KICK IT OLD-SCHOOL Once you've tired of the tinny treble of those all-too-common white earbuds, it's time to match your MP3 player with the headphones it deserves. These right-angled beauties from Danish stereo masters Bang & Olufsen offer crisp high-fidelity sound-great for immersing yourself in full-bodied choirs or bringing back the bass, with minimal sound leakage to fellow commuters. Developed over a decade ago by Canadian industrial designer Steve McGugan, the svelte Form 2s were about to be retired when Apple convinced B&O to reissue the phones after the runaway success of its iPod. So, gift-wise, you're not giving some newfangled gadget-you're passing on a classic. Bang & Olufsen Form 2 headphones, $100; Bang & Olufsen
GET THE BEST PLASMA TELEVISION EVER MADE For those who have yet to embrace the flat-panel revolution, patience has served you well: The pinnacle of plasma technology is in stores right now. According to Consumer Reports, which tested a range of LCD and plasma televisions earlier this year, Panasonic's 50-inch Viera (TH-50PZ700) reproduced the finest detail and most vibrant colours on the market. Not only that, the magazine found the blacks so deep they "lent an almost three-dimensional look to the images." This is high praise for a television, forcing the stalwart publication to declare this model the "best they've ever tested." Other things you may want to know about the Viera: It comes with an SD slot to display images direct from your digital camera and a slide-show setting that turns the TV into a virtual gallery. Details like that will come in handy when your neighbours, who now officially own inferior LCDs and plasmas, drop by to watch yours. $3,500; Panasonic
READ MORE (AND MORE) Think of it as an iPod for bookworms. Sony's new digital book, called the Reader, marks the company's latest push toward a future where we curl up in an armchair with our favourite plastic tablet. (This is not a bad thing.) The Reader's claim to fame is its screen: Most flat-panel screens are backlit, making them unreadable outdoors. But the Reader uses "E Ink," a technology that gives its black-and-white display a paper-like quality, clear even in bright sunlight. The Reader stores up to 160 e-books at a time, and Sony promises more than 7,500 page turns on a single charge. Hundreds of books can be downloaded through Sony's iTunes-like store, as well as from vendors like Amazon.com. The selection is still spotty (James Frey-yes; Robertson Davies-no) and, for now at least, you'll have to pick up your Reader south of the border (Sony's mum on when it will arrive in Canadian stores); hence, it isn't surprising that e-books have not yet laid waste to the nation's bookstores. But then, this story's just beginning. Sony PRS-505, $300; Sony