Christmas Gift Guide 2017 - The top gadgets this yule

Computing runs down the best gadgets you can buy - or request from - your loved ones this Christmas

Christmas is here, and most people will be frantically flicking through pages online and off in search of the perfect gifts for their loved ones.

Computing has come to the rescue with a host of excellent, and relatively inexpensive gifts, so leave the socks, festive jumpers and bottles of eggnog unbought, and peruse our rundown of the top tech presents this yule.

Nvidia Shield - £143

Don't be burned by the previous edition of this fantastic little console, the 2017 version hits all the right notes. It now comes with a better controller, a separate remote control, and most importantly, a wealth of great content.

Firstly, the Nvidia Shield is one of the easiest ways we've come across of streaming digital content onto your television, including streaming natively from within a supposedly digital set. We tried this on our Samsung 'Smart' TV, and found the shield to be a far more capable and reliable way to watch Netflix, Amazon, YouTube and whatever else on the big(ish) screen.

Whereas the Samsung set regularly hangs or stutters (especially with BBC iPlayer, we've found), the Shield didn't once let us down. Add to that the fact that it's also voice-enabled, and it's become our go-to device for all the evening's entertainment.

And that entertainment includes its gaming features. Not only does it include a host of Android apps (though watch out for the basic version's 16GB of storage which can fill up fast), but there are also a slew of AAA titles from publishers Ubisoft and Square Enix (and a few others).

Subscribe to Nvidia's Geforce Now service, and many of these titles are free to stream - and the qualilty is surprisingly good. We played Borderlands, and were amazed at its smoothness and fidelity. Even though we still firmly believe that an FPS should never be played using a controller.

All in all, a great device, filling a number of useful niches, and all yours for under £150!

Christmas Gift Guide 2017 - The top gadgets this yule

Computing runs down the best gadgets you can buy - or request from - your loved ones this Christmas

Nintendo Switch - £279.99 (without games)

For about £200 more than the Shield, you could grab a Nintendo Switch, a portable, two-controller console.

The technical details first: it charges via USB-C, offers 32GB of built-in storage expandable via microSD and doesn't come with region-lock.

The Switch itself is a 6.2in tablet-like device that works both as a TV-connected dock and mobile handheld, offers between 2.5 and 6.5 hours of battery life and comes with a 1080p capacitive touch-screen display.

The Joy-Con controllers join up to become a traditional gamepad, similar to the N64 controller, or they can be used as individual motion controllers. Unlike the Wii remotes, Nintendo boasts that the Joy-Con controllers' advanced motion-sensing system is able to differentiate among rock, paper and scissors hand motions.

They also come with an HD Rumble system that Nintendo says enables users to, "feel the vibration of individual ice cubes colliding inside a glass".

Games available include The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and 1-2 Switch, a mini-game designed to show off the new Joy-Con controllers, that involves players facing each other rather that gawking at the TV. There's also Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, and a new Mario title called Super Mario Odyssey.

Christmas Gift Guide 2017 - The top gadgets this yule

Computing runs down the best gadgets you can buy - or request from - your loved ones this Christmas

Nintendo Classic Mini - £79.99

Sticking with Nintendo, there's also the new Classic Mini, a re-make of the original, so true to its predecessor that it even includes some of its foibles: you have to pad over to the console itself to exit a game!

It's still a hugely exciting device for any fans of classic Nintendo-ware, featuring a large number of classic titles, and that gorgeous retro styling.

You'll need your own TV of course to run it. The console connects via HDMI, but good luck finding one in stock anywhere!

The list of built-in titles includes:

Christmas Gift Guide 2017 - The top gadgets this yule

Computing runs down the best gadgets you can buy - or request from - your loved ones this Christmas

Apple iMac Pro - $4,999

If you're feeling especially flush / extravagent / ostentatious, or if you just desperately want to line impoverished startup Apple's coffers a little more, there's always this little beauty, fresh from the Cupertino stables.

Apple is loading the iMac Pro with an 18 core Intel Xeon processor, an AMD Radeon Vega-based graphics card, and giving it a 5K display, which is useful if you either have superhuman eyes able to detect such things, or are planning to project it onto a cinema screen.

Or you could build a PC from scratch with far better components for less than half the price. But we understand that some people like shiny things with a picture of an Apple on them, so hey, why not remortgage and give it a shot!

Christmas Gift Guide 2017 - The top gadgets this yule

Computing runs down the best gadgets you can buy - or request from - your loved ones this Christmas

Amazon Echo Plus - £139.99

For music / smart-home lovers, there's the Amazon Echo Plus. It plays romantic music. It dims your lights. It brightens the lights back up again when your date leaves after another one of your bad jokes. Then it plays some Norweigan thrash metal to help you work through your frustrations as you stare into the abyss of a loveless life.

And it connects to Alexa, who can speak, so it's practically a soul-mate anyway.

As if that's not enough it's available in three, yes three colours! Black, silver and white. Festive.