It is no secret that the gadget industry has undergone some very radical changes in the past few years. In earlier days, a gadget was judged primarily by its functional value while little or no attention was paid to its appearance. But things have come a long way from then. Now, both the functional and aesthetic value of a gadget are equally important. All these factors have led to the production of some suave and exciting gadgets, which can make for perfect gifts for women.

In the last blog post, we gave you a list of the best gadget gifts for men. It’s time to shift attention to women now. Here is our list for the best gadget gifts for women:

1. Jaybird Sportsband 2- This pair of headphones is designed like a headband and it comes in a variety of appealing colors. The inside of the headband is lined with rubber which makes them fit perfectly around the head. The Jaybird Sportsband can also double up as a Bluetooth device, which means that you can also take calls in the middle of listening to music. The controls on the headphone can be used to pause, play or stop music at any time. The best part is that they stick to your head even when you are jogging on the treadmill. And finally the sound is pretty great as well. Put all of this together and we have got ourselves a winner.

2. Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer- True to its name, this little wonder can print photographs instantly. It is tiny enough to fit into a pocket and it prints photos in a jiffy. While the photo size (it can only print 2 by 3 sized photographers) and quality might not be spectacular, it is still a cute gift to give to your girlfriend or sister.

3. Digital Photo Frame- In the older days, we used to frame photos and make collages and gift them to our mothers. Well, things have gone digital now. The digital photo frame is a wonderful, modern take on the traditional idea of making photo collages. It’s time to go looking for old photographs in the attic or the basement, scan them and use them with a digital photo frame. They have a smooth and minimalistic design and you can customize the photo patterns. The design, along with the photographs will add a different dimension to your mom’s living room.

4. iPod Touch- As a part of this series of posts, we have been suggesting one gadget as a back-up gift plan when nothing else seems to fit. The iPod Touch is our suggestion for such a scenario. If you can’t seem to zero in on any other gadget, you can always get the iPod Touch. Powered by the critically approved iOS, the iPod Touch can do a lot more besides playing music, it can record HD video, check e-mail, rent movies, take pictures and what not. There is absolutely no reason why a woman would not want to own this beautiful gadget.

Most people will fall into one of three printer categories: the document printer, the photo printer, and the office All-in-One. There is, of course, a bit of overlap in each category, but we’ll let you know just what will work best for your needs.

Document Printers

If all you’re looking to do is print documents, such as for work or school, you really don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars on a new printer. Low-cost printing is the goal here, and there are a few things to look out for, most specifically, replacement ink costs.

The HP DeskJet 1000 – The DeskJet 1000 is not only an affordable printer, but its black and tri-color ink cartridges are affordable as well – something uncommon for inkjet printers. It’s nothing fancy, only printing about 16ppm (pages per minute), but it gets the job done.

For those printing in a bit higher volume, you may want to consider a laser printer. Toner cartridges used by laser printers generally last much longer than their inkjet counterparts, significantly lowering the cost per page.

The Samsung ML-1665 – The ML-1665 is a great place to start for an affordable laser printer. You only get black and white printing, but cost savings is worth it if you expect to print a lot.

Photo Printers

For people who like to print their own photos, it’s important to focus on print quality. Print resolution, given in DPI (Dots per Inch) is important, but one of the best things you can do is check how many color cartridges the printer uses. If it uses a single tri-color cartridge, it’s likely not worth it. Five color cartridges is a good start (commercial grade photo printers use upwards of 8).

Canon Pixma MG5350 – The Pixma MG5350 is quite possibly the best valued printer on the market, and is certainly the best choice for the avid home photo printer on a budget. Print quality is excellent, and it even includes additional features like built-in WiFi and a scanner.

Office All-in-Ones

In an office environment, scanning can be just as important as printing, and that’s where All-in-One printers come in handy. Most printers these days actually fall into the All-in-One category, so there is a huge range to choose from.

Canon Pixma MX885 – The Pixma MX885 (and really most of the Pixma MX line) makes for an excellent office All-in-One at a very affordable price. Its print quality is quite good, and it is also capable of duplex printing (aka automatic printing on both sides of the paper). It’s full of useful features that make it a great office printer.

While the examples we’ve given are great choices, there are plenty of other excellent printers out there. Check out our top ranked printers to get a feel for which might be right for your needs.

Setting up Cloud Print

The setup process for Google Cloud Print is extremely simple. You will need to install the Google Chrome Web Browser on a Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 computer (Mac and Linux support coming soon). Inside of the Chrome browser, click the small wrench icon in the top right corner and select Options. In the options menu, click on the “Under the Hood” tab and scroll to the bottom of the page to enable Google Cloud Print.

Now you’re ready to start adding printers. Simply click on “Manage Print Settings” and click on the Printers tab. This will allow you to add, remove, or search for printers connected to your computer. Google Cloud Print will work with any printer connected to your computer, whether it’s a USB connection, Wi-Fi, or even Bluetooth. If your computer can print from it, so can Google Cloud Print.

Using Cloud Print

To use Google Cloud Print, such as while viewing an e-mail in Gmail for mobile, click on the dropdown menu in the top right and select Print. This will take you to a list of Cloud Print printers you’ve associated with your account. Choose which one you’d like and select Print.

Google Cloud Print does require that your computer be turned on and logged in, and the printer must be on for the service to work. If your computer or printer is off while trying to print a document, it will be entered into a queue that will execute when the computer/printer is turned on. This may seem like a nuisance, but the purpose of Google Cloud Print is to allow you to print documents while out and about. You’ll still need to pick up the document once it has been printed. In some situations, such as sending a document to your office printer while at home, the queuing system would be beneficial, so that the document isn’t lost or misplaced before you get there.

Cloud Printers also cannot currently be shared with other Google accounts, though this feature will be implemented in the future. Once implemented, you could potentially use Cloud Print as a sort of pseudo fax service amongst your friends, family, and coworker’s shared printers. There’s no word on when this feature might be added, but until then, Google Cloud Print is still extremely useful for printing from mobile devices (devices that very rarely have any sort of printer support).