Tech-savvy shopping, even at the mall

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Everyone knows the perks of shopping online: no lines, no driving and no fistfights over teddy bears. (Believe me, it happens.)

But sometimes nothing beats a stroll around the mall to seek out those perfect holiday gifts. That doesn’t mean you have to surrender your Internet prowess when foraging in the shopping jungle, however. Here are a few tips to stay connected when you venture out into the holiday mobs.

Trading wish lists: E-mail has become a common way for families and friends to trade wish lists, and now there are services that make it easier.

Amazon.com’s Wish List feature let you browse its seemingly endless supply of goodies and mark which ones you’d like to see stuffed in your stocking. The Web page can be sent to friends and relatives, who can anonymously check off items when they have purchased them for you.

Wishlistr is another alternative. It’s not quite as popular, but it has an elegant, Web 2.0 user interface and a ton of options to customize the look of your page.

Shopping lists: Getting some folks to use wish-list websites is an exercise in futility. So, if granny hands you a Post-It note — or worse, dictates her wish list to you over the phone — you don’t have to be bound to those scribbles on the page.

Evernote is a fantastic application for keeping information and lists. Once you log in, you can access your notes from virtually anywhere. It offers software compatible with PC, Mac and a variety of phones. Failing that, it even has a Web interface, compatible with just about any Internet-enabled device.

Then, there’s your cellphone, which is sure to have built-in notes functionality. Hey! It beats carrying around a pen and paper, right?

Comparing prices: Just because you’re at the mall doesn’t mean you’re limited to the stores there. If you have an Internet-enabled device (or if there’s an Apple store nearby), plug the name of that Magellan GPS device your brother was raving about into Google Product Search to get a list of competitive prices at online stores. For many shops, it shows store ratings, so you know whether the online retailer is legit, or a fly-by-night operation.

Venturing into the real-world this holiday season doesn’t mean you have to hunt like a caveman. Stay connected when you hit the mall, and you’ll save yourself headaches and maybe even a little dough.

—Mark Milian of the Technology Blog

Screenshot of Amazon Wish List