For reasons unknown and unexplained to me, zombies have been big in 2009. (So have vampires, but that’s a phenomena we’ll ignore for now.) And one of the primary characteristics of your traditional brain-eating zombie is that it is relentless in its pursuit of the next living thing. Well, in a roundabout way, that is one way to describe the technology geek’s pursuit of the next great gadget or gizmo – relentless (not brain-eating).

Despite whatever cultural, socioeconomic, or political happenstance may be taking place during the course of a year, technology geeks (like me) will always be on the lookout for that new cool thing. It is in this spirit that TechRepublic, which seldom lets an opportunity to test a gadget or interesting device pass by, publishes its annual Geek Gift Guide.

Powermat

The gadget that seems to have captured the lion’s share of the geek imagination in TechRepublic’s Geek Gift Guide 2009 is the Powermat wireless charger, which recharges your other electronic gadgets, like the iPhone 3G S for example, wirelessly using magnetic induction. That’s what I said, magnetic induction. Just try to get a more geek-worthy gift than that for around $100.

The other compelling thing about the Powermat is that it is a glimpse into the future. At CES in 2009, there were several companies showing prototype systems that use magnetic induction to power everything from room lighting to small appliances in the kitchen. The George Jetson lifestyle may be closer than you think.

Other gift ideas

The number of gifts in TechRepublic’s Geek Gift Guide 2009 are far too many to name here (26), but there is bound to be at least one gift idea in the guide that interests the geek in your life or at least the geek in you. Each gift is reviewed and rated to indicate its geek-credibility, so check out the Guide and then take a moment to share your geek gift preferences with us in the TechRepublic Community Forums. What gift is on your wish list?

All of the individual gift reviews published by TechRepublic during 2009 are available on the Geek Gifts 2009 special report page.