The gifts are starting to get more and more lavish as we head up to the $500 mark. $500 gets you quite the array of tech related gifts. If your first thought was "that's how much an iPad costs!" you're probably not the only one. It's the price point where you can start getting some serious technology for your money. Dive right on in to our 6th day as we continue The 12 Tech Days of Christmas!
121611_day6_aeron2.jpg Herman Miller Aeron Chairs
From $500
Adjustment levers on your crappy office chair not cutting it? Considering you spend 8 (or more) hours out of your 24 hour day plopped at your desk, why not splurge and get something truly comfy. The Herman Miller chairs are Ferrari of office chairs and $500 isn't that bad on the bottom line for your bum's comfort.
121611_day6_ipad2.jpg Apple iPad 2
From $499
We all know we want one - Apple's shiny iPad 2. Even if you have the original, once you've had a chance to play around with the 2nd generation model you'll notice just how much thinner and faster this thing is. Big screen apps and internet browsing plus fuller featured mail and other software make this a much more mature user experience than the iPhone. The iPad is the perfect travel companion for casual work, web browsing, e-mail, movies, and more. A front facing camera for FaceTime video chats with grandma is just icing on the cake.
121611_day6_transformer.jpg ASUS Transformer Prime
$500
Android more your style than the mindless zombies chasing after Apple? The new Transformer Prime is an awesome Android tablet. Metallic design, 18 hours of battery life, all of Android's customizable gooey GUI goodness. A detachable keyboard lets you use this tablet like a traditional laptop too. Love it!
GoPro HD HERO2
$299.99
Tell us this doesn't look absolutely awesome! Strap this purpose-built rugged camera to your helmet, surfboard, roll bar... anywhere you want... and get high definition video of you and your extreme sports buddies. Just look at this footage and tell us you're not in awe!
121611_day6_olympus.jpg Olympus E-PM1 Digital Camera
$449 with free shipping
If your iPhone or generic point and shoot digital camera isn't cutting it but you're not quite ready to upgrade to a DSLR (we admit it's just plain not convenient to carry around), step up to this sweet Olympus point and shoot digital camera with a 12.3 MP sensor, 3" LCD screen, and 14-42mm lens. You can even record full 1080p HD videos.
121611_day6_spotlight.jpg Spotlight Ebony 58" Desk
$499
Oh how we all love this Spotlight desk, available in two sizes at Crate & Barrel. Its clean lines and simple elegance work nicely to mature your home office from that crappy Ikea or Office Depot metal and glass desk. The dark wood or bright white color options are just gorgeous and also hides cables well. A slick drawer is angled with the desk and slots in stealthily.
121611_day6_lcdtv.jpg LG 42LV4400 42-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED-LCD HDTV
$499 with free shipping
Upgrade your bedroom TV from that ready-to-be-tossed 27" CRT to 42" of 1080p high definition LCD goodness. This LG has a fast 120HZ refresh rate and is backlit by LEDs. TVs no longer have to look ugly in the bedroom. Whether you lose sleep or not is another story entirely.
121611_day6_credenza.jpg cb2 saga credenza
$549
Okay, at this point what's another 10% cost overrun? We've already resigned ourselves to the fact that sticking to a strict "under" budget is tough if not impossible when things just slightly on the margin are so good. Let's call it "around" $500 then. This media console has the look and feel of higher end pieces from Room & Board or Crate & Barrel. Fans of mid-century Scandinavian furniture will love this in their living room as a retro flat screen TV stand.
121611_day6_nexus2.jpg Samsung Galaxy Nexus
$300
The hottest new smartphone from Google, sporting Android 4.0, otherwise known as Ice Cream Sandwich. A massive 4.65" 1280x720 Super AMOLED screen lets you see and do more on your phone, although for some it might be too big for your hands (beware, try it out first!). 32GB of internal storage and 1GB of RAM paired with a snappy 1.2GHz processor make for one kickass new smartphone that's not made by Apple.
121611_day6_laptop.jpg Samsung 15.6" AMD Laptop
$380
Not every traveler can make do with a tablet on the road. Sometimes you've just gotta get some real work done, and a laptop is the next best thing to sitting at your desk in the office in front of your work computer. There are tons of laptops in this price point, and this Samsung is just an example of how inexpensive you can get with still quite decent specs. Get the gift of on-the-go productivity this Christmas.

The 12 Tech Days of Christmas at Unplggd

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