My top 10 tech gadgets for the Holiday season are not the cheapest or most expensive, nor the most recent. It’s based on smart design, usefulness and something others would appreciate having.
So from Santa’s workshop, to my testing bench to a special spot under your Christmas tree, here’s my list:
The TomTom GO LIVE 1535M, priced $259, is a GPS unit with a five-inch screen that constantly updates traffic via a built-in cell data connection which feeds live information from street traffic to figure out your fastest route. Combined with a comprehensive data map including seven million preloaded points of interest in Canada/US/Mexico it includes Twitter, Yelp, Trip Advisor and instant room availability in nearby hotels with Expedia. This GPS does it all. The GO LIVE subscription is free for the first year.
It’s winter. For the most practical smart phone or tablet accessory to keep fingers warm outside and still work on any touch screen device, look at Canadian-made Glider Gloves, $26.99. They won’t win a fashion award but they work and stay warmer than fancier models.
The Philips Sonicare Air Floss, priced at $99.99 is your hi-tech dental floss, cleaning between your teeth with bursts of air and water. It’s easy to refill with water and the battery lasts for a two-week trip. I discovered hard to locate early tooth decay because of it!
For the most extreme drop, crush, salt water, sand, rain, altitude and chemical exposure check out the 500 GB ioSafe Extreme Ultra-Rugged portable USB/Firewire hard drive, listed at $200. Included in the package is a one-time, no questions asked, data recovery service, as they do with their other drives. It has survived intense flash fires, subbed as a hockey puck and more.
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Ready for your next camera upgrade? The 12.3 megapixel Olympus E-PM1 with 14-42mm zoom interchangeable lens offers quality, value and great features like multiple exposures during or after shooting, the best art filters and the best-priced lens expansion options. It’s also one of the fastest response digital cameras with DSLR quality and one of the smallest. Comes with add-on flash. Street price as low as $400 in major retail chains.
The coolest, smallest and most effective camera gadget for shooting in dark places without a flash is the tiny SteadePod from Gentec International, which costs $30 in quality camera shops and online. It has a retractable steel wire that hooks around trees, posts, stair railings or under your foot to steady a camera’s movement…like a monopod without the pod.
OK, it’s love at first sight with the high-tech Dyson Hot space heater, until you see the price tag: $449. But, the fact that it can be used year-round, including cool mode for summers, no-hot surface, tip safe, auto swing and tilt, no-burning dust smell, remote control, LED screen and whisper quiet fan heat distribution makes up for performance. As for looks? Priceless.
Despite the most numerous pros and deserving popularity, if the iPhone 4S is not to your liking, then look at the very hot Samsung Galaxy Nexus with Google’s “pure” new Android Ice Cream Sandwich OS, available at Bell and Virgin. Even though many current Android phones will soon be upgradable to the new OS, none can match the Nexus Galaxy’s iPhone-like sharpness and speed, not to mention the huge 4.65 curved screen and lightness.
Let them laugh when they see you with a retro hand set plugged in your cellphone. The replica of the classic analog phone receives or ends a call when plugged to your cellphone’s phone jack. Its speaker and microphone is superior to any cellphone and it’s actually comfortable to use. The Moshi Moshi model from Native Union, complete with curled cord is available in Canada for $30. It has a nice-to-touch soft rubber surface in many colours. Fancier bluetooth versions with charging base are also available.
Check out my guide on tablets and eReaders next week, but if you can’t wait, the most affordable eReaders are small and fast. If the gift recipient already has an eReader brand with lots of books, stay with the same brand, as purchased material can be shared/transferred. In order of price and simplicity my favs are:
The new Kindle, $109, same six-inch screen size of the keyboard WiFi and 3G siblings, but minus the keyboard and easier to carry.
The Sony Reader WiFi six-inch screen recently discounted to $119.99, a hot deal, is light and thin and offers the best book deal ever: you can “borrow” library books for free from virtually any library membership in North America. It also takes additional memory and is a great MP3 player while you read.
Canadian Kobo’s newest seven-inch colour screen Kobo Vox eReader, $199, is also web-capable, uses an LCD screen, does email and runs a large selection of especially modified Android apps. Its Pulse feature lets you share reader experience on Facebook and, according to Kobo, it’s aiming for the largest selection of children’s eBooks. Kobo also has a free eBook reader app Apple iOS, Android, BlackBerry and HP WEB OS.
If you were wondering when is the best time to shop for your tech gadgets, you can probably do better than the current discounting, not by waiting for Boxing Day sales, but by waiting until January when prices are likely to be cut a little more.
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