by Mia Kim, creator of Popgadget, a tech blog for women

For people who keep in touch with friends and family more through cell phones and computers, the dings of a text message or IM coming through are probably more familiar than the actual human voices of those senders. It’s silly to say entire generations of people are frightened of learning about new technology, but just about everyone has an e-mail phobic family member who is sad to be out of the loop when all the family photos are online, and all the best conversations happen in a a chat room.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day are great opportunities to catch Mom and Dad up on the latest technology, especially because devices these days stress usability and simplicity over confusing and unnecessary bells and whistles. Today’s best gadgets make the technology seamless- setup is easy and interfaces are intuitive. So instead of feeling guilty about not returning calls or sending letters- now is the perfect time to get all those tech resistors online.

Peek Mobile Email Device

Peek Mobile E-mail Device – The Peek is a portable device for email, and only email. It’s as thin and light as a smartphone, has its own high-speed Internet connection, and a splashproof qwerty keyboard. It works with virtually all email accounts and has a beautiful color screen.

Presto Printing Mailbox

Presto Printer - For the extreme computer-phobe- the Presto printer delivers emails, photos, and Internet content without the need for a computer. The Presto uses an ordinary phone line for delivering the documents and photos, so it’s a standalone device that brings the Luddite in your life into the digital age.

Ceiva Digital Photo Frame w/Card Reader

Ceiva 8” Digital Photo Frame — The beautiful 8” LCD screen of the Ceiva digital frame isn’t unusual, but it has added functionality that makes it unique: the Ceiva can be connected to a regular phone line and you can send photos to it from anywhere on the Internet or straight from a camera phone. The Ceiva frame can be set up in a home with no computer or Internet; the photos just appear with no intervention from the end user.

Jitterbug Cell Phone

Jitterbug Cell Phone – The Jitterbug is a simple cell phone that makes and receives calls, and does nothing else, just like an old corded analog home phone. There’s no contract, just pay-as-you-go, so it’s perfect for the cell phone holdout.

Nintendo Wii with Wii Sports

Nintendo Wii with Wii Sports – Think your Mom or Dad would never use a game system? Give them a Wii with the Wii Sports pack and they’ll be won over by the realistic, physical style of game play. Tennis and golf buffs will be addicted in no time.

New iPod Shuffle

Apple iPod Shuffle – The tiny new iPod Shuffle is the simplest ever- it basically operates with one button that’s attached to the ear bud cord and while there’s still no screen, holding down the play button turns on “voice-over” which uses a text-to-speech engine to tell you what song is playing. The Shuffle is smaller than ever, but at 4 GB, can hold up to 1000 songs.

Flip Mino HD Camcorder

Flip Mino HD Camcorder- The learning curve for mastering a digital video camera, particularly one with high-definition optics, is usually too high for the average user. Enter the Flip Mino HD which records in high-definition, but has an ultra-simple interface, built-in editing, and an attached USB connector for uploading finished video to sites like YouTube.

Neat Receipts Mobile Scanner

Neat Receipts Mobile Scanner – Turn your favorite paper pack rat into an organizing whiz with the tiny scanner that turns business cards, store receipts, magazine pages, and other documents into editable digital files.

Microsoft LifeCam Show Web Camera

Microsoft LifeCam Show Web Camera – The ultra-thin (just .5”) LifeCam looks sleek and provides great quality video for video-calls and also takes high resolution 8 Megapixel still photos.

Navigon 2000S GPS

Navigon 2000S GPS – The Navigon goes beyond 3D maps with “Reality View” for photo-realistic maps which make what’s on the screen look just like what you’re seeing in front of you for easy navigating. There’s also advanced text-to-speech so the Navigon says actual street names so you don’t have to take eyes off the road.

Kindle 2 E-book Reader

Kindle 2 E-book Reader – Never know what book to buy for someone? With the Amazon Kindle 2, you get 250,000 books available immediately for download with a built-in Internet connection. The Kindle 2 is ultra-portable, has long battery life, and room for carrying 1500 complete books. Added bonus: most books, even new releases, are about $10, less than half the price of a hardback.

Plantronics Voyager 835 Bluetooth Headset

Plantronics Voyager 835 Bluetooth Headset - Bluetooth headsets are notoriously fiddly but the Voyager’s noise reduction feature automatically adjusts the volume in relation to the background noise.

Sony Walkman Portable Speaker – The miniature Sony speaker works with any mp3 player- simply plug it in to your headphone jack for rich sound which doesn’t require any external power.

Apple Mac Mini Desktop

Apple Mac Mini Desktop- The Mac Mini weighs under 3 lbs., but it’s a full powered desktop complete with Bluetooth, Wifi, speakers, and DVD drive. Not just small, it’s also the most energy efficient desktop in the world. Just plug in an existing monitor, keyboard, and mouse for the easiest upgrade ever.

Griffin iTrip Auto Universal Plus

Griffin iTrip Auto Universal Plus - This iTrip lets you play any audio player through the car’s FM radio, and it has a USB plug so it can charge the player at the same time.

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