With the holiday gift giving season upon us I thought I would share my ideas of great gifts in a few of my favorite categories. I won't be ranking these in their respective categories but just letting you know what I think are the best for their value. Not everyone needs all of these but I hope that even the average technology user will need or want a few of them to make things easier without being obtrusive in their lives. Obviously there will be some bias as I am only human and what I perceive as value to the average consumer, not the tech nerd/geek. So lets get started!
Earbuds: Klipsch S4i II. Available in black and white.
Not many people know about Klipsch with all the other earphone makers out there (Sony, Bose, Beats, etc) and it's a shame because they are great. They are not an extremely high end maker like Bose, but definitely make a better product at a lower price than Beats. These are noise isolating (not canceling like Bose) in-ear headphones with a mic for calling and 3 button remote to control music on your tablet, MP3 player, and smartphone, flat cables that are a lot harder to tangle, comfort for hours, and the deep bass and full range clarity that many audiophiles live and know for with the Klipsch reputation. If you know someone who cares about the sound of their music and movie watch and they are always on the go, these will get a huge smile.
Accessory for your TV: Google's Chromecast
As a tech geek/nerd, this is the best tech ANYTHING for $35 and under. It allows you to stream videos from your tablet, laptop, PC, and smartphone via your wireless network in your home. Plug this into a empty HDMI port in the back of your TV, take 5 minutes (what Google says but it took me less than 90 secs, I promise) to setup it up with your wifi network at home and you can stream Hulu Plus, Netflix, HBO GO, YouTube, Google Play Movies and Music, and any webpage on your Chrome web browser tabs from your laptop/PC. You "CAST" it from your device to the Chromecast, Chromecast then picks up the web address of what you want played and goes to get it for you, leaving you the option to leave the app or Chrome browser tab on your device to free up your device again. There is also a very easy "hack" that will let you play your own movies on your PC/laptop straight to the TV via the Chromecast:
Windows PC/Laptop: Open an empty Chrome browser tab then press "ctrl O". It will then allow you to search your PC/laptop to find and play the movie.
Mac PC/Laptop: Open an empty Chrome browser tab then press "command O". It will then allow you to search your PC/laptop to find and play the movie. Warning that the movie for a Mac must be in a .mp4 format.
I know this might seem like a lot for someone who doesn't see themselves as a tech gee/nerd but like new technology, it takes a little getting use to, just like a new iPad or iPhone which is a very intuitive piece of technology to learn. But for $35, why not give it a shot. So glad I did.
Mophie iPhone 5/5s Helium Juice Pack Battery Case. Available in multiple colors and for other smartphone devices as well.
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Battery life. To the average smartphone user (unless you own a Note 3, G2, or Droid Maxx) it is the reason why we keep cords and plugs in our cars, office, living room, bedroom, spare room, etc. Well mophie has decided that for a few smartphones, they can change all of that plus provide protection for your phone. The Mophie battery cases contain an external battery that depending on the case, can charge your smartphone 80 to 100% of its internal battery while still being able to use your smartphone. The cases have a connecting charging port (MicroUSB or Lightning adaptor) inside the case allowing your smartphone to always be connected. When your battery life is low, flip the switch on the case and the external battery in the case charges your smartphone. Then you get home, plug in your phone, with the case still on it, and charge both the case and your smartphone overnight. It's that easy. I will say this, as long as I own a smartphone that mophie makes a case for, I will always get one.
External battery charger: Portable Anker® Astro 10000mAh Dual USB Backup External Battery Pack
For those that don't have a S3, S4, HTC One, or an iPhone 4/4s/5/5s and are sick of smartphones with a low battery right in the middle of your day or just plain dead while you are away from a wall charger, you need an Anker. This external and portable battery charger is a little longer than a deck of playing cards but thinner and has two USB ports to charge 2 devices simultaneously (smartphone, mp3 players, tablets, etc.). There is enough charge in this external battery to charge an iPhone 5s six times from 0 to 100% or the new iPad Air one and a quarter times. Leave this in the car, purse, satchel, backpack, or even your back pocket and never run out of battery again.
Roku 3 Streaming Media Player
Have a flat screen TV but don't want to shell out the money for a Smart TV? Roku 3 is how you introduce apps to your TV for under $100. You hook this little box (the size of two decks of playing cards stacked on top of themselves) to one empty HDMI port on the back of your TV and the other to your internet router (wireless is an option if you choose) and you will be connected to tons of apps to stream your favorite web content directly to your TV (YouTube, Netflix, HBO GO, Amazon Instant Video, Hulu Plus, Redbox Instant, Fox NOW, Disney Channel, SyFy, and dozens upon dozens more) with no monthly fees for the Roku 3 (fees and costs still apply to services like Netlix and Hulu Plus). Also included is a bluetooth remote to control your Roku 3 so that you can hide the box away from sight and still control it. Another bonus is the standard 3.5mm headphones jack on the side of the remote. Plug in the earbuds given to you by Roku or use your own pair and the sound from your TV while using the Roku will come through your headphones and not out of the TV. This is perfect for those times when one person in the room wants to watch Roku on the TV but another person is trying to sleep.
