Holiday Gift Guide: 10 More Gadget Gifts For Techies
More Gadget Goodies
The holiday season is here, and so is the explosion of cool gadgets hitting the market on sale.
What is the perfect product to get that one friend who always has the newest digital gadget? It could be a WeMo smart coffeemaker for your sister who is constantly working and needs caffeine to get through the day. Or it could be a Yoga Tablet 3 Pro for a friend who wants a good way to watch Netflix.
From smartphones to smart devices, CRN has compiled a list of 10 holiday gifts that might find a place under the tree this season. Also, check out the rest of CRN's tech gift ideas for the 2015 holiday season.
Ring Video Doorbell
If you have friends who just moved into a new house, give them a welcome holiday housewarming gift: the Ring Video Doorbell. This product, which features an HD camera with night vision and a built-in rechargeable battery, lets you answer the door from anywhere using your smartphone.
The doorbell can be installed anywhere, and allows you to see and speak with visitors anywhere using Ring's free app, which is compatible with Android and iOS. The product is available for $199.99.
Amazon Echo
The Amazon Echo is a home audio speaker that is designed to respond to the user's voice. The hands-free product contains seven microphones for far-field voice recognition and 360-degree immersive sound speakers.
Amazon Echo connects to cloud-based voice service Alexa to provide information; answer questions; play music including Prime Music, Pandora and TuneIn; read the news; and more.
The Alexa app is compatible with Fire OS, Android and iOS devices. The Amazon Echo sells for $179.99 plus free shipping.
Mr. Coffee Smart Coffee Maker
Mr. Coffee's WeMo 10-cup programmable coffee maker provides remote easy access for adjusting brew time and setting up a weekly automatic coffee schedule. In other words, the coffee maker is a great gift for that one friend who is addicted to caffeine.
The coffee maker brews up to 205 degrees and features a double-walled, stainless steel thermal carafe. Using the free WeMo app on iOS or Android devices, users can easily and remotely set up their brew time if they are sleeping in or have an early meeting.
The coffee maker costs $149.
Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker With WeMo
The Crock-Pot Smart Slow Cooker works with users' smart devices through the WeMo app to let them conveniently adjust cooking settings from anywhere.
This 6-quart cooker is a good addition for a family member who loves cooking for large family gatherings. Using the WeMo app, which is compatible with Android and iOS devices, the slow cooker user can monitor remaining cooking time, change cooking temperature, adjust cooking time up or down, and shift to the warm setting or turn off the cooker. The slow cooker is available for $129.99.
Samsung 4K Smart HDTV
Samsung's 4K Smart HDTV may be on the pricey side, but the home theater experience this 60-inch-screen television provides may well be worth it.
For $1,497.99, users can enjoy a crisp, detailed 4K UHG picture screen with four times the resolution of full HD, as well as full connectivity -- featuring smart apps, a full Web browser and access to favorite program choices.
Samsung's 4K Smart HDTV also features ConnectShare, which allows users to watch videos, play music and view photos through a USB connection, as well as Smart View 2.0, which enables TV entertainment on mobile devices.
Activite Pop
It's no secret that January is the month when everyone crowds the gym hoping to fulfill their new year's resolutions. With that in mind, the Activite Pop is an activity-tracking watch that could help a friend reach that health goal.
The Activite Pop automatically tracks steps, runs, swims and calories. The watch comes with a sleep analysis tracker and silent vibrating alarm, and does not require charging. All progress can be easily tracked on an app that is available on iOS and Android.
The sleek Activite Pop, which is also water-resistant up to 165 feet, costs $149.95 and comes in a variety of colors.
Monster Cable SuperStar Speaker
What better way to listen to holiday music than with a portable speaker? The Monster SuperStar speaker is a high-definition Bluetooth 4.0 product that delivers wireless stereo sound. The stereo contains a built-in microphone with advanced noise cancelation to enable wireless hands-free calling and conferencing.
This 1-pound, portable Monster SuperStar speaker is optimized for use with smartphones, iPods, tablets and notebooks, and contains a lithium-ion battery with up to 5 hours of play time. The stereo costs $79.99.
Nakamichi Wireless Headphones
Who wouldn't love a good pair of headphones? And now, with Nakamichi's headphones, they can lose the annoying tangle of wires that usually comes with them.
The Nakamichi Bluetooth 4.0 Wireless Headphones have soft ear cushions for comfortable listening, as well as built-in microphone technology so that users can make hands-free calls through their phones or tablets. The red headphones also contain a USB rechargeable lithium-ion battery and 7 hours of uninterrupted listening.
These headphones cost $24.99 and include a 3.5mm aux-in cable for passive listening.
Yoga Tablet 3 Pro
Dubbed by Lenovo as "the ultimate video tablet," the Yoga Tablet 3 Pro contains a crisp, HD display for playing movies and shows, as well as immersive front-facing JBL speakers with Dolby Atmos audio for home entertainment.
This 10.1-inch tablet runs on the Android operating system, weighs 1.47 pounds, and contains 2 GB of RAM. Its 10,200 mAh battery allows for epic battery life of up to 18 hours of usage time and up to 49 days of standby time.
The Yoga Tablet 3 Pro costs $499 and features an integrated rotatable projector to turn any room into a personal theater.
Youth Digital's Online Coding Course
Youth Digital is a great way to kick-start a child's computer science knowledge. Youth Digital's online courses are for children ages 8 to 14, and include subjects such as 3-D character animation, server design, mod design, 3-D game design and app design. These courses are made up of interactive lessons, project learning and other experiences to help children master coding concepts.
The courses include up to 30 hours of instruction; one year of course access; a self-paced and project-based curriculum; interactive quizzes and challenges; and a final project with an instructor's assessment. Most courses cost $249.99, and include a 30-day money-back guarantee.