Thanks to the international power of social media, guys like me had a chilling moment of fear last month. I read a bunch of tweets on March 26 celebrating Mother’s Day and I naturally panicked. I had forgotten Mother’s Day! As I dove for the phone to call my mom, I realized it was a false alarm, courtesy of our friends across the ocean in England. So now that I am alert and aware of the approaching, actual Mother’s Day, I decided to put together a list of tech gifts for all the moms in our lives. Some fun gifts, some practical gifts, and some gifts to cause a little bit of mischief.
Circle with Disney
The Circle with Disney is the gift that gives peace of mind to mom. It is an internet filtering device that makes internet browsing safer for the youngest surfers in the house. With the Circle installed, mom can set time limits on the kid’s internet browsing, and control a list of safe websites for them to visit. Mom loves having family gathered around the table and sharing a meal together without distractions, so use the Circle with Disney to make dinner time an internet-free time. It is easy to set up and use, so you’ll spend less time giving mom tech support.
Fitbit Alta HR Fitness Tracker with Heart Rate Monitor
Caution: You must be careful with the sales pitch for this gift. It only takes one poorly worded statement to give your mom the impression that this gift is a critique of her weight, and then no one is happy. Focus on the health benefits of the Fitbit Alta HR Fitness Tracker with Heart Rate Monitor, such as the accurate heart rate monitoring and sleep tracking. Mom will love it, as long as you add an offer to put the tracker through its paces by going for a nice family walk together. The Fitbit Alta connects to her smartphone via Bluetooth, so she can see texts and incoming phone call numbers with a glance at her wrist.
Polaroid SNAP TOUCH 13MP Digital Camera with Instant Printer
Take some nostalgia, add in a cup of modern technology, and finish with a pinch of simplicity. Ta da! It’s the Polaroid SNAP TOUCH digital camera with instant printer. If you don’t remember the old instamatic cameras, I bet that your mom does. This camera has the same easy and instant shot and print ability, but it also has the capacity to share the photos digitally and the ability to record videos . And there’s no need to shake the printer picture as it develops (FYI: old folks like me used to shake the pictures, even though it didn’t actually speed the process up). Make sure that mom also receives a good supply of print paper, so she can take as many photos of the grandkids as humanly possible.
Kobo Aura ONE 7.8″ Digital eBook Reader With Touchscreen
Is spending the day by the ocean reading while the kids play in the surf your mom’s idea of heaven? In that case, the Kobo Aura ONE is the right tech gift for her. It’s big but lightweight. She can read it easily in the bright light of day, thanks to the eInk display. The wifi connectivity will let mom grab a new book from the kobo store whenever she likes, or borrow a book from her local library’s digital collection. But I bet you’re a bit nervous about a gadget by the sea. Don’t worry! The Kobo Aura ONE 7.8″ Digital eBook Reader is waterproof.
Muse Brain-Sensing Headband
The Muse headband tracks your brain activity and provides the feedback to you as a tool to improve your meditation ability. It is controlled by the companion app installed on your tablet or smartphone. You have two approaches to presenting this gift. The first is straight-forward: you want mom to have this device to help her relax and calm her thoughts, because you know she likes to find that place of serene bliss that comes from a still mind. That is perfectly acceptable. Or you can start a little bit of trouble by challenging her to a calm thoughts contest. You each take turns putting on the Muse, while the other person says exciting or alarming things to agitate the wearer. The person who can keep their cool the longest is the winner.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1″ 16GB Android 6.0 Tablet
You have a long list of potential gadgets and tech toys mom might like, but then you realize that they need to connect to something. The solution is to give mom a table that can be the center of her digital lifestyle. With a tablet like the Samsung Galaxy Tab A 10.1″ 16GB Android 6.0 Tablet, mom can keep in touch with the family, read ebooks, listen to audio books, play word games, write email and use all of the tech gadgets that she wants. The large screen of the Galaxy Tab A will make it easy for mom to use, and makes it a great way to snuggle with the grandkids to watch a movie together.
TrackR Bluetooth Item Tracker
“Now where did I put that?” is one of my mom’s favourite sayings. No trip out of the house is complete without the last-minute frantic search for her keys. The TrackR bravo Bluetooth GPS Tracker is an easy solution to the problem of frequently misplaced items. You attach one to the item, and when you need to find it, the companion app on your phone can trigger the tile to make a sound. And if the phone is what your mom can’t find, she can use press on the TrackR to cause her phone to ring (even if the phone is on silent).
The secret to this whole list is that all the devices are user-friendly. Mom loves to spend time with you, and you like spending time with her. On the other hand, no one enjoys time spent troubleshooting, trying to get complicated technology working. No matter which gift you choose for her, remember that you are the best part of the day for her. Your best Mother’s Day gift is quality time spent together. Find the right tools that make that time the best it can be. For more wearable tech gadgets, head on over to the “wearables” section.
image from samsung.com
