By the time the Thanksgiving leftovers have thinned out and the food coma has worn off, the overachievers will have their Christmas trees up, Menorah’s out, lights hung and presents wrapped. For the rest of you who take things a bit slower, we’ve conducted some research in order to provide you with the gift of ease this holiday season.
Here are the top 10 best technology related gifts in every price range, for teens and up:
- Blink S2 Electric Skateboard
This dual motored skateboard is powered by two Hub Motors, regenerative braking system and can take you 14 miles on one charge with a maximum of speed 18mph. The skateboard includes high powered LED lights to enhance your experience and safety during a night ride. And of course, it wouldn’t be complete without its very own app where you can track your rides, miles and store photos taken during your adventures. Word on the street is that this is changing the way people commute within congested cities. The going rate is $999.
- LevitatingX Collection
For the classy high tech’er in your life, we present to you, levitating home goods. The LevitatingX Collection offers a floating arrangement of plates, cups, a jewelry display pillow, planter, and more. With pricing starting at $199.99, you can provide a dining experience straight out of a sci-fi movie.
- Windows Mixed Reality Headsets
Reality technology is quickly becoming affordable for the average household. Windows now has a variety of reality Headsets by Lenovo, Dell, Acer, Samsung and more. The headsets give the player a 360-degree perspective of reality, taking forms in different parts of the world or solar system. Windows has been voted the best reality headset due to its extensive app library, consisting of 20K different options. Ranging from $299-$399, Windows is currently taking the lead for quality, but there are even cheaper options for those looking for an out-of-this-world experience on a budget.
- Onyx smart walkie-talkie
Because it works with wifi or any other type of data network, there are no geographical walls to keep the line of communication open. Extra measures of security have been added, making it one of the safest push-to-talk technologies out there today. The Onyx walkie-talkies can translate in real time between English and Spanish, and sync with iOS and Android devices, allowing you to create different groups and see the location of each person. It is complete with an easy to wear, light weight shell with a battery that can last all day. Pick between 4 different colors and get a pack of 2 for $199.98.
- Philips Hue White and Color Ambiance A19 Starter Kit
Voted to be one of the best introductory kits to start your smart home lighting off right, the question is, what can’t it do? For $145, you get 3 bulbs with a lifespan of 22 years, or 25,000 hours. Each bulb has the capacity to turn 50,000 different shades or choose from the 16 million different colors. The bulbs can be synced to movies and music, changing the lighting with sounds and bases. The A19 starter kit is compatible with Apple Home Kit, Amazon Alexa, Google Home, etc., and can be bridged to your wifi so you can control the settings when you’re sitting on the couch or out running errands. Upload your photos in order to match their color scheme or set them on a timer to slowly brighten so that you can wake up gradually and relaxed.
- Google Home Mini
Out of all of the smart home assistants out there, Google offers a high quality and affordable option for $49. With its voice detection you can ask any question, and become that much smarter in under a minute. Without any hands, put things in your calendar, get alerted about reminders, phone calls and news. With your voice command, you can stream movies, tv shows or music and even control other connected devices.
- Roku Premiere+
Big names like Apple, Google and Amazon are jumping on the streaming bandwagon, improving the overall experience. There are many streaming devices out there, but much research shows that Roku delivers the best experience with an affordable price. The Roku Streaming Stick goes for $49.99 while the Streaming Stick+ goes for $69.99. Bring free tv channels and subscription based entertainment to any room or outside area, with crisp HD. Consolidate all remotes into one and voice activate your tv, and of course download the app to control it all from your smartphone. You can even bring it with you while traveling and play it in your hotel room.
- Skyroam
For the ones in our lives who are always exploring and adventuring, this is the perfect gift. The Skyroam brings wifi to any smart device, anywhere. Seriously. You could be in the middle of a market in Katmandu and still get internet. The device can be rented or purchased, with a cheap pay-as-you-go option and reliable 4G connection. The personal hotspot works in 100+ countries and ranges from $79.99-$149.99.
- Automatic OBD2 (On-Board Diagnostics, Version 2)
All cars that were manufactured in the mid 1980’s have computers inside of them that tells us the gas mileage, engine problems and more. The OBD2 by Automatic is an adapter that plugs into your car to retrieve that data, and then sends it to the cloud. Automatic has won majority of the vote for its user friendly platform, diverse features and a wide variety of apps that let you do things such as: diagnose your check engine light and pull up top rated mechanics near you followed with directions; alerts you in real time about minor issues and how you can fix them yourself to save money; monitors you and/or your kids driving habits; makes suggestions on how to get better gas mileage, and even tracks your expense mileage separately. The adapter works on cars that are manufactured for the US and starts at $79.95.
- Amazon Fire 7
With a 7 inch screen, you can browse the internet, play games, stream movies or tv shows and of course, read books, anywhere you go. The Fire 7 now comes with Alexa, your voice activated assistant, and 4 different colors to choose from. It’s currently at a discounted price of $37.82 for the holiday season on, you guessed it, Amazon.com.
So there you have it. Consider this your holiday shopping cheat sheet. Now that you have all the answers, you can go back to wishing you had on those stretchy pants and wondering who ate the last slice of pumpkin pie.
References:
http://www.bestproducts.com/tech/gadgets/g293/best-tech-gifts-at-every-price/?slide=9
http://www.zdnet.com/pictures/best-gifts-2017-top-tech-gadgets-for-under-100/3/
https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/best-tech-under-100-dollars/
