Welcome to my second annual gadget gift guide! Last year’s guide was pretty popular with the family and friends, even post-holiday season, so we’re going to give it another go. This one’s a touch late for most holiday shoppers this year, and I apologize for that…but maybe you can find some great deals on this stuff after Christmas (that’s when I may be purchasing some of this, in the spring). We’re going to cover what I think are the best gadgets and electronic gear of 2009. I’m not in the market for every one of these things right now, but if I were this is what I would buy. People come to me all the time and ask “What camera should I buy?” or “What HDTV is best for the money?” Ask no more.

Picks are generally doubled up, with a “best” and a “budget alternative”. “Best HDTV” doesn’t necessarily mean the absolute best TV money can buy, it means it’s the best one for reasonable money. Then I’ll offer a low-cost alternative if you’re willing to sacrifice a few features to save some bucks.

Let’s dive in…

Quick jump to the best…

• HDTV
• Portable GPS
• Laptop
• Portable music player
• Point-and-shoot camera
• Consumer DSLR camera
• Blu-Ray Player
• Overall gadget under $100

Best HDTV

Samsung LN46B650 46″ 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV

This updated version of last year’s pick is still a great performer at an exceptional value. Although I’m still not wild about Samsung’s obsession with putting red gradients on the bottom of their TVs, the quality of their sets can’t be knocked. I’m a big fan of Samsung, and other techheads I speak with generally agree. Good connectivity, good user interfaces, solid build quality, and a great picture at a reasonable price.

You might be surprised that I didn’t pick one of the newfangled LED-backlit LCD televisions. As much as I like the promise that the technology holds, I feel it’s still too early. There’s a lot of change still to come with LED backlighting technology, and what’s out there now is a mixed bag. You could spend quite a lot on an LED television now and have a radically better one out in just a few months. That’s true to a certain extent of all technology of course, but it’s especially pronounced with young tech like LED backlighting.

You’ll generally find this 46″ Samsung set in the $1400-$1500 range, but right now Amazon has it for a stupidly low $1199. Not big enough? Grab the 55-inch version for just $1749. I don’t know if these are short-time sales or what, but they’re fantastic prices.

Budget alternative: Want a big screen under $1k? No problem. The Samsung LN46B550 46″ 1080p LCD HDTV is available for just $869. This very similar set has just one big difference: it only refreshes at 60Hz rather than 120Hz. It’s still a great TV, but be aware that high-speed scenes (like action movies or sports) may not be quite as smooth on this one as the LN46B650.

Best portable GPS

Garmin nuvi 765T 4.3″ GPS navigator with traffic

I’ve had a Garmin for awhile now and I still think they make the best overall GPS units around. The one thing I wish I would have sprung for when I got mine though was to have an included traffic system, so it could route me around traffic jams <em>before</em> I get into them. At the time though, that was only on the really pricey units.

Fortunately, that and much more can now be had on the Garmin nuvi 765T for just a little over $200. Along with built-in traffic and a large 4.3″ screen, it sports what appears to be a much friendlier use interface than what’s been on nuvis for the past few years. The 765T also features a Lane Assist system that tells you which lane you should be in as you approach those Medusa-like splits on large freeways. In metro areas, it will model some buildings in 3D to help you get your bearings. Finally, it can connect to your phone and operate as a hands-free Bluetooth speakerphone.

It also just happens to be an Amazon Editor’s Pick for their Best in GPS & Navigation for 2009. See, they agree with me.

Budget alternative: For about $100, the TomTom ONE 140 is a great inexpensive GPS. It has a smaller screen and doesn’t have all the convenience features like traffic or 3D buildings, but it should get you where you want to go.

Best laptop

Apple MacBook Pro

Probably no shock to anyone, my love affair with my MacBook Pro continues. My ravings are justified, however, every time I see a coworker or friend buy one of these and love it to death also. Yeah, you pay a bit more, but with every product update they get a little more affordable and you get a lot for your money. The 13″ starts at $1199 now and you can save a bit if you buy from Amazon; the 15″ starts at $1699. The build quality in particular of these unibody aluminum chassis is unbelievable. Everything else feels cheap and flimsy in comparison.

Of course, the performance and ease of use with OS X on the machine is nothing to sneeze at either. With a growing user base and record sales every year, the Mac universe is growing and there’s tons of great software available. I made the switch about 3 years ago, and I never have to boot Windows unless I want to test a web site design in Internet Explorer. Fortunately, with a Mac you can run any operating system you want — OS X, Windows, Linux — and even run them all at the same time.

