It's that time of year again!
Everyone at IT Pro would like to wish all our readers a very Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Thank you for your support, comments and ideas during 2011 and we look forward to what 2012 has in store for the tech industry.
We're now all heading off on our Christmas holidays until Tuesday 3 January 2012, but don't worry they'll be plenty of great content going up on the site during the break. Don't forget to check back for our end of year roundups and look forwards to what 2012 has in store for IT professionals, IT managers, IT directors and CIOs.
In the meantime, here's what the IT Pro team will and won't be dreaming of this Christmas.
All I want for Christmas
A battery power pack for my ageing iPhone 3GS. It's certainly seen better days but I can't be bothered to part with it.
I test other phones on a daily basis, so am always carrying at least two handsets, but the iPhone 3GS is my personal device and it's become like an old friend I don't want to say goodbye to.
Other than that, I'd like something old school and completely tech-free in the form of a personal organiser/filofax. Anyone who knows me will appreciate just how much I love making lists and then crossing things off. And the satisfaction you get when you complete a task isn't the same when you scribble out the line electronically.
Maggie Holland, editor
As much as I love my Fuji bridge camera with its useful 18X zoom and the beautiful images it produces with a pin sharp depth of field, it's about the size of a brick which makes it a chore to drag around town or on holiday.
A Micro Four Thirds or compact system camera would therefore be an ideal replacement. These cameras are around the same size as more basic compact point and shoot cameras, but have the benefit of DSLR-level sensors and interchangeable sensors, combining the best of both worlds. The downside is the expense of such a camera especially when kitted out with a decent set of lenses.
Alan Lu, reviews editor
Having become gradually more and more fed up with my HTC Desire and the Android operating system, I'd love to get my hands on a genuinely exciting smartphone. The Nokia Lumia 800 would be ideal then, considering the Windows Phone 7 OS looks like a truly innovative bit of software and the Finnish manufacturer has something to prove.
Reviews have been positive so far and despite battery concerns that plague almost every smartphone on the market, it looks like the real deal. A part of me wonders whether it might not be one of Nokia's last phones though, which makes it even more attractive from a potential historical aspect anyway.
Tom Brewster, senior staff writer
I'd rather not get
Another USB stick. Yes they are useful but you can have too much of a good thing.
Every event I go to, I'm given another stick. I have about 100 on my desk. Most of them look the same so I'm forever scrabbling around trying to locate the one I really want/need at any given time.
Maggie Holland, editor
Netbooks. I really don't want another netbook for Christmas. I already have a thin and lightweight laptop that I'm perfectly happy with, yet in the past two years or so I've received five, yes five, netbooks as gifts. I know it's the thought that counts and they're great as re-gifts to other people, but if I see another netbook wrapped in a bow I might scream. If a Micro Four Thirds camera is too much of an ask, how about some cheese? Some mature comt or epoisses would be lovely, thanks.
Alan Lu, reviews editor
A PlayBook. If there's one device that looks dangerously close to ending up on the scrapheap in 2012, it's RIM's tablet. I'm not a big fan of the hardware anyway, nor the OS it runs on, but the lack of attractive apps make it a no-go for me too. The iPad's sustained success is largely due to really great applications and they are what makes it the best tablet on the market still.
It seems others feel the same way: RIM is sitting on a load of unsold PlayBooks and is looking at some rocky months ahead if things don't turn around rapidly.
Tom Brewster, senior staff writer
