If you’re going to shell out hundreds of dollars on a smartphone or camera for that special someone, you better make sure it’s top-notch. CNET’s top picks from the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show is a good place to start

Best in Home Audio

Samsung?s HT-BD7200: 2.1 Blu-ray home theater

This uniquely designed home entertainment system is a Netflix member?s dream. Netflix unlimited members can instantly watch more than 17,000 movies and TV episodes. The high-def Blu-ray Disc Player upconverts regular DVDs and lets you enjoy stored music and media via an iPod dock with video, audio and iPhone support. Wirelessly view pictures and listen to music from your PC through the Wi-Fi ready and PC Connected/Streaming features.

Best in Car Technology

Gracenote & Voxonic?s CarStars

The next time you turn on your car radio, you could hear your favorite celebrity introduce the next song in any language with this personalized automobile entertainment system. Gracenote MusicID, MediaVOCS and Playlist allow users to enjoy music of their choice at the command of their voice. CarStars also integrates into the car?s navigation system and utilizes locations to make music recommendations.

Best in Gaming

Nyko Wand

Nyko?s Wii remote control edges out the original from Nintendo with what it calls Trans-Port technology, which allows designed attachments to pass through key buttons to the Nunchuk port at the base of the remote. This makes attachments more responsive and, in theory, eliminates the need for accessories to have moving plastic parts to press buttons on the Wii remote.

Best in Televisions

Panasonic TC-G10 plasma series

The visual display is superb in this series with excellent shadow detail, highly-accurate primary colors and grayscale and great color saturation, all while using less power than previous 1080p plasmas. Viera Cast technology provides access to select Internet services, including YouTube and Picasa, right on your TV with no extra equipment

Best in Digital Photo & Video

Sony DSC-G3

Snap a photo and then upload it directly to a photo-sharing site with this sleek new pocket-sized camera?s integrated Wi-Fi and built-in browser. The features are top-notch, too: 10.1 megapixels, 4X zoom, 4GB of storage and a 3.5-inch touch screen display.

Best in Computer & Hardware

Sony P-series Lifestyle PC

The world?s lightest 8-inch notebook also fits right into your purse or jacket pocket. This PC is perfect for those on the go. The one-button quick-boot option grants you fast access to the Web for directions, e-mail and more. Yet, an Internet connection isn?t even needed to access turn-by-turn directions to a nearby restaurant with the real-time GPS functionality of its Microsoft Streets & Trips software.

Best in GPS

TomTom GO 740 Live

Purchase this GPS system and you?ll get a complimentary one-year subscription to Live services to stay connected to real-time data like traffic and fuel prices. IQ Routes technology calculates your routes based on speeds normally traveled rather than the speed at which you?re not supposed to break. At least, the hands-free calling feature tries to keep you safe.

Best in Cell Phones & Smartphones

Palm Pre

A wireless charging dock, slide out keyboard, LED camera flash and Palm Synergy feature that links Microsoft Outlook, Google and Facebook calendars and conversations together in one logical view enabled the Palm Pre to be named best cell phone in 2009.

Best in MP3 & Video Players

Samsung P3 touch screen MP3 player

This pocket-sized video player emphasizes personalization for navigation through its EmoTure interface. Instead of just one main screen, there are three customizable desk screens. Enjoy easy, fast downloading with the popular DIVX format and spend more time watching movies.