Here are some potential Christmas gifts I’ve been reading about that some lucky, tech-inclined folks would be thankful to receive.

* Motorola W755: While the Apple iPhone is still the buzz and RIM’s Storm and Bold phones are making waves, Verizon’s Motorola W755 is an often overlooked but excellent cell phone choice. The W755 has excellent call quality along with Verizon’s outstanding coverage.

This well-designed flip phone has an excellent balance of features including a camera, a video recorder, MP3 playback ability and a free contact list program that lets you keep a synced copy of your address book online. This is a lifesaver if you lose your phone or want to move up to another model which also supports the contact manager.

You can also use it as a mobile voice recorder in addition to its music features. All audio features require you to purchase a small inexpensive memory card which fits under the battery. Prices vary and you can get it free with some Verizon plans.

* Western Digital WD TV HD media player: This unit connects to an HDTV or regular television. It allows you to hook up two USB drives or smaller flash drives in order to play content you’ve downloaded on your computer. It will recognize MP3s, MPEG 4 movies such as the popular Divx format, and JPEG photographs.

A review at computershopper.com praised the video quality of this device as outstanding. I hope to get one to demo soon, I’ll update you on my experience with it if I am able to do so.

* Iomega’s ScreenPlay TV Link: This is a slightly less expensive unit that works much the same as the Western Digital device. It seems to support even more formats, so check out the reviews on both of these to see which would be better for your tech buddy.

* Sony XDR-F1HD radio tuner: This is getting great reviews at several online stereo sites for its high quality and low price, less than $100. It is an AM-FM and high-definition audio device that must be hooked up to a power source with speakers, such as a receiver. I prefer tuners to standalone radios simply because the quality is usually so much better, and reviewers are saying that this model may be one of the best ever made.

* A custom-made photo book: Sites such as lulu.com make it easy and affordable to produce high-quality books of almost any design. You simply upload your manuscript or book design and these sites will take orders for your book. You can specify almost any book style you can think of. This would make a wonderful gift for families with many children.

Also consider these stocking stuffers:

* Blank CDs and DVDs: You can’t have too many of these.

* Power squid: This little cutie solves the problem of wall warts, those large power supplies that eat up all the space on power bars or strips. It has five outlets placed at the end of short cords, making it possible to use wall warts in all of them if necessary. The other end plugs into an outlet as usual.

Finally, give your time and attention to your friends. I used to be a bah-humbug kind of guy about Christmas. I had all the stock reasons: too commercial, too much hassle, etc. Then it occurred to me while teaching a class on creativity that an experience is more about what we bring to it rather than what we expect from it. So, bring on the egg nog and let’s get with it.

Chattanooga Roller Girls ready for first "bout" next month