Gift Giving Guy

Whether it’s a good book, a gadget, a game or genuine toy for all ages, great gifts are engaging. I’m a kid at heart, so I love a fun gift that lets me tinker, play or ponder. While women enjoy engaging gifts too, men especially go for the big-boy toys. I’m grateful to receive the iPhone, arguably 2007′s most engaging gift, from my wife. Next week, Apple will unveil its latest innovations at MacWorld in San Francisco.

But this week, competitors paraded their newest gadgets through the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. I can’t imagine owning the show’s stunner — Panasonic’s 150-inch plasma HDTV — any time in my lifetime. This mammoth screen compares in size to nine 50-inch plasma TVs and simply transcends indulgence.

But there were more affordable gadgets, embracing a mix of playful and practical. Take iRobot’s new gutter cleaning robot, Looj 130 ($130, pictured right). This remote-controlled green machine runs on mini-tank treads. It slices, dices and sweeps through gutter leaves with a propeller-like augur. If you looking to give this gift, make sure the Looj will fit your giftee’s gutters.

I can imagine Looj owning my house gutters right now. iRobot tapped into my childhood memories of remote-controlled cars and Tonka trucks to create a yard work toy I could publicly justify (and show off) to my neighbors. Talk about engaging, playful and practical. Now if they only had a Transformers version of the Looj…