It’s mere days until Christmas day; while you may have been caught up with work and everything, your kids for example surely haven’t. And that Christmas party that you’ve been planning for this year isn’t nearly enough without the much-awaited gifts to wrap everything up with, don’t you think?
Well, it’s alright if you’re late with doing your gift shopping simply because you’ve run out of ideas after all these years of imaginative and insightful presents. For what technology is concerned, I think that more often than not, it will make a great and vast source of ideas and possible gifts for absolutely anyone. After all, we’re slowly moving towards that fabled moment in human evolution when mostly everything will be done by some technological means.
So whether you’re looking for gifts for your kids, your friends and even the elders of your family, tech is what we know and do best, so here’s our list of ideas for this year’s last minute Christmas shopping.
Tech Gift Ideas #1 – Polaroid Zip
There’s nothing better than managing to take a shot of that perfect moment you’ve experienced with your friends to truly immortalize it, one would think. That’s true, but add a portable photo printer to the ordeal and you’ve got your most special moments out in physical form to share with your dear ones on the spot. The Polaroid Zip Instant Photoprinter is a perfectly mobile and pocket-sized device that you can connect to any smartphone or tablet wirelessly via Bluetooth which will allow you to edit and print 2 x 3 inch format photos, in color.
Amazon has plenty of them for sale, in all of the 4 color variations for $129.99.
Tech Gift Ideas #2 – Tile (Second Generation)
I’m sure I speak for a lot of people when I say I reminisce the amount of times I wished there was a search function in real life and not just on computers. While it’s not exactly the same, the second generation of Tile is an amazingly useful item to have. After you pair it with your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth and attach it to your keys or that one item that you always seem to be misplacing, you’ll be able to trigger an audio notification from your phone whenever the object is question has gone missing. Find your keys in a matter of seconds instead of running late for work again because you’ve spent 15 minutes looking for your keys.
Considering the amount of time you’ll be saving with the tiny Tile, the $24.99 price that’s attached to it on Amazon shouldn’t be a problem.
Tech Gift Ideas #3 – Razor Hovertrax
You may have actually seen this one around, either on display in shopping centres or at least on TV. The spiritual successor to the Segway has lost its handlebars and the entire vertical bit of the construction and even made an improvement to its self-balancing system. In some ways, I guess you could say it’s a much slower but also much safer skateboard. Considering it’s automated and can only go up to 6 miles an hour, however, you won’t be taking it to the skateboarding park anytime soon. Surely much appreciated by kids, the Razor Hovertrax is what I would call an early attempt at those hover boards we’ve been seeing in Sci-Fi movies since we were kids ourselves.
A little costly, but surely a great amount of fun, the Razor Hovertrax can be purchased directly from the Razor website for $599.99. As alternatives, you can either try Amazon or your local Walmart.
Tech Gift Ideas #4 – Une Bobine
For all the iPhone users out there who have attempted to maintain a FaceTime or Skype call with video for longer amounts of time, you’ve probably run in this situation. You’re low on battery and your hand is tired and there’s literally no way to hold the phone leaning on a vertical surface because of the charger plug at the bottom. For anyone who finds themselves video calling a lot as well as looking for solutions to the aforementioned problem, the Une Bobine is a very minimal and yet futuristic looking cable that you can very well use as a stand for your iPhone. It’s perfectly bendable so you can shape it any way you like and it features a Lightning port on one end and an USB jack on the other. You can use it for video calling, photo shooting setup and even as a nifty nightstand decoration while you’re charging your phone overnight.
It’s available for purchase via Amazon for $34.99.
Tech Gift Ideas #5 – Olloclip 4 in 1
For all the aspiring smartphone photographers out there who can’t get everything they wished for from their iPhone 6’s camera, the Olloclip 4-in-1 is here to help. In essence, it’s a lens system that clips onto the top of your iPhone that will enhance the image quality for both your front facing and rear facing cameras. It can be adjusted for both the normal and Plus versions and on top of the 10x and 15x magnification, respectively, you also get a wide-angle lens and a fisheye lens.
