Gadgets galore make great gifts

Having trouble deciding on gadget gifts for the holidays? Drowning in a sea of confusing options as wave after wave of information about megapixels and megabytes come crashing in, along with worries about the megadoses of megabucks it will take to buy them?

Well, your friendly newspaper lighthouse is on the horizon, ready to guide you on a course toward sanity.

OK, we admit it, the ocean of digital cameras, HDTVs, camcorders, cell phones, videogames, laptops and MP3 music players is too vast to navigate, so you're on your own with that stuff. But here are a few interesting and probably affordable items that have wafted to the surface in the churning sea of consumer electronics and accessories. Cling to them and ride the tide toward Dec. 25.

Lots of big-screen projectors carry a big-time price tag — several thousand dollars — but the Zoombox DVD Entertainment Projector ($299, www.hasbro.com) might be a good option.

The Zoombox is designed to turn any room into a theater. The portable device can play DVDs and CDs and display images on a wall, ceiling or screen up to 60 inches diagonally. In addition to playing discs, other entertainment systems can be plugged in, allowing for videogames, digital video and still camera images and VCR- and cable-box-supplied content to be displayed.

The Zoombox has built-in speakers but also a headphone jack.

Folks wanting a more sophisticated projector might want to try the Optoma HD70 ($1,000, www.optomausa.com), which can throw a high-def image onto a wall or screen as little as 33.55 inches or as large as 310 inches.

The whisper-quiet device, with a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio, can be put on a tabletop or mounted from a ceiling. It weighs only 5.6 pounds.

For people who like their images to be a little more intimate, the Tao Digital Picture Keychain ($59.99, www.taoelectronics.com) is a mini picture frame that can store and display digital images. The user downloads up to 50 images from a computer or cell phone and decides which one to show.

The Tao device, available in several styles and colors, contains a rechargeable battery.

Speaking of batteries, people constantly running short of juice might like the Solar Style Solarola ($39, www.solarstyle.com), a solar charger for cell phones and other portable gadgets. The company hails the device as eliminating the need to carry around extra batteries, saying all the user needs to do is charge the Solarola in the sun and plug it into the portable device using the correct connector.

People needing power from nonbattery sources might want to consider a PowerSquid Surge Protector. Flexity LLC offers three types, including the Surge 3000-Calamari Edition ($80, www.powersquid.net).