We started our search for holiday gifts and digital stocking stuffers with one simple question: What gadgets would be both FUN and FUNCTIONAL for the busy marcom professional in this season of giving? The result: You won’t find items on this list designed to help you be “more productive” for clients. Nope. You won’t find tools to help you convert more sales or listen to social media conversations more efficiently. Not really. We already know you want a new iPad. You might find that here—but it’s a supercharged version, we promise. In our quest for practical yet enjoyable gift ideas, we found goodies that can help keep you physically fit while on the road, that can protect your data while working at a remote coffee shop, and that can help you leap vast mountains of reading material in a single bound. Consider this your holiday wish list of FUNctional gifts—and share it with your personal Santa, boss, client or co-worker. If you’ve been good, maybe you’ll get your favorite one!

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for

Marketing & PR Pros

1. Kindle FireHot iPad Alternative

Some people find it hard to justify the cost of an iPad. Others rebel against the whole Apple culture vibe. Enter the Kindle Fire. You just can’t beat the mix of convenience and cost in a device that lets you read all your RSS feeds, stay on top of breaking news, and connect via social media. We found the Fire to be the best alternative for handling most of what people want from a tablet without the higher expense. Sure, you sacrifice a few features—but a social-enabled entry level mobile electronic reader/tablet like this certainly is far better than the tiny screen on your smartphone for remote reading. To help you handle your mountain of reading on the go, consider adding some Fire to your life!

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for Marketing & PR Pros

2. Zeo Mobile Sleep ManagerNext Stop: Dreamland

Admit it. You work too much and you probably don’t get your full eight hours of shuteye. That’s not a good thing. You have to be fresh and sharp to innovate and lead in marketing and communications—and there’s nothing better for that than REM sleep. For those of you tethered to your smartphones, the Zeo Sleep Manager Mobile Sleep Management System may be the perfect solution. The Zeo Sleep system comes with a bedside display, lightweight detection headband, and online tools designed to help you understand your sleep patterns and improve them. This all happens through your smartphone. We think that’s cool, convenient and cost-effective.

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for Marketing & PR Pros

This one is free, but it’s a must-have. Who said a gift has to be expensive to be great? Share this with your friends or colleagues and you’re sure to receive the gift of appreciation in return. Evernote offers a bundle of productivity tools designed to help you capture your creative ideas, photos, blog posts, videos, and more. With the basic Evernote and its companions—Evernote Hello, Food, Clearly, Peek and Skitch—you can save your lightbulb moments to build upon later. It even searches handwritten text images! Access your notes from any digital device and your big A-ha moments will never be lost again.

3. EvernoteThe Modern Post-It Note

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for Marketing & PR Pros

4. Kinect for Xbox 360Move Your Body

We put exercise in the same category as sleep. It’s a must-do that doesn’t get done as much as it should. Truthfully, though, sharpness in the boardroom doesn’t just happen on its own. You have to train to be on top of things, both physically and mentally. Having fun while you’re at it makes exercising more likely to happen, so we suggest the Kinect for the Xbox 360. The Kinect enables you to control your avatar using your body motion instead of the traditional gaming controllers. The Kinect motion detector can be sold as a standalone unit or as part of a complete Xbox 360 gaming system. We think it offers a liberating way to keep fit—especially at a retail price of only $149.99.

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for Marketing & PR Pros

Welcome to our surprise pick! Working digitally is great. It’s efficient, practical, quick, and modern. Sometimes, though, we just like using a pen and paper, a post-it note, or a white board. There’s something visceral about creating and shaping ideas with your hands—especially during agency creative brainstorming sessions. If you feel the same way, then you’re going to love IdeaPaint. IdeaPaint transforms any surface into a dry erase white board. It is easy to use, environmentally friendly and doesn’t limit your ideas to a small surface. It lets you turn your big ideas into concrete plans while allowing you to literally think outside the box. We love that.

5. IdeaPaint Perfect for Brainstorming Sessions

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for Marketing & PR Pros

6. ioSafe Data Recovery Protect What’s Important

Losing your computer data can be a business disaster. It can be a personal one, as well, especially when you realize you just lost the pictures of your kids from last summer vacation. Your precious memories (and work files) deserve better than that. Enter ioSafe, an indestructible data storage system that is fireproof and waterproof. It can even be crunched by stilettos without suffering data damage (yes, really). This device can also withstand 30 feet of submersion for three days, a 5,000-pound crush, or an hour-long dunk in diesel fuel. If it doesn’t, the company offers a free, no-questions-asked data recovery service. If you want to protect what’s important—both at work and at home—this is a safe bet!

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for Marketing & PR Pros

7. Garmin Approach SI GPS WatchTee Up Your Mojo

We know plenty of business is conducted on the links. We also know that you don’t often get away from work to enjoy an afternoon of golf. What better way to marry work with pleasure than with a GPS watch that gives you an edge on the fairway? The S1 is a GPS device, sure. But it also comes pre-programmed with distance information to the front, back and middle of greens for more than 16,500 preloaded U.S. and Canadian courses. You can measure individual shot distances, track how far you walk on the course, and then use the alarm to get back to the office in time. This handy device is our favorite holiday pick for making green on the greens.

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for Marketing & PR Pros

8. Joos Orange Solar Charger Find Your Place in the Sun

We think a little bit of sunshine is good for you. And beach reading certainly does much to recharge your batteries for the work week. But it doesn’t do much for recharging the batteries in your digital devices when you’re away from an electrical outlet. Enter the Joos Orange Solar Charger, a perfect companion for your sunshine adventures. It charges all of your digital devices, giving you two hours of 3G talk time for every one hour charge. The Joos is durable, waterproof, and works in overcast conditions, the shade, and even light rain. Holiday sun worshippers never had it so good!

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for Marketing & PR Pros

Most working professionals love their smartphones. They use it to stay caught up with work emails while away from the office, and many like being able to video conference into calls with the team. What they do NOT like is the background noise that typically accompanies such calls. Worry no more—the Etymotic hf3 is here. This headset+earphone uses passive noise isolation technology to cut out the rest of the world. You’ll be able to hear high quality sound without the distracting noise, and it comes in at under $200. If Santa doesn’t bring you this work-friendly item, we recommend you go out and get it for yourself. The world never sounded so good!

9. Etymotic hf3 Headset+EarphoneGreat Sound Without the Noise

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for Marketing & PR Pros

You didn’t think we would offer a holiday gift list without an iPad, did you? To avoid presenting the standard fare, however, we searched for something with a little more “bling.” Witness the ultimate in iPad luxury—a solid 18K white gold version. This limited edition iPad, created by luxury gadget designer Stuart Hughes, retails at $127,000. Hughes clearly understands how image can be everything. The Supreme Ice has a brother called the Fire if you prefer a 24K traditional gold version. You can get an iPhone and Blackberry in gold, too. We don’t joke around when we tell you to “go for the gold.” You deserve it!

10. iPad Supreme Ice Going for the Gold

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for Marketing & PR Pros

May the Season Be Good to You

The holiday season is the time to catch up with friends, set your plans for the upcoming year, and to reflect back on the good work you’ve accomplished in the months past. Whether you travel to exotic sunny locations, recommit to your fitness goals, or just enjoy time with your buddies on the golf course, it’s all made better with these FUNctional gift suggestions. We’d be more than happy if you bought any of these for us! It’s your turn. What’s on your wishlist? Feel free to share your favorite picks below in the comment section. With any luck, Santa will hear your request…

TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for

Marketing & PR Pros

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TOP HOLIDAY PICKS10 FUNctional Digital Tools for

Marketing & PR Pros