Budget alternative: The non-aluminum 13″ MacBook can be had for a bit under $999. You lose a bit of expandability and the aluminum body of course, but still a great computer. If you want to spend less than that, the Apple Refurb Store is a great place to look and often has amazing deals. I’ve bought many Macs from there; they come with full warranties and are just like new. If you want a PC, I’m afraid I can’t help you.

Best portable music player

Apple iPod touch/iPhone

Believe it or not, this isn’t as much of a slam-dunk as last year. Microsoft’s Zune HD has been impressing a lot of people with its gorgeous screen and beautiful user interface. However, while there are some applications for the Zune, it doesn’t have the enormous app ecosystem that’s available on Apple devices, which enables the iPhone/iPod touch to be so much more than a music player and web browser. For just $180, you can get an 8GB touchscreen portable computer that happens to have a fantastic iPod built into it.

Budget alternative: Looking for something a little more basic? Grab an 8GB iPod nano for $134. No apps, but has a nice screen, plays video, has an FM tuner, and is extremely thin and light. Really, though, it’s almost a sin to buy a nano when you can get the Touch for $45 more.

Best point and shoot camera

Canon PowerShot SD1200IS 10MP with 3x optical IS zoom

Point and shoots are practically appliances at this point — there’s so many to choose from, they all do nearly the same thing and have the same features. It’s mostly a matter of personal preference and how good their user interface is.

Fortunately, you can always rely on Canon PowerShots to be excellent appliances. Even though you can pick up decent cameras in the low $100s these days, it’s worth springing for the $150 SD1200IS to get Canon’s quality image sensor and solid build. Just watch the megapixel count: this 10MP is the absolute highest I would ever want to go in a point and shoot. It’s ludicrous that 10MP is now the “middle of the road” for point and shoot cameras; the more you cram on to that tiny sensor, the more difficult it gets to generate quality low-light images. Unless you’re printing life-sized posters of Chewbacca, 10MP should be more than you ever need. Resist the temptation to “upgrade” to 12MP or 14MP cameras. More MP is not better.

Budget alternative: I don’t even know where to start. There’s so many cameras around the $100-$130 price point it’s impossible to choose. Go to the store and see which one feels right to you. My only point of guidance would be to make sure it uses SD memory cards, because they and their readers/adapters are so ubiquitous.

Best consumer DSLR camera

I did have a pick for this category last year, but this is such a personal choice and the market’s so competitive that I’m not sure it’s responsible to make a selection because the parameters are way beyond what we can get into here. I own a Nikon D90, which is a medium-level consumer DSLR, and I love it to death. Canon has improved their mid-entry-level offering with the T1i, while Nikon has gotten serious about the budget DSLR crowd with the D5000. If you’re interested in getting into this level of camera, there are tons of great choices out there and many more web sites that can help you. I’m a Nikon guy so I can talk all day about what Nikon might be best for you, but you might prefer the feel of a Canon. Try them out and see.

Best Blu-Ray player

LG BD270 Blu-Ray Player

Unlike last year, I do actually have a Blu-Ray pick this time! I think the technology has matured enough and prices have come down (way down) to the point where it totally makes sense to pick one of these up if you have an HDTV.

This LG model gets positive reviews and is quite affordable, available from Amazon now for just $125. The kicker is that it has Netflix integration, meaning that if you have a Netflix account this will connect to their servers and allow you to stream movies and TV shows without any additional cost — or waiting around for discs to be delivered in the mail. Not everything is available on Netflix streaming (yet), but it’s a fantastic feature to have and any Blu-Ray player that doesn’t include this should be instantly off your list. Generally you’ll find it on LG and Samsung players.

Best overall gadget under $100

Joby Gorillapod Flexible Tripod

This year, the best “gadget” under $100 isn’t really a gadget at all — it’s more of an accessory, but it’s just that awesome. The Gorillapod is a great tripod that has flexible legs which can be bent over and around anything you want to secure your camera to — the back of a chair, a tree branch, a fence, the edge of a table, pretty much anything. It’s fantastic for quick self-portraits at family gatherings without going through the hassle of carrying around and setting up a full-sized tripod, or for steadying your camera for long-exposure shots or positioning it at awkward angles. At just $20-$30 depending on the size (you’ll want a beefier one if you’re using it with your big DSLR), it’s one of the most budget-friendly and useful camera accessories out there.