The holiday season is a time of peace, harmony, spiritual reflection and love. It’s also an incredible time of gift giving. Whether you’re in the “it’s-all-crass-commercialization” set or the “it-shows-our-love-for-one-another” set, the fact is that many of us will be looking for just the right gift to give.

I’ve compiled this list from a series of Des Moines sources, not from bleeding-edge East/West Coast locales. In fact, I owe a special thank you to several individuals for their help. Mike Williams is the operations manager at the CompUSA in West Des Moines, Chad Pigott is the computer supervisor in the West Des Moines Best Buy, and Teresa Williams is the manager of the downtown Digital Connect location. For the products that each of them suggested, I’ve tried to note that in the product information, along with that retailer’s current retail price. Many of the products listed can be found at several retailers, and you may find different prices around town or on-line.

For each of the product categories, I looked for items that fell into one of the following profiles of tech consumers. “The Geek” is the pure technophile who is always looking for the latest was to make technology work for her. She was the first to carry a Palm Pilot PDA. “The Fashion Plate” thinks that appearance is more important than actual functionality. He always has the coolest looking cell phone. Finally, “The Practical One” uses technology sparingly and seeks out the best buy for the buck. He still uses his PC to “check e-mail, that’s about it.”

Cell Phones More Than Phones

Cell phones are for more than chit-chat these days. The phone to watch, literally, is the Nokia 3650, according to Digital Connect’s White (www.nokiausa.com). The large color screen and round key layout immediately suggest something is different about this phone. The power lies in what is not immediately apparent. The phone sports a digital video/still camera and wireless networking capabilities via Bluetooth (a way to connect devices that are close to each other). The Geek will think this phone makes picture phones passé by providing video storage, playback and sending in addition to still images. Bluetooth gives you the ability to connect to wireless headsets, even to a wireless “dock” for putting your images on your PC.

The HipTop from Danger (www.danger.com) hit the market last year as a hot product and is great for The Fashion Plate. When packaged by T-Mobile as their Sidekick service, it gives you wireless Web browsing, e-mail, AOL Instant Messaging and traditional cell phone calls. It looks like a pregnant pager or small Game Boy. The color screen flips open to reveal a keyboard. The HipTop is great for teen and 20-something users, and can be used to keep track of addresses and appointments.

The Practical One will appreciate the long battery life and durability of Nokia’s 3390 phone (www.nokiausa.com). For a phone designed to make calls and receive calls without the other frills, this is the one.

Audio and Video To Go

Just when you thought you had MP3 music files mastered the game changes. For The Geek on your list, Archos offers the AV320 MPEG4 digital audio and video system (www.archos.com, Best Buy, $549). In about the size of a medium paperback book, you can copy video from your PC, camera, TV or VCR directly to the AV320. You can then play back the video by plugging into a TV or watching right on the unit’s built-in 3 ½ inch LCD screen. The internal 20 gigabyte drive will hold up to 40 hours of MPEG4 video, which provides a “near DVD quality” picture.

MP3 audio players have hit mainstream. How can you tell? They hang in the store on metal hooks instead of resting under glass cases. For The Fashion Plate, long-time maker Rio Audio offers their Sport version that can strap on your arm when you run (www.rioaudio.com, Best Buy). The 128 megabyte version will hold 40-50 songs and will set you back about $170. Go for the 256 Meg version that’s only $30 more and holds twice the tunes. Both can be expanded using the memory cards like those used in digital cameras. I’d have to go with these for The Practical One, too, because simpler, non-expandable players start at $100 for just 64 Meg of storage. Do the math.

Snapping Pics to Pixels

For no-nonsense digital pictures, there’s no substitute for Kodak’s DX6340 (www.kodak.com, CompUSA, $279). It boasts a resolution of 3.1 megapixels (the measure of a digital camera’s picture quality) and has a 4X optical zoom. A quick word here about zoom lenses. First of all, look for cameras that have a zoom lens. Next, look for those with higher optical zooms, and pay less attention to the digital zooms. Optical zoom gives you far better results than digital. The Fashion Plate will love the ability to drop the Canon PowerShot SD100 digital camera (www.powershot.com, CompUSA, $299) into the pocket of his favorite shirt. Though small, this camera is sturdy. With 3.2 megapixels and a 2X optical zoom, it’s also a performer. For The Geek, go for the Canon EOS Digital Rebel (www.powershot.com, CompUSA, $999). A killer with 6.3 megapixels and a professional quality EF-S18-55mm lens, the hearty amateur will feel like a pro.

