10 Last Minute Father's Day Gifts For Techie Dads

We don't really want to call them geeks, but let's face it, some of our dads are. If you have a dad who fancies himself a techie, finding the perfect Father's Day gift can be daunting. The typical dad gifts just aren't going to cut it. And with Father's Day this weekend, you're running out of time to find that gift to wow him. Well, if you're short on time and out of ideas, here's a guide to 10 last-minute gifts sure to make your techie, or -- ahem! -- geeky, dad happy this Father's Day.

There's no doubt that dad saw Rocky III. It's probably his favorite in the six-film series (unless he prefers Rocky Balboa single-handedly ending the Cold War in Rocky IV). Regardless of which pugilist pic he prefers, dad probably hums "Eye Of The Tiger" while mowing the lawn or finishing up some late-night paperwork. Help your dad unleash his inner Italian Stallion with these nifty Rocky III-themed USB flash drives. Three of his favorite characters are captured here in all their fighting glory: Sly Stallone as Rocky, Carl Weathers as Apollo Creed and Mr. T. as the infamous Clubber Lang (shown here). These bad boys not only save dad's most precious data and files, but they also feature true crunching action, so dad can feel like he's getting a workout without even leaving his home office.







These USB flash drives, available at Geek Stuff 4 U for about $30 will have dad spouting Rocky III lines constantly, telling his latest report: "You ain't so bad. You ain't so bad. You ain't nothin.'"

Dad most likely has a stack of dusty old LPs lying around the house, and he's gone kicking and screaming into the iPod era. Help him adapt with an Ion USB Turntable. This turntable connects to any PC and comes with software to help your father convert his vinyl collection to crisp and portable MP3s. The turntable runs about $150 from various retailers and e-tailers, but you can't put a price on the pops and hisses of wax, the way music was meant to be heard.

Does dad spend too much time at the bowling alley and not enough time with the family? Make him feel like he's strapped on his bowling shoes in the comfort of his own home with this bowling ball for the Nintendo Wii. Made by CTA Digital, the Bowling Ball for Wii is billed as an "ultra-realistic accessory" that "allows you to mimic all the critical motions" required to bowl a perfect 300. The peripheral turns the Wii-mote into a legit bowling ball, complete with finger holes. And the attached wrist strap prevents dad from throwing the ball through the TV when he goes for that turkey.

The Bowling Ball for Wii is available from CTA Digital, though pricing is not yet available.



The dude abides!

Dad probably has a lot of devices. Whether it's iPods, cell phones, smartphones, Bluetooth headsets or anything else that requires a charge. But if there's one thing dads hate, it's haphazard masses of wires winding every which way, cluttering up his desk. That's where BlueLounge comes in with the BlueLounge Sanctuary. Available through many retailers and e-tailers for just over $100, the BlueLounge Sanctuary is the organizer of organizers.

Made by BlueLounge Designs, the Sanctuary is exactly that: A sanctuary for personal electronics so they can be easily found and fully charged in a neat 9-by-9-by-1.8-inch box. It's compatible with more than 1,500 devices from most major manufacturers. Plus, keeping everything in one spot makes it nearly impossible for dad to lose his BlackBerry, and even harder for him to pin it on you when he can't find it.

For the dad on the go, nothing says style while still keeping true to his techie nature than the 12.1-inch Lenovo IdeaPad S12 netbook. Starting at $450, the new Lenovo adds two inches to its previous offerings, expanding it enough to offer a full-sized keyboard. Dad will marvel at the Intel Atom N270 processor and the 1 GB of DDR 2 memory. Ti also has options to support up to 320 GB of storage. And it's light enough for dad to lug around, at just about 3 pounds and an inch thick. The Lenovo IdeaPad S12 is available in most retail and e-tail locations and can get dad into the 21st Century in style.

Dad may be the only person you know who still reads a daily newspaper. Feed his addiction while giving him the ultimate portability with the Amazon Kindle this Father's Day. Not only can dad receive subscriptions to most major newspapers, but he can also buy novels on the cheap and read them wherever he goes, without getting black ink smudges on his fingers. It's just over 1/3 of an inch thick, so it fits anywhere and is lighter than most paperback books. It can download most books in less than a minute without the need to connect to a PC and features enough battery power for days of reading juice. Maybe now dad will scrap that beat-up old library card. The Kindle is available via Amazon for roughly $350.

Dads are Star Wars nerds, there's no way around it. They regale you with stories of seeing the first Star Wars decades ago, and probably even took you to see your first Star Wars movie. That's even more true for dads with a love for all things tech. So why not combine two of dad's favorite things and pick up this Darth Vader USB Hub this Father's Day. Help dad plug into the dark side to build a mini home network. This four-port USB hub is ideal for peripherals like printers, iPods and others. And, what's more, the Dark Lord breathes while you do it. The Darth Vader USB Hub runs about $50 at most retail and e-tail establishments.

Does dad have archaic camera equipment? Does he look like a documentary filmmaker during every family vacation (keep the Michael Moore jokes to yourself)? Grab your dad a Flip Mino this Father's Day. These pocket-sized wonders capture high-quality video on the spot. And the built-in USB makes uploading a breeze. Now dad can share home movies with the world via YouTube, or give Wii bowling tutorials featuring his Bowling Ball for Wii. Even better, you and dad can team up to recreate the beach training scene from Rocky III.







The Flip Mino is available almost anywhere electronics are sold in the $150 price range. A small price to pay for a lifetime of memories.

This is for the truest of techie dads. A virtual laser keyboard. Made by Golan Technology, the iTech Virtual Laser Keyboard uses both infrared and laser technology to generate an invisible field and project a full-sized virtual QWERTY keyboard on any surface. It's Bluetooth-compatible and can work with BlackBerrys or any cell phones with an integrated keyboard. Give dad a full-sized keyboard so he doesn't have to struggle with the tiny keys on his smartphone, all for about $150.

If none of the other ideas in this gift guide hit the sweet spot this Father's Day, there's always an iPhone. With the launch of the new iPhone 3G S, Apple has evolved its flagship smartphone, adding video recording, a virtual compass and upping the 3G speed to up to 7.2 Mbps. Dad isn't a true techie until he has an iPhone, and since this bad boy just hit Apple and AT&T stores this week, he'll be ahead of the curve and wow everyone with his early-adopter geekiness.

The iPhone 3G S runs $199 for the 16-GB model and $299 for the 32-GB, and requires a two-year agreement with AT&T, but it's a small price to pay to ensure your techie dad has a happy Father's Day. And, hey, there's probably even some sort of virtual neck tie application available via Apple's App Store, so you can give dad two gifts at once.