You can purchase the set from Herman St. for $26.96
Tech Gift Ideas #6 – Tylt Energi Sliding Power Case
We all have that one friend that spends most of his waking time with their phone in their hand, even if they’re not doing anything in particular. There’s always websites to browse, scores to check, texts to send, things to see and videos to watch. And because battery tends to drop at worrying rates with all of these lovely and bright displays these days, one needs a backup. Instead of the usual portable battery that will need to be carried around too (those things aren’t exactly small), you can instead opt for the Tylt Energi Sliding Power Case – designed for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. Basically you get a portable battery in the shape of a case that serves as a downright sturdy source of protection for your phone. It will add a rechargeable 3,200 mAh battery that stop automatically when your phone reaches 100%.
This great power case can be found on Amazon for $78.70.
Tech Gift Ideas #7 – Grush Gaming Toothbrush
You can never be too careful with your children’s dental health. Because it is in their nature, kids will not only find brushing teeth an absolute drag that they have to do just because they’re told to, but may also not be amazingly thorough with it once they get to it. By employing clever use of gamification principles, the Grush Gaming Toothbrush makes kids actually find a joy in brushing their teeth. Furthermore, thanks to the motion sensor in it, parents will be able to track their kids brushing habits and patterns if you sync it to your phone via the dedicated app.
The toothbrush is currently offered only via the official website at GrushGamer.com for $59.
Tech Gift Ideas #8 – Drones and Other Remote Controlled Vehicles
I had to make this one a category because there are a fair few RC devices out there that you might want to take a look at, given that each one is somewhat special – in one way or another.
- Blade BLH7600 Nano QX RTF. This tiny quadcopter is most proficient when flying indoors; but despite its size and weight, it’s amazingly sturdy and even comes with spare blades and canopy, should they need replacing. It’s a great toy that features simple controls and a smooth learning curve if you’re new to flying drones. It’s available on Amazon for $79.98.
- Axis Aerius. Next up in the list of small sized quadcopters is the Axis Aerius – even smaller than the Blade Nano. It comes in a very compact package with the controller sporting a plastic dome that you can store the Axis Aerius in. The battery will give you roughly 5 minutes of flight time and it allows you to easily spot it thanks to the bright LEDs. Not recommended for outdoor use in most cases still, however. You can get it from the Axis website for $35.
- Joysway Mad Shark 17” F1. Switching from aerial to aquatic, the Mad Shark is a fun torpedo boat that you can remotely control through a 2.4 GHz two-channel transmitter and receiver. It’s incredibly fast to, being able to reach up to 30 miles per hour thanks to the 2500KV Water Cooled Brushless Outrunner motor. We’ve only found it on Amazon.com so far, for $79.99.
- Air Hogs Star Wars Remote Control Millennium Falcon. We’ve found this great, in-theme drone too that will suffice for any Star Wars fan out there. It has an impressive range of 200 feet and features 2.4 GHz communication. Luckily, this one is a little easier to get your hands on as it’s currently being sold by Walmart for $88.84.
- Parrot MiniDrone Jumping Sumo. And last but not least, let’s not forget about a good old rough terrain explorer such as the Parrot MiniDrone. It can take some crazy turns and even jumps up to 2.5 feet, not to mention that it comes with some predefined controls for a wide range of acrobatics. The greatest part of it all, however, is the fact that it comes with a preinstalled wide-angle camera slapped right on the front of the drone that can stream video to your smartphone while you’re using it. Who needs to attach a separate GoPro when you’ve got this? This amazingly talented and awesomely designed ground drone can be found on Amazon for $109.99.
Tech Gift Ideas #9 – Apple iWatch
If you’ve got the budget to spare, what better gift to get a tech-savvy person than a smartwatch? While there’s nothing we can say to make the iWatch anything more than just a flashy extension of your Apple smartphone, it’s surely the beginning of a soon centric gadget in our day to day lives. If you hurry just the tiniest bit, you might still be able to get your hands on one of the discounted Apple iWatches at Sam’s Club. If not, you can get them straight from apple.com or any retail Apple store for $349.00.
