Downloadable Video Games

Any avid PC gamers knows of the wonderful world that is Cloud-based gaming. Traditionally, when you buy a PC game, you’d go to the store (or order online) and come home with a disc and CD-key. Cloud-based game purchases are a bit different. You buy the game online, and instead of a physical copy, the game is associated with a user account and available for download any time you like. It’s all handled electronically, so you could purchase a game, even on Christmas, and download it instantly.

There are a handful of online stores that allow instant downloads for many titles, including www.Newegg.com and www.Amazon.com, but none do it quite as well as Steam. With a Steam account, you can purchase games from the massive Steam library either for yourself or as a gift which you can send to any other Steam users (or e-mail address, though the recipient will need to create a Steam account before activating the gift). What’s better is that Steam is having a giant holiday sale that will be going on through the New Year. Here are a few popular Steam titles:

Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – The sequel to the popular game Oblivion, Skyrim is one of the hottest titles this year.

Batman: Arkham City – For those who prefer action packed story-based game play, Arkham City definitely hits the spot.

Modern Warfare 3 – The Call of Duty series is one of the most popular online FPS out there, and Modern Warfare 3 is its latest installment.

Portal 2 – Somewhat of a casual puzzle game, Portal 2 is an FPS that thinks outside of the box. Be prepared for some quick witted humor and addictive game play in both single and multi player modes.

Not shopping for a PC gamer? The Xbox, PS3, and Wii all have online stores, though they are a bit more limited. The Xbox Marketplace has a decent game library, but transferring gifts can be difficult, and you will need a Windows Live account. The PlayStation Network has an equally impressive library, but many of its games cannot be downloaded. The Wii Shopping Channel (accessed on the Wii itself) is actually the most limited of the three. It generally only has indie titles and previous console classics available for download, not that there’s anything wrong with the classics.

Other Downloadables

Games aren’t the only thing you can download. Apple iTunes, Amazon MP3 (complete with the Music Gift Store), and Google Music all have just about every song/album you can imagine, all for sale, and all available instantly.

Shopping for someone who has a tablet or e-reader? Why not get them an E-Book? Amazon has a lofty E-Book store, and Google’s is certainly filling its shelves quickly. And don’t forget iTunes.

Movie purchases, unfortunately, haven’t really moved into the realm of instantly downloadable purchases; however, online rental subscriptions can be purchased in the blink of an eye. Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Blockbuster Total Access offer movies delivered to your mailbox or streaming over the internet.

Gift Cards

Yes, gift cards start getting into the realm of impersonal gifts, but they still work well in a pinch. Not only do many stores, restaurants, and establishments offer gift card purchases online, you can also run down to the local supermarket (most of them anyway) and select from a handful of popular choices, like Best Buy, Starbucks, iTunes, and nearby restaurants.

Apple iPad 2

For anyone who already owns an iPhone or iPod Touch, the iPad 2 is absolutely the best choice, so long as you don’t mind paying a bit of a premium for the Apple flare. Its iOS interface is essentially identical to all of the other iOS products, including the iPhone and iPod Touch, so there’s really no learning curve. With its 1GHz dual-core A5 processor, it performs quite well, too.

Asus Eee Pad Transformer Prime

If performance is what you’re after, though, the Eee Pad Transformer Prime is the way to go. It’s the first tablet with Nvidia’s Tegra 3 Quad-Core (yes, 4 cores) processor. It will have an optional keyboard dock that basically turns it into a fully functioning laptop, just like its predecessor, the Eee Pad Transformer (note the absence of “Prime”). One caveat: the Prime is scheduled for release on December 19^th, so securing one for Christmas day might not be so easy. The original Transformer is still a great (and affordable) choice, as is the Eee Pad Slider.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 was the first Android tablet that Apple was actually scared of (and even fought against in court). Marking a new era in Android devices, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is all about sleek styling paired with cool performance. Its dual-core Tegra 2 processor and Android 3.0 Honeycomb operating system are fairly common in high-end tablets, but none do it quite so stylishly. It looks as nice as the iPad 2 (it’s even thinner than the iPad 2), and it performs as well as the iPad 2. No wonder Apple was afraid of it.

Sony Tablet S

Another dual-core Tegra 2 Android Tablet, the Tablet S sets itself apart by offering both hardware and software features other tablets lack. For starters, it is PlayStation Certified, meaning it can install and play many games from Sony’s PlayStation Store. Sony has also outfitted it with its very own Bravia display technology for a vivid visual experience. To top it all off, the Tablet S includes an integrated IR blaster, making it a very capable universal remote. Overall, it’s a nearly unbeatable multimedia device.

Amazon Kindle Fire

You may think of the Kindle Fire as more of an E-Reader rather than a tablet, but its color screen, gaming apps, web browser, and video streaming capabilities beg to differ. Sure, it lacks things like a camera, microphone, and GPS, but with a price tag of just $200, it’s half as expensive as the cheapest tablet on this list. Bottom line: if you’re looking for a reliable and functional tablet, and you don’t mind forgoing a few bells and whistles, the Kindle Fire is the best deal you’ll find for a while.