Dr. Mac's Tried and True Apple Holiday Gift Guide for Geeks (Part 3)

Dr. Mac’s Rants & Raves
Episode #101 

Here’s my final batch of reasonably priced gadgets (and holders for gadgets), all of which will be appreciated by the geeks you love. 

The Venturo from Moshi is a slim backpack with a unique single-strap design that lets you easily swing the bag from back to front for access. It’s thinner than most backpacks, but still has space for a 15-inch laptop, an iPad, an iPhone, and all associated paraphernalia with room to spare.

Slick design and a slim profile make the Venturo a viable alternative to a bulky backpack

The Genius Brands Genius Pack is a slick little light-duty travel bag with a unique twist. While not big enough for a laptop, it’s perfect for everything else you might need at hand while you travel. And the unique twist is an innovative design that lets you strap it to the seat back in front of you and have all of your items within reach. 

The Genius Pack offers easy access to all of your gear when you travel

The introduction of new iPhones always foreshadows the introduction of new iPhone cases. Here are four of my favorites:

The STM Harbor offers dual-layer protection with a flexible hinged bottom that folds back to become a stand, and also makes it easy to use your iPhone with charging and speaker docks.

The hinged bottom lets you use your iPhone with any dock or cable  

Zerochroma makes some of my favorite cases and its new VarioEdge case is no exception. Like all Zerochroma cases, it includes the signature FluxStand, a 360° rotating kickstand that provides virtually unlimited viewing angles in both portrait and landscape modes. (Tip: You can also use the kickstand as a handle for shooting stills or videos).

Zerochroma's rotating multi-angle kickstand folds flat when not in use  

Silk Innovation’s Stealth Armor Tough Case adds very little bulk while providing military-grade protection against drops and dings. It also includes three interchangeable metal back plates that match the new iPhone colors. And, at $17.99, it’s truly a bargain.

Stealth Armor Tough Case offers "military-grade" protection at an extremely reasonable price

Another protective case with interchangeable iPhone-colored back plates is the Trentium 6 from New Trent. Dust and water-resistant plugs at the Lightning and headphone ports and an integrated clear screen protector make it shock and dust-proof as well as water-resistant.

The New Trent Trentium 6 is dust- and water-resistantant and includes a screen protector

Last, but definitely not least, remember that you can turn all those photos you’ve shot this year into gorgeous full-color hard bound or softcover books using iPhoto. They’re easy to create and with prices as low as $9.99 for a 6 by 8-inch 20-page softcover book, they’re extremely affordable as well. I’ve made a lot of these suckers over the years and every single recipient has gushed about how much they love their photo book. Sadly, it’s too late to get one in time for Christmas this year (the cutoff was Dec. 17), but they’re so nice and make such awesome gifts, I felt obliged to mention them anyway, ‘cause they make such fabulous gifts even if they arrive a few days late…

 A photo book from Apple is one of the most memorable gifts you could give...

And that’s all he wrote.

Resources:

Venturo slim backpack. Moshi. $119-149. 

Genius Pack. Genius Brands. $58. 

STM Harbor. STM Bags. $24.99. 

Zerochroma Vario Edge. Zerochroma. $31.96.

Stealth Armor Tough Case. Silk Innovation. $17.99. 

Trentium 6. New Trent. $21.95. 

Photo Books. Apple. From $3.99.