Slide Show: 25 Hot Father's Day Gifts For 'Techie' Dads
Father's Day happens only once a year. And for some dads, the light up #1 Dad neck tie just isn't going to cut it. Dads have become a bit more tech savvy. While the family photo mouse pad may be a nice gesture, dads that are up on the latest technologies demand a little bit more. Here we've compiled some of the top gifts for geeky dads, with a little help from Tom Fair, president of Turnkey Technology, a self-confessed techie geek and computer trends expert. These gifts, which range from neat little accessories to high-tech gadgets and gizmos, can fit into any budget, ranging from about $10 to $350, with one or two high-dollar exceptions.
According to Fair, Father's Day gifts for a techie dad must fill three key criteria: they must be useful, cool and something the recipient doesn't already have.
"Definitely stay away from the cutesy gifts, like monitor-perching monkeys or mouse pads with pithy quotes," Fair warned. "Give something like that and it will be years before you can regain favor."
First up is this handy CD/DVD disc dispenser (pictured). If your father saves data or burns music and moves to CDs and DVDs, this $9 accessory can be incredibly useful. Just drop a stack of discs into the dispenser. One quick lever pull ejects the discs one at a time, without touching the write surface.
Brighten Up Father's Day
Trying to use a laptop in the dark can be a daunting task. Save your dad from spelling errors and typos with the Kensington 33120 FlyLight USB 2.0 Notebook Light (pictured). It retails for $15 and uses LEDs for energy efficiency. It also includes a dimmer to adjust brightness. And, if your dad hasn't yet upgraded to a notebook, this bad boy can illuminate a desktop too.
He'll Get A Charge Out Of This
If your dad has an iPod, which many do, there are sure to be times when the battery requires a recharge and the charger is tucked in some desk drawer at home. Whether on a long drive or international flight, the iTurbo Digital iPod Charger (pictured), which costs about $20, uses a single standard AA battery and can give the portable music player a zap on the go.
Take The Power Back
Busy dads carry several devices: cell phones, a Bluetooth headset, an iPod and a host of other small electronics. But who wants to carry all of the necessary chargers and adapters to keep them running? The Power Station Organizer (pictured) solves that problem. The Power Station, $20, is a small power strip that encloses three power adapters and provides a rack on top for the devices to sit while they recharge. Your dad will never be without power again.
Resurrect Retired Discs
Help your dad make damaged CDs and DVDs a thing of the past. He'll no longer have to suffer through the frustration of a DVD that freezes -- usually 20 minutes before the end -- or an audio CD that skips, stops playing or can't be read. The SkipDR Motorized Automax Disc Repair System (pictured) runs for just under $40 and can bring these discs back to life by repairing the scratches that rendered them useless. This device can even fix up those little 3-inch discs and comes complete with cleaning fluid and a polishing cloth.
It May Not Be A Shoe Phone, But
Make your dad feel a little like James Bond, or at least Maxwell Smart with this 2 Gigabit USB Memory Watch (pictured). The analog watch has a USB flash drive inside and a USB port on its band. The port can plug into any computer, enabling the watch to be used as a standard flash drive. Imagine the oohs and aahs when dad strolls confidently into a meeting and pulls up a PowerPoint presentation from his timepiece. For $35, this two in one gadget gives access to documents right on time.
"Pull out a watch that has your files on it and people will say 'oooh that's cool,'" Fair said. "Who wants to carry a stick in their pocket?"
Make Dad Feel Like A CIA Agent
A real geeky dad will love the added security of the Microsoft USB Fingerprint Reader (pictured). It retails for about $40 and substitutes a finger-swipe for password entry to log onto a computer or gain access to password-protected Web sites. This little gadget works with Windows XP only, but if dad is that concerned with security, it's unlikely he's upgraded to Vista just yet.
Get Dad Into The Game
A lot of dads are gamers at heart, might as well make them comfortable while playing. The Cyber Rocker S730P Gaming Chair with built-in speakers sits on the floor and rocks back to the most comfortable angle. It includes two built in speakers along with treble, bass and volume controls. It also folds up for easy storage and transportation. Fifty dollars is a small price to pay to make dad really feel like he's in the game.
Keep Dad Untethered
Does dad's computer get a little too noisy -- whether working or playing? Quiet him down the polite way with a pair of Sennheiser RS-120 Wireless Headphones (pictured). The $75 RS-120s are wireless, meaning no cords to get in the way and come with a charging cradle. They're also designed for comfort, so his ears won't hurt after a long night of working or gaming.
