For as long as gift-giving has been a tradition, there’s also been the inability to come up with good gift ideas. Whether it’s for your mom, dad, sister, brother, partner, friend, colleague, they, them, him, her, cat, dog, secret Santa, or for a White Elephant party, it can often be tricky to select the perfect present for your recipient. Price can also be a huge factor in holiday shopping — whether you have a tight budget and / or a long list of friends and family members to buy gifts for. This season can make things pretty rough on your wallet.
So as the 2017 holidays approach, I have put together a tech gift guide of the many wonderful things that would make great presents for all ages, sizes, genders, and budgets. At the very least, we hope these recommendations spark an idea for what you might gift your loved ones.
Apple 4K TV
With 4K TV's getting less and less inexpensive, why not prepare for the future. Even if you don't have a 4K TV, this will still work with your existing TV (as long as it has an HDMI port) and work well. It has it's own processor, RAM, and storage making it a mini computer. With a ton of apps, the most of any streaming stick/box, (except Amazon Prime Video) for movies, tv, games, shopping, and more. A great touch with Apple TV, you can pair it with bluetooth headphones or earbuds and watch TV but with the sound not bothering anyone else in the room. Think Moms with newborns who are napping but want to watch TV and not wake them. Or roommates with one wanting to watch TV and the other studying or readying in the same room. Another great feature of the remote is it connects with the Apple TV via bluetooth so you can hide the Apple TV box away and still operate it. Plus, the remote is rechargeable with a lightning cable so if you are an iPhone user, you only need one cord in the room. The charge lasts about 2 weeks with regular use and only takes 20 minutes to full charge. You can't go wrong with this choice to have in your household for years and years to come. Unfortunately it is also the most expensive starting at $179.99.
Chromecast Ultra
Think Amazon Fire Stick but for Google. It also works a little different. You use a tablet, laptop/desktop, or smartphone to pick what you want to watch with apps, except the laptop/desktop in which you would use the Chrome web browser to pick what you want to watch then "CAST" or send what is on your little screen to your TV. There are a ton of apps that are compatible to cast and the Ultra is $54 right now. The best use is with a laptop/desktop running the Chrome web browser. Any webpage can be cast to your TV, even movies you have on your hard drive. For all your stereo/entertainment system nerds, it is HDR ready AND supports Dolby ATMOS and VISION. Very versatile with an annoying bug/glitch. Once you cast something to the TV, if it is a video or movie longer than a 10 mins, your device, smartphone, tablet, or laptop/desktop, loses connection with the Ultra so you will have to take another min to reconnect before changing what you are viewing. 45 seconds to a minute is not much time, but if you are "channel surfing" between videos and shows, it gets annoying quick.
Roku Ultra
Think Apple 4K TV without the Apple eco-system (iTunes and App store) but with a lot of support for the same apps and less expensive. For most people, unless you have bought a lot of TV shows and movies from Apple, this is the best option. One thing I love about ROKU devices since the ROKU 3, you can plug headphones/earbuds (ROKU provides a set) into the remote to watch TV without the sound bothering anyone else in the room. Think Moms with newborns who are napping but want to watch TV and not wake them. Or roommates with one wanting to watch TV and the other studying or readying in the same room. Another great feature of the remote is it connects with the ROKU via bluetooth so you can hide the ROKU box away and still operate it. Starting at $85 as of this article and also support 4K resolution and HDR, you really can't go wrong with this ROKU to have for a couple of years.
Amazon
Roku Streaming Stick+
The smaller version of the ROKU Ultra. It's not as powerful as the Ultra but still supports 4K and HDR content at $43 as of this article. The remote has all the same features as the Ultra as well. The only real downside is the length. While maybe half an inch longer than a tube of lipstick, if you have a TV with an HDMI port that is hidden away in a cramped space, it might not fit. Of if the HDMI port doesn't go out to the side but straight out from the back, you will need to cover the length of the stick from the wall making it impossible to have this and a wall mounted TV. A great choice for a secondary TV or small apartment.
Amazon
Amazon Fire TV (Pendant stick)
While $30 more than the regular Fire TV stick starting at $69.99, spend the extra for better performance, Wi-Fi, and 4K support. With Alexa built into the remote, support for a tons of apps a kin to the ROKU Ultra and Streaming Stick Plus, and HDR and Dobly ATMOS support, this is a great buy. And yes it can be "jailbroken" to get KODI and all apps supported under KODI.
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