxe).

Apple MacBook Air

Apple MacBook Air. Photo courtesy Apple Inc.

The ultra-slim Apple MacBook Air is a top tech pick among well-heeled gift-givers, but a new crop of Windows 8 Ultrabooks merit a closer look. Thin and light like the MacBook Air but with a lower price tag, Ultrabooks are easy to carry and turn on instantly like a smartphone or tablet. One notable and affordable example is the Lenovo IdeaPad U310, which is 0.7-inch thick and weighs 3.7 pounds. Future Ultrabooks will feature touchscreens with the touch-and-swipe capabilities of mobile devices. This may raise the question, are such devices more tablet than laptop? (Fortunately that’s not your problem.)
Price: MacBook Air $1,000-$1,500; Windows 8 Ultrabooks $800 (average price); Lenovo IdeaPad U310 $704.

Barnes & Noble’s Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight

Nook Simple Touch GlowLight. Photo Courtesy Barnes & Noble Inc.

Bookworm on your shopping list? Barnes & Noble’s Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight solves a major shortcoming of non-backlit eReaders: Namely that the screen is very difficult to read in a dimly lit environment. As its name suggests, the product has a backlight that you turn on or off, making reading a whole heck of a lot easier in the sun or in the dark.
Price: $140.

LG Mouse Scanner

LG Mouse Scanner. Photo courtesy LG USA.

If you’re shopping for something truly unique, the LG Mouse Scanner is a computer mouse and scanner in one device: Simply click its scan button and roll the mouse across documents, magazine pages, photos, or anything else you’d like to digitize. It converts scanned text into editable Word documents, too.
Price: $130.

Canon EOS M

Canon EOS M. Photo courtesy Canon Inc.

As with all things tech, the camera market is changing rapidly. With the improved quality of smartphone cameras, there’s a drop in demand for basic point-and-shoot cameras, notes Yung Trang, president and editor-in-chief of TechBargains.com. But premium SLR cameras are still in high demand. For example, the Canon EOS M offers super high resolution, better lenses, and it allows even amateurs to take professional quality photos and video.
Price: $800.

Google Nexus 7

Google Nexus 7. Photo courtesy Google Inc.

Shopping for a tablet, but trying to stick to a budget? The Google Nexus 7 is an affordable, high-quality product with a bright 7-inch screen; a 1.2-megapixel, front-facing camera; and Android Beam, an NFC feature that’s handy for exchanging information wirelessly with compatible devices. Other 7-inch tablets to check out include new versions of the popular Amazon Kindle Fire
and the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet.
Price: Google Nexus 7 $200-$250; Amazon Kindle Fire $160-$600; Nook Tablet $180-$200.

Samsung Galaxy S III

Samsung Galaxy S III. Photo courtesy Samsung.

Looking for an Android phone? The Samsung Galaxy S III boasts a gorgeous (and ginormous) 4.8-inch display, yet fits comfortably in one’s hand. Slim and stylish, the handset has a slightly curved shape, supports 4G LTE networks, and includes a great 8-megapixel, rear-facing camera.
Price: $200 with a 2-year contract from multiple carriers.

Apple iPhone 5

Apple iPhone 5. Photo courtesy Apple Inc.

Naturally the new Apple iPhone 5 will be at the top of many “Dear Santa” letters. Its 4-inch, high-resolution display is slightly longer but not wider than the 3.5-inch screens of previous iPhones. This sleek, aluminum-and-glass handset supports speedy 4G LTE cellular connections, has better front- and rear-facing cameras, and adds a few bells and whistles, such as spoken driving directions with turn-by-turn navigation.
Price: $200 with a 2-year contract from multiple carriers.

Apple iPad

Apple iPad. Photo courtesy Apple Inc.

Finally, the third-generation Apple iPad and its predecessor the iPad 2 remain at the head of the tablet pack. The latest model has a dazzling high-res screen, a better rear-facing camera, and the Siri voice assistant popularized by those ubiquitous, and, to some, annoying, TV ads. (Look for Apple to debut a smaller iPad very soon.)
Price: Apple iPad $500-$830; iPad 2 $400-$530.

Your Ultimate Hi-Tech Gift Guide The Saturday Evening Post

Landscaper’s Companion

With 15,000-plus pictures and information on more than 25,000 plants, this app is a virtual encyclopedia of gardening. Want the specifics on a plant’s sun exposure, water usage, growth rate, and bloom times? Comprehensive search tools make these facts easy to find. The app currently lacks information on tropicals and orchids, but we expect this to be remedied soon, as the developer periodically adds additional plants and images for free.
Price: $2.99 for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and $4.99 for Android devices.

Grow Your Own

How do I know when my blueberries are going to be ripe? How can I keep aphids away from my roses? This handy app from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) provides essential advice for part-time farmers. Grow Your Own steps you through the growing process month-by-month, recommending the best times to plant, prune, weed, mulch, and harvest, depending on the crop. And if you need to buy seeds and supplies, the app’s “Buy Now” button links directly to the RHS Online Plant Shop. Hey, the app is free, and they’ve got to earn a living somehow.
Price: Free for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

Bugs in the Garden

Blast those infernal bugs! If you need help ID’ing the creepy crawlies devouring your daffodils, Bugs in the Garden can help. With more than 40 photos and illustrations of beetles, moths, aphids, caterpillars, grubs, and other common bugs, this app helps you spot troublesome and beneficial insects alike. It also includes tips on how to attract helpful bugs (like ladybugs) and send the bad ones packing.
Price: Free for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch and Android devices.

FlowerPedia

If you’re a flower person, this app’s for you. There are three versions of FlowerPedia. The free “lite” version has 100 high-resolution flower photos and limited information on flowering plant families from around the globe. The iPhone edition is far more comprehensive: 2,800 flower images; a search tool for finding flowers by common name, Latin name, and country and state/province; and the ability to identify flowers by their anatomy. The $9.99 iPad version is the most beautiful of the trio, with larger, dazzling photos that turn your tablet into a coffee-table flower book.
Price: Free “lite” version; $4.99 for iPhone; $9.99 for iPad.

Moon Gardening

This visually appealing app is useful if you want our nearest celestial neighbor (i.e., the Moon) to guide your gardening practices. Lifeware Solutions’ Moon Gardening brings this ancient practice to modern times by offering time-tested growing tips, such as the best times to plant, prune, weed, and harvest crops based on the current Moon phase in your area. It’s a bit scant on details, though. For instance, Moon Gardening has too many links to outside sources on the topic, rather than providing the information itself. It’s fun to use, however, particularly if you’re curious about the Moon’s phases.
Price: $1.99 for iPad.

Garden Plan Pro

As gardening apps go, Growing Interactive’s Garden Plan Pro is a tad pricey, but its planting toolkit is much more comprehensive than most garden-variety guides. The app’s extensive design tools let you create a simple garden with single plants—or far more sophisticated projects with fruits and vegetables planted in multiple rows and/or squares. Garden Plan Pro has detailed growing information for more than 140 plants, and offers sage advice on how to rotate crops. The app takes a bit of practice to master, however, so be sure to watch the tutorial video before getting your hands dirty.
Price: $19.99 for iPad.

Grow 2.0 The Saturday Evening Post