Do you know someone who loves to play music on their phone at the beach, at camp, around a bon fire, in the dorm room, or just around the house but the speakers are not that great? This is what they need. Connect their smartphone to this speaker via bluetooth wirelessly and you get up to 5 hours of continuous music away from a wall chargerfrom one of the leaders of speaker design and manufacturing, JBL. On the go away from a wall charger but need more battery life, connect an External battery charger: Portable Anker® Astro 10000mAh Dual USB Backup External Battery Pack to this wireless speaker and get almost 24 hours of music (you can plug your phone into the other USB port on the external battery). Definite need for a smartphone owner who loves to share their music with the world, whether they like it or not.
The most expensive item on this list but the one item that everyone with a home can utilize and help save them money, essentially paying itself back in heating and cooling savings. Simply hook up the Nest and it will begin keep track of when you turn up or down the air or set an auto schedule of when you leave the home in the morning and when you want it to come back on later in the afternoon. After a while it will learn your regular patterns and adjust accordingly. It even has proximity sensors in it to tell when everyone is out of the house and turn down the air then, even if you are leaving at a time is not part of the regular schedule.
Another great thing about the Nest is you can control it when you are away from your house. Just connect the Nest to your home WiFi, download the Nest app, and you are done. Coming home earlier than normal on a hot or really cold day and want the house to the temperature you desire when you get home, use the app to set the temp before you jump in the car to drive home and the Nest will act accordingly. The Nest also lets you know when to replace your air filter, give you a monthly energy report for your heating/cooling, and more.
Fitbit Flex Wireless Activity + Sleep Wristband
Technology and fitness are here. Will any tech make you automatically healthier or more fit? Nope. Is it there to supplement and help remind and motivate you to move a little more in your daily life, absolutely. The Fitbit Flex is the same size as those LIVESTRONG bracelets but thicker at the top where it contains the monitoring device that bluetooth syncs with your smartphone. The monitoring device in the band keeps track of how much movement you make through out the day then will show you your progress in the form of 4 dots. Each dot represents 25% of your goal that day. It could be 10,000, 25,000, or 100,000 steps, which ever you set in the app in your smartphone. It's water resistant up to wearing it in the shower but I would not recommend using in the pool or ocean. The battery life is also pretty solid as you don't have to charge it but once every 4 to 5 days. Fitbit also sells bands separately in slate, orange, and red. As far as fitness bands or monitors, there are others on the market but this one is simple, very complete, and works with all smartphones, not just an iPhone or an Android device.
Audio-Technica is a brand most have never heard of (just like Klipsch) and its a shame because if you care about the sound of your music and care about your bank account, these are the headphones to get. You don't get Beats because those are junk, you don't get Bose because your bank account will cry for help, and you can't get Klipsch, unfortunately, because they don't make over the ear headphones (which unless you have huge ears provide more long term comfort) just on the ear headphones. If you can find these for under $150 (as of 12/2/13 the link has them for $102) it is a steal. They are comfortable, provide great bass but doesn't sacrifice the mids and the highs for it, good looking design, and provide almost no leakage in sound (others being able to hear your music while you have these on). I can't recommended any other brand or style (unless the big brother versions are under $250 as those start at $499) for over the ear headphones for anyone who takes their audio seriously, whether it be music listening, video editing, or sound editing.
These make great stocking stuffers if someone you know is getting a smartphone or tablet that has expandable storage via a microSD card. These will turn their 8GB tablet into a 72GB tablet and a 16GB smartphone into a 80GB one. Just a couple of rules I have to make sure you get the most for your money:
- Never buy an off brand. Sandisk, Samsung, Lexmark, Sony, Transcend, PNY, and Kingston are the more reliable ones. But if something does go wrong (have owned everyone of these and only had one PNY go bad after almost 2 years) they warranty for 2 years unless you purposely destroy them.
- Never pay more that $1 for 2GB. So if you walk into a retail store and the card is 32GB but will cost you $29.99, that is a rip off. Storage is so cheap at 64GB and below now days that a 32GB microSD card should set you back no more than $15-$17 (excluding tax).
- Always get class 10 or XC. This lets you know the speed at which the device can write to the card. Any lower and you run the risk of pictures being distorted or video stuttering when you save it to the card, especially with how most smartphone camera's take high resolution photos and video in Full HD 1080p. The card has to be able to keep up with the device and class 10 or XC insures it will.
Wrap Up:
Obviously there are more tech gadgets, accessories, and gizmos out there than you can ever collect, even if you are a tech geek/nerd but these are just a few in some categories that I think everyone should look into investing it. Would I like to have one of each from every category, absolutely (I'm close) but I think having at least 1 to 3 of these can make life a little more fun, cool, and if used correctly and to its fullest, make life easier.
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