Give Dad More Power
Geeks worldwide know the key to keeping everything up and running is an uninterruptible power supply. Dad knows it too, but he probably doesn't have one. And if he does, the internal batteries may be close to being wiped out. Enter the CyberPower CP685AVR BF685 UPS with AVR. Don't let all the letters and numbers intimidate you, this $75 model features automatic voltage regulation, which corrects low voltages without resorting to battery power.
The Power Is In Your Hand
Remember the Nintendo Power Glove? This looks a bit like that. And while it might not help you knock out Mike Tyson in Punch Out, the Belkin Nostromo Speedpad n52 (pictured) is a keyboard, mouse and multi-button computer controller for the left hand only. It opens up new possibilities for the usually-dormant left hand. At $80, the Speedpad also allows dads to save settings for different situations, such as for different programs and games.
"You can program all of the keys to do really neat stuff," Fair said.
Take A Closer Look
In many cases, a dad has to see it to believe it. Well, the USB Microscope QX5 can help do just that. It's exactly what it sounds like, a USB microscope that hooks right into a computer's USB port. The $100 microscope magnifies objects up to 200 times, takes pictures, records video and captures time-lapse movies of subjects and specimen. It comes with a host of accessories, but the software only works with Windows 98, Me, 2000 and XP. Sorry Vista.
Back It Up
This is by far Fair's favorite -- well, he did create it. He guarantees there are few dads out there that already have a something like this. The BackupKey BP80 is a backup system that will protect every computer a dad has, plus the rest of the family's. With the push of one button this $110 80 GB device backs up everything on a machine and also features sharing, moving and synchronization capabilities. It can back up a Windows XP machine and restore it to a Vista machine. As data becomes more and more irreplaceable, more dads will covet such a neat little gadget. The BackupKey was nominated as one of the best new technologies at RetailVision Spring 2007.
"This will blow your socks off," Fair said. "Everyone should be backing up their data, but they're not."
Let Dad Enjoy Some Quiet, Sort Of
Let dad tune out the world and focus on the task at hand with the SoundShield 250 Compact Noise Canceling Headphones. This model, which runs about $150, is portable, making it easy for traveling or taking to a friend's house. Now dad can enjoy his work, music and games in peace, without any outside noise creeping in.
Make A Note Of This
Does dad take a lot of notes? Does he have legal pads and notebooks stacked up all over the office and the house. Move him into the future with the Aiptek My Note Premium, a 1.5 pound tablet that lets users draw, design, scribble and write. The My Note Premium converts chicken scratches into usable computer word processing or HTML Web files. It can store up to 100 pages of work until dad gets back to his computer. This legal pad of the future runs about $170 and works with Windows 2000 and XP.
If He's Going To Be Geeky, Do It In Style
Tired of dad having to sacrifice style in the name of geekiness? Worry no more. The New Jawbone (pictured here) combines both fashion and technology with its sleek new design. This Bluetooth bad boy, which retails for roughly $130 and offers a host of accessories and add-ons, is 50 percent smaller than the original Jawbone; uses military-grade noise elimination technology to eliminate up to 10 times more noise energy; features faster processing to eliminate unexpected noise bursts; and comes with a magnetic USB cable and wall charger. The new Jawbone weighs about 10 grams and offers four hours of talk time and eight days of standby time. It has a range of up to 33 feet and comes in black, silver and rose colors. It supports Bluetooth 1.1, 1.2 and 2.0.
Is Dad Bold Enough?
Does dad use a BlackBerry? Or any kind of smartphone for that matter? If so, he likely salivated last month when BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. (RIM) unveiled the BlackBerry Bold. While the Bold likely won't be available come June 15, dad won't scoff at an I.O.U. or a promise to get him one. The Bold is the first 3G BlackBerry. It comes with a host of multimedia and business features to give dad access to tools for both work and play on the go.
While pricing for the Bold has yet to be announced, it's a small price to pay to keep dad connected 24/7.
Get Him Where He's Going
Does dad drive a lot for work? Does he drive a lot for play? He'll never get lost on his way to a meeting again with the Nuvi 200 portable navigation system from Garmin (pictured). The Nuvi 200 may be a base model, but it's chock full of features. The sleek navigator and travel companion comes preloaded with maps for the lower 48 states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. It also lets dad save some of his favorite spots so he can find them again come the next trip. The suggested retail price of this is $213, but many electronics stores offer specials this time of year.
