It didn't seem that long ago when the only news you seemed to hear about digital photo frames involved a pretty nasty virus that did nasty things to your computer. Even major retailers Amazon and Best Buy didn't escape that whole ordeal unscathed.

But the whole virus hullabaloo apparently didn't faze everyone as a recent report from market research and consulting firm Parks Associates now predicts digital frame adoption to exceed 1 in 4 households this holiday season. Actually, make that 1 in 4 U.S. households with broadband. For the math-challenged, that's an adoption rate of more than 25 percent &mdash compared to only 7 percent in 2007.

Still, activity in the market has apparently lost some of its sizzle recently.

"The meteoric growth rate of digital photo frames has cooled off," said Harry Wang, Parks Associates director of of health and mobile product research, in a statement. "(But) consumer familiarity and its appeal as a premium gift choice will keep demand healthy for the next few years."

You know what might cause demand to skyrocket again? Lowering prices, that's what. It actually isn't unusual to see some of these things reach triple digits in price. I've even seen some priced at $299! I don't know about you but I think that's a tad too expensive.

If you're interested in browsing for digital photo frames, you can check out this price comparison.

Photo © Sony

The WikiReader kind of reminds me of the Nintendo Wii. Gadget lovers who want a device with the latest bells and whistles may not exactly go crazy over it. But it's great for kids, mom and dad, or just your casual non-tech person.

For the uninitiated, the WikiReader is a portable encyclopedia that contains more than 3 million entries from popular online site Wikipedia. It's got a simple, no-nonsense interface that's easy to use and provides a wealth of information for curious and inquiring minds. But like any device, it isn't for everyone.

To check if this pocket Wikipedia device might make a good gift for someone you know this Christmas, check out my full WikiReader review.

Photo by Jason Hidalgo

Throwing your grimy computer mouse in a tray of warm soapy water is usually akin to having the Pied Piper lead a rodent through the town of Hamlin. Either way, you have a mouse that's quite soaked and also quite dead.

Unotron's M11 mouse, however, is a special little creature. Dunk it in water or antibacterial solution and voila &mdash it comes back all squeaky clean and still usable. Now my work mouse looks so disgustingly dirty in comparison.

Anywho, the washable mouse is part of a line of washable products from Unotron, which also include a washable keyboard. The devices are rated for medical use as well, which means they have an extra antibacterial kick that you won't see from your typical washable devices.

For an idea about how this mighty mouse performs, check out my Unotron washable mouse review. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a dirty work mouse that I need to clean the old-fashioned way.

Would you pay $199 for a gadget used only for tweeting?

That's what the makers of the TwitterPeek are banking on with the release of the Twitter-only portable device.

For the grand, old price of nearly two Benjamins, you can get the TwitterPeek with unlimited tweeting via the device's own mobile network.

"But wait, Jason," you say. "How can such a tiny little thing cost that much when a more complicated device such as an Xbox 360 starts at the same price? And please answer my question in 140 characters or less."

Great question. But I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night so I unfortunately can't answer it.

Now if $199 is too steep a price for you just to tweet on the go, Peek is also offering the device for $99. The catch is that you only get six months of free service, after which you have to pay $7.95 a month to use the portable Twitter device.

Either way, I could only see Twitter fanatics with no other access to portable tweeting going for this gadget. If that description fits you to a T, then you can check out the device at the official TwitterPeek site.

Photo © Peek