Cool Christmas gifts your kids will admire you for

MANILA, Philippines - You are probably feeling the Christmas spirit already and most likely, parents are in a mad last-minute dash to find a good Yuletide gift for their kids. However, finding the perfect item for them these days is a lot more complicated than you’d expect.

With thousands of gift options in the market, how do you know which one will catch your son or daughter’s fancy, aside from being budget-friendly? Do keep some of these things in mind when you go Christmas gift-hunting.

You can never go wrong with useful gadgets. Gadgets are often most welcome regardless of occasion, and your kid will surely love those that he or she can carry around and use for school tasks and presentations, like the Acer Iconia W510.

This 10.1-inch tablet works partly as a portable computing tool that connects easily to the Internet in 2.5 seconds through the Acer Always Connect technology. They can also use it communicate and share multimedia content seamlessly to other computing devices via the AcerCloud, making collaboration faster for group projects.

The Acer Iconia W510, however, is not just a tablet. If your teenage daughter wants to work on her book report or finish that PowerPoint presentation, keyboard docking allows her to shift immediately from tablet to laptop mode.

The tablet fastens to the keyboard by a single 40-pin connector for hassle-free attaching and detaching, and positioned on the desktop and tilted at 295 degrees for video viewing and presentation in class, and comfortable browsing.

Also, no need to worry that it will shut down in mid-presentation because the Acer Iconia W510 will last up to 18 hours, or around three days of Web browsing and e-mail at six hours per day.

The Windows 8 connected-standby feature allows programs to remain connected and updated even during power standby and while the screen is off, truly an amazing tool that will enhance your kids’ learning experience.

Balance functionality with affordability. Children and “tweens” don’t have to go into their first computing experience with a savings-busting device. Affordable options like the Acer Iconia Tab A210 allow them to explore the latest technology without you fearing they could mess up an expensive buy.

The whole family can enjoy listening to music, playing games and watching videos together in this soft-backed, elegantly patterned tablet, or the kids can read their favorite e-books or browse online magazines.

Powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 3 processor, the Acer Iconia Tab A210 speeds up surfing and allows kids to do several activities and open many programs simultaneously. They can play their favorite games at console quality and tap the benefits of the NVIDIA GeForce GPU and six-axis motion sensor in the tablet.

They can watch HD movies in the comfort of their own bedroom, take a photo with the 2MP HD camera, and have fun with camera and photo editing. Those who love to chat will be thrilled with the video-calling feature, while those who pretend they are busy can open the Polaris Office applications.

What’s more, the Acer Iconia Tab A210 offers ultimate privacy and security through “face recognition technology” so they won’t worry that someone will accidentally read their digital diary, or them misplacing the keys to their journal. Plus, they will enjoy widgets like the digital clock, and weather information is animated for effect and supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS.

Pump up their “cool” meter. We always advise kids to be humble and refrain from flaunting their possessions. But like any normal “tween” or teen, they have a need to belong. Strutting around a cool gadget can probably make them “cool” among peers, like the Acer Aspire S7 ultrabook, and probably be the envy of friends.

This tablet-thin, ultra-light laptop has the Corning Gorilla Glass 2 cover that combines white glass, glowing light and anodized aluminum for that sophisticated ultra “cool” appearance.

But don’t be fooled by its thin body. It can certainly endure long trips with its aluminum unibody and scratch-resistant display. And with the Acer ComfyView LED-backlit TFT LCD supporting 1920 x 1080p resolution and 350-nit brightness, watching movie downloads will take on an entirely different turn, while a hotkey allows the unit to be tilted flat at 180 degrees so your child and his friends can view files and videos together.

The Aspire S7 series has a full-HD IPS touch screen with wide viewing angle and 10-finger multipoint touch. The 11.6-inch type has a 128GB SSD and a 67-, 68- or 72-key Acer FineTip backlit keyboard, plus a multi-gesture touchpad for two-finger scroll, pinch, rotate and flip.

The 13.3-inch version, meanwhile, has up to 256GB capacity, and a 68-, 69- or 73-key backlit keyboard, and an Acer ZoomPerfect touchpad with single- or five-finger scroll, pinch, rotate and flip.

The EL-backlit keyboard comes with a light sensor that automatically detects changes in lighting conditions and adjusts the backlight brightness, a most useful feature when your kids need to study even past their bedtime, while Acer’s TwinAir cooling system, with two strategically located fans, improves heat management to keep the keyboard cool.

Most of all, if your child is an active teenager who zooms from place to place and task to task, he won’t have the patience to wait for his ultrabook to power on. With Acer Green Instant On, this won’t be a problem.

The Acer Aspire S7 ultrabook boots in six seconds, resumes from Sleep mode in 1.5 seconds and can last 80 days in deep sleep. Isn’t that fast and cool enough?

These are just a few of the reasons why you should get the Christmas present that will boost your child’s confidence and techie spirit. Remember, if your kid thinks he is cool, he thinks you are cool, too.

See more of these products at www.acer.com.ph. Follow Acer Philippines on Facebook and Twitter. Shop for Acer products online at acer.multiply.com.