Make Mine a PDA

The current generation of PDA (or personal digital assistant) has come a long way since the first Palm Pilot prototype was shown by Jeff Hawkins. His earliest concepts were shown using a carved block of wood covered with white paper that had hand-drawn buttons on it. This year, The Fashion Plate will go gaga over Sony’s Clié NZ90 (www.sonystyle.com, CompUSA, $800). Sony packs a bunch of bells and whistles into a great looking package. This Clié comes with a built-in digital camera for both still images and video, along with a brilliant color screen.

If it’s The Practical One for whom you’re buying, check out the simple, straightforward Palm Zire 21 (www.palmone.com, $99). This year’s model of last year’s top seller adds more memory so more addresses, appointments and games can be stored on it.

For The Geek, you may want to ask her one question before rushing out to buy her a PDA. Simply ask, “Do you like Palm or PocketPC?” If she answers “other,” you’re best leaving her to her own devices, so to speak. Even if she chooses one of the choices offered, much of the final decision may have to fit with The Geek’s employer’s preference. For the Palm camp, the Tungsten line provides a variety of options including wireless networking, screen sizes and keyboards (www.palmone.com, Tungsten E for $199 to Tungsten C for $499). For the Microsoft PocketPC faithful, the HP iPaq H555 provides a slug of the latest features including Bluetooth and WiFi wireless networking (www.hp.com, CompUSA, $649).

What You See Is What You Get

Flat is where it’s at, especially for monitors. Even The Practical One will appreciate the Viewsonic VA720 flat panel LCD display (www.viewsonic.com, CompUSA, $399). This 17 inch monitor is just right for the person who uses the computer for computer stuff. The other end of the spectrum is where we’ll find a monitor for The Fashion Plate. Sony’s SDM-V72W flat panel offers true HDTV wide-screen resolution and kicking sound for movie viewing (www.sonystyle.com, CompUSA, $999). Using the 17 inch screen for computer work seems almost secondary for this monitor, but “Finding Nemo” sure looked good on it when I saw the demo. For The Geek, check out Samsung’s 213T monitor (www.samsung.com, Best Buy, $1199). It’s a 21.3 inch screen that also features true wide-screen resolution with the added ability to turn. Rotate the monitor on its stand so that it’s on end, and the image automatically rotates and resizes to fit. Best Buy’s Pigott said it’s good for viewing Web pages.

And Now the PCs

If it’s time to get that loved one a new PC, it can feel a little like trying to buy a suit for that person. Check out these for ideas. For The Geek, Sony offers their RZ-446 (www.sonystyle.com, Best Buy, $1,699), an ultra-cool PC with built-in DVD writer and Sony’s Click To DVD package for copying video directly to DVD. Video can be pulled from cable/satellite or your video camera, and burned directly to a DVD. The Fashion Plate will look good toting Sony’s Z1VA laptop (www.sonystyle.com, Best Buy, $2300). It’s thin and light (4.7 pounds) and full of features like Intel’s Centrino mobile processor, WiFi wireless networking, a 14.1 inch SVGA screen and a 60 gigabyte hard drive. The Practical One may prefer a packaged system with PC, keyboard/mouse and monitor all included. Check out HP’s Pavilion a302 system (www.hp.com, CompUSA, $600) for a nice, neat package.

Odds and Ends

Need a few random ideas to help round out your list? PNY offers a USB Drive that fits on a key ring in fashionable colors for The Fashion Plate (www.pny.com, CompUSA, 256 megabyte for $100). Or try of slug of blank CD-Rs from Verbatim that look like old 45 rpm records (www.verbatim.com, 25 for $12). If The Geek you’re buying for has a PC that glows with neon-like tubes running through it, it’s a safe bet you’ve got a “modder” on your hands (someone who modifies PCs). Check out CompUSA for the latest in modder wares. The Geek might also appreciate a Bluetooth wireless keyboard and mouse (www.microsoft.com, Best Buy, $149). Finally, The Practical One could use a Linksys WiFi kit (www.linksys.com, CompUSA, starts at $119) or an authentic Mouse Rug just to shake things up (www.mouserug.com, about $20).