Tech Gift Ideas #10 – Moga Pro Power
This is one thing that will certainly appeal to your gamer friends will make mobile phone gaming legit by attaching a full scale controller to your smartphone. The Moga Pro Power employs the Xbox 360 controller model and has a S.M.R.T. Lock Arm where you can place your smartphone to turn it into a portable gaming console. You can also attach it to tablets, but that will require a separate slate purchase. Otherwise, this great device will not only make mobile phone gaming easier, but also charge your phone while it’s at it.
You can currently purchase it for a large discount on Amazon, at only $48.99 in comparison to its usual $80.
Tech Gift Ideas #11 – Xbox One Chatpad
While we’re at the gaming section, no matter how fast you’re with your controller typing on your Xbox one console, chatting to someone is a downright hectic ordeal that most won’t even bother with. Give yourself and your gamer friends a break and make use of the Xbox One Chatpad. It connects into the bottom of your controller and contains a full-keyboard (despite rather small scaled). It features backlighting and offers you a rather good degree of headset audio control. It works on Windows 10 too so you can use it in more than one way.
It’s currently available on Amazon for $34.99 or off the official Microsoft website, right here.
Tech Gift Ideas #12 – Console Gift Cards: Xbox One and Playstation 4
It’s difficult to keep track of all the games your friends already own or not if you’re thinking of gifting them something. You don’t want to find yourself in the awkward moment where you realize that you just got your best buddy the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt which he just bought last week on Steam Sales. Instead, and trust me – it will be much appreciated, you can get your gamer friends gift cards for their console of choice. They normally come in 3 amount variants – $10, $20 and $50 – which can suffice for most games, old or new. Alternatively, you can also opt to get them various amounts of subscription for PlayStation Plus or Xbox Live.
Both the gift cards and subscription cards can be found on either Amazon, eBay or via the official console websites at Playstation or at Xbox.
Tech Gift Ideas #13 – Bose QuietComfort 25 Headphones
Headphones are always a good way to go in what gifts are concerned; whether you go for in-ear or over the head headsets, they can be greatly appreciated by anyone who enjoys music a great amount and wants to get a more reliable way of using their smartphone’s music player and still take calls. Our best option for this selection of factors is by far the Bose QuietComfort 25 Headphones – 2015 market leader in what circumaural noise cancelling headphones are concerned. They offer a great amount of immersion and do an amazing job and cancelling outside noise, while still offering you the chance to use them to take calls too.
They are a little more expensive, however, as they go for $269.95 on the bose.com website.
Tech Gift Ideas #14 – iRobot Roomba 880
Who says household helpers can’t make great gifts too? As society slowly moves towards smart homes and basically automatic everything, you can start by making vacuuming a much less harrowing business. The iRobot Roomba 880 is one of the smartest automatic vacuums we’ve seen because it uses a set of improved scanners that manage to map out rooms and allows it to navigate through them almost perfectly. With several modes that you can set it on, the iRobot will do your vacuuming for you as soon as you turn it on; or alternatively schedule it to do a routine cleaning.
The easiest way to get the iRobot Roomba 880 is via Amazon, where you can find it for $699.
Tech Gift Ideas #15 – iHome iBT29BC Alarm Clock
Useful and awesome looking, the iHome IBT29BC alarm clock is as much as it is a great addition to your room’s décor. It can change colors through a wide palette so it will go with any kind of wall color. As an alarm clock, it does what any other alarm clock would, including radio. However, I doubt your alarm clocks can also charge your phones via USB or also take it upon themselves to become speakerphones too. No need to struggle to maintain a voice call while you’re trying to get ready for school or work when you can simply take it through your alarm clock.
The iHome Alarm Clock is priced at $69.99 on Amazon.
Tech Gift Ideas #16 – Philips Hue White Starter Kit
Last but not least in the chapter of home customization and smart homes over all, if you or any of your acquaintances are fidgeting around the idea of remotely controlled homes, here’s a good idea. Because it’s difficult to transition towards a “smart house” if yours wasn’t built to be one by default, it’s easiest to begin with the smallest appliances. Lights, for example. The Philips Hue White Starter Kit consists of two white Hue bulbs, along with their remotely controlled bridge so you can sync them to your smartphone. They include movements sensors too so they can also turn on automatically when you get home for example.
Amazon is the best place to get them from, where they’re listed at a price of $79.99.
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Roxanne Briean
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