More Gamble Than Gift: This Holiday Season's High-Tech Duds

So, for example, Roku's $99.99 Netflix Player downloads only movies from that service, Apple's $229 Apple TV supports only iTunes Store video downloads and YouTube clips, and both devices ignore the shows available at TV network sites and such third-party hubs as Hulu. Hackers have written software for some of these devices that tune into these alternate sources; perhaps in six months or a year, some manufacturers will have taken the hint.

· Android mobile phones. Google's Android wireless phone software represents the most exciting change to the cellphone business since the arrival of the iPhone, with its elegant, capable Web browser and growing selection of add-on software. But for now, the Android universe consists of a single cellphone, T-Mobile's G1. This phone relies on a mobile broadband network that, even after a growth spurt, covers far less territory than other carriers' services.

The somewhat blocky G1 ($179.99) also can't match the style of many of its rivals. So if your current hardware can hold out for a little longer, wait and see what other manufacturers and carriers can do with Google's software (which could use a bug fix or two in its own right).

· E-book readers. Amazon's Kindle is a fascinating device, but this year-old electronic-book reader could also stand to get a few refinements to its design -- starting with faster screen redrawing and an arrangement of buttons that doesn't make it so easy to hit "next page" when you pick up the thing.

The inventory of books available for the Kindle, in turn, ought to be wider and offer a bigger discount from bound volumes. At current Kindle e-book prices, you'll be waiting a long time to recover your initial investment in this $359 device. Other e-book readers are in an even worse situation because they don't offer the Kindle's quick, simple over-the-air downloads.

Sitting out on all of these technologies doesn't come without risk: Not all of these gadgets may survive to next year if enough people join you in avoiding them today. But for most non-gadget-freak types, the upgrades these devices can offer don't make up for the uncertainty they represent. Somebody has to hold these companies accountable for that imbalance; why not you?

Living with technology, or trying to? E-mail Rob Pegoraro at robp@washpost.com. Read more at http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fasterforward/