Thin Is In
Ok, this may be a bit pricey for Father's Day, but in case you got some extra cash to burn and a dad that wants the latest and greatest, the MacBook Air is the perfect gift. Billed as the world's thinnest laptop, the MacBook Air weighs 3 pounds and features a 13.3-inch back-lit LED widescreen display. It measures 0.16 inches at its slimmest and widens to just 0.76 inches. The Air can be powered by either a 1.5 GHz or a 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor and has 2 GB of memory and an 80 GB hard drive or 64 GB solid-state drive. Yeah, the MacBook Air starts at about $1,799, but can you really put a price on how cool you'll make your dad feel?
Put Media On Your iPod
Streaming Networks is making it easier to put video and other media onto your iPod with the iRecord Personal Media Recorder. The iRecord is a portable media recorder for USB storage devices, iPods and PSPs. Connect the video source to the S-video or composite video connections, plug in the USB device and hit record, the media will be recorded directly to the device. Data can be recorded to an iPod or other personal media player from television, DVD, Tivo, CD players, camcorders, computers, satellite radio, VHS tapes, audio cassettes and vinyl LPs to be watched or listened to anytime, anywhere. The iRecord runs about $170.
Never Run Out Of Memory
When you fill up space on a memory card, it's usually time to start deleting photos, right? Wrong. The HyperDrive Colorspace from Sanho (60 GB version pictured) is a color LCD equipped hard drive that will let dad back up, store and view photos and data from memory cards on the go without the need for a computer or external power. For about $300, the HyperDrive can transfer up to 28 Mbps and can hold up to 40 GB of images. The screen is 3.2 inches and can display JPEG and RAW images.
Archive Dad's Video Library
Help dad cut down on the clutter his bulky DVD or even his VHS collection is creating. The Neuros OSD Multimedia Hub connects directly to dad's TV or home theater system, letting him archive all of his DVD and video content. Just plug it into the TV, connect the DVD player or VCR and hit play. The video will be safely -- and legally! -- transferred to a digital library.
Hundreds of hours of video can be stored in one location, similar to an external hard drive and all video can be accessed instantly with the push of a button on a remote control. Video content can even be transferred to a portable device like an iPod, PSP or mobile phone to watch on the go. Even better, dad can email those home movies to friends and family, so you don't have to sit through them anymore, which is easily worth the price tag of just around $250.
Power Up Anytime, Anywhere
One thing we've learned so far is that dad's need power to fuel all of their gadgets and gizmos. The Powerstick from Ecosol Technologies wants to charge them all. The four-inch Powerstick can charge in any USB port anytime, anywhere. From there, the stick features nine different adapters to fit the majority of popular devices dad's use -- iPods, cell phones, smart phones, cameras, Bluetooth headsets, navigation systems, PDAs and more. The Powerstick is about the size of a stick of gum and hosts a lithium polymer battery. The $70 Powerstick can fully charge in 90 minutes and features a "fuel gauge" to illustrate just how much juice it has left.
Cut 15 Remotes To One
If your dad is anything like ours, he's got a pile of remote controls on the table for the stereo, TV, DVD player and a host of other electronics. And, like ours, he probably has to use the process of elimination to figure out which remote goes with witch device; a frustrating game. Give dad the power of just one remote with the Harmony 1000 Advanced Universal Remote from Logitech.
The universal remote, which retails for about $500, but can be found cheaper with some fancy Web searching, can control up to 15 different components. It features a 3.5 inch color touch screen with a series of icons for what you want to do, for example one icon simply says "watch DVD." The Harmony 1000 is rechargeable and is set up through an online wizard. It has the ability to control devices from 5,000 brands. It also comes with free support in case dad hits a roadblock along the way.
Help Dad Relax With A Book
Maybe, just maybe, all the technology has dad's head spinning and he just wants to relax and read something. Introducing the Amazon Kindle; a portable device that let's dad wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers and blogs wherever he goes and read them on one 600 pixel by 800 pixel screen. The device measures 7.5 inches by 5.3 inches by 0.7 inches and weighs 10.3 ounces, much smaller than lugging around a handful of books and newspapers, or a laptop.
The Amazon Kindle is completely mobile. It requires no PC and no syncing and uses the same 3G network as advanced mobile devices. Content is delivered wirelessly using Amazon Whispernet. Unlike Wi-Fi, the Kindle doesn't require users to find a hotspot, there are no confusing service plans, contracts or monthly bills. Essentially, dad can be anywhere, think of a book, buy it and get it in one minute. The content comes to him, wherever he is.
Newspaper subscriptions are delivered wirelessly each morning and most magazines arrive before they hit newsstands. New York Times best-sellers are only $9.99 and more than 125,000 books are available, along with many popular newspapers, magazines and blogs. The Amazon Kindle retails for a little more than $350, but it's a small price to pay to give an on-the-go dad on-demand reading material.