Bob Weiner’s Gift Giving Guide for the Art Geek in Your Life: 2013 Edition (Hardware)

Keep your favorite Art / Design Geek happy this holiday season with some handy hardware, tools, and apps vetted out by yours truly. Each of the items on this year’s list are items that I personally own, use and love. These are not ranked in any particular order, freeing you up to decide based on needs and budget alone. Up this week: my favorite hardware.

Yiynova MSP19U tablet monitor: Without a doubt, the best hardware investment I’ve made this year. If you’ve dreamt of owning a Cintiq, you can get a very similar experience for a fraction of the price. $599 on Amazon.

Newertech miniStack: I’ve had this drive (1 TB model) for over a year. It runs very quiet, it’s wicked fast and has multiple ports (eSATA, Firewire 800, USB3.0) – perfect for back-ups. You are making back-ups, right?. Starts at $79 for a bare enclosure via Macsales.

Mount-IT Articulating Computer Monitor stand. Perfect for running dual displays on your Mac or PC. The best part about these arms are that they are easily adjustable and rock solid. The Mount-It works with any VESA-capable monitor. Only $49 on Amazon.

Kenu Airframe: Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel with the Kenu Airframe. It easily slides into your car vent and holds your smartphone. The Airframe is light, portable, and well built. I liked it so much, I bought one for my wife. $24.95 via Kenu’s website.

Patriot Xporter XT 16GB Flash drive. The newest version sports USB 3.0 speeds and a neat blue color scheme. The older version I own has been my go-to drive to take back and forth between home and work. It’s rugged, comes with a secure metal clip, and it’s fast. Also $24.95 or thereabouts.

You can’t go wrong with any of these devices. In-depth reviews can be found on this site.

Next week: my software picks for 2013.

-Krishna