Still haven’t started your Christmas shopping yet? Me neither! And—brace yourself, late shoppers—it’s just a month until Christmas. It’s time to scan through your list to see who’s made the “nice” column, and locate that perfect gift for each one. Luckily, when it comes to technology, there are tons of cool options to suit everyone on your list.
Gift for the Man Cave
Whether it’s dad, your spouse, brother, or best friend who has the pretty sweet man cave, chances are it will meet two important criterion: entertainment and fun.
If the room is already set up with a killer home entertainment system and flat panel TV, why not enhance the experience with a games table? One like the Franklin Zero Gravity air hockey table can serve as a great way to de-stress, and enjoy some indoor fun during the cold winter months or commercial breaks in the game. This durable table has corner caps and a high-gloss table surface, and is powered by a zero gravity motor. It comes with a pair each of pushers and pucks, and a side-mounted LED electronics score board so you’re always apprised of who’s winning.
Gift for the Family
The television is often the central focal point of a living room. So why not upgrade the family to a sexy, new 4K flat-panel? Check out the Samsung 55HU7250F 55” 4K Ultra HD Curved LED. It’s perfectly-sized for the average living room. And the curved design adds the extra “cool” factor.
It’ll meet the needs of everyone’s viewing preferences as well, with features like 960 Clear Motion Rate with 120 Hz refresh rate for viewing fast action sports or movies, 3,840 x 2,160 for watching movies in all their cinematic glory, Purcolor for accurately reproducing high-res pics in, say, a photo slideshow from your family vacation, and a wider field-of-view (thanks to the curved design) for a binge-watching session of your fav TV show with a group of friends. Imagine being able to see the zombies approaching in lifelike eeriness while engrossed in The Walking Dead! There are even dedicated game and cinema modes that the gamer in the family will appreciate.
For the Gamer
Speaking of gamers, why not upgrade one on your list to a Sony PlayStation 4, which boasts new features like a more powerful processor and graphics engine, Super Speed USB 3.0, more system memory, and a new PlayStation Camera that can more precisely track movements. The redesigned DualShock 4 controller has features like a sensitive six-axis sensor and Share button for easily sharing game achievements online, via Ustream or Facebook. Bonus: the console comes with a digital download code for the Last of Us: Remastered game. Sweet!
For the Budding Musician
Strike a chord with the budding musician on your list with a gift like the FA-100 Fender Acoustic Guitar Pack, which comes with everything one would need to get started on learning how to play. The mahogany and spruce dreadnought acoustic guitar with X bracing and a 20-fret rosewood fingerboard is complemented with a guitar strap, clip-on electronic tuner, and padded bag. Load up the bag, then bring it along to lessons, a jam session, or even a gig!
If you like the idea of a musical gift but wanted to give something a little more rocking, then how about a Fender Stratocaster. The newest models features iOS connectivity built right into the guitar. Simply connect your iOS phone or tablet, or a Mac or PC computer to this Strat and have instant access to tools for recording and editing and modifying the sound.
For the Student or Workhorse
Everyone has a laptop these days. But it’s also good to have a desktop in a common area of the home that the students and workhorses of the family can use for things like storing music libraries (perhaps for streaming throughout the home), photos, and for general Web access.
I’m a Mac fan, so an iMac would be on my list. You can get it in a number of configurations, but if this is going to be a central family computer, why not go big with a 27” monitor, Intel Core i5 processor with 8 GB of RAM, and a 1 TB Fusion Drive so you can store everyone’s music, photo, and video collections, and then some.
My Pick
For me right now, it’s all about the wearables and keeping track of my activity levels. (Actually getting more active and working out can wait until after the Xmas turkey and fixings!) My personal fav is the Misfit Shine.
It’s super simple and fashionable – there are a number of coloured options to suit differing styles, plus different bands, or you can wear it like a necklace or clipped to your clothing, though I prefer to keep it simple and on the wrist.
It tracks steps, calories burned, distance traveled, and sleep patterns, and can
sync with a number of apps like MyFitnessPal for keeping a food diary that takes into account how many calories you’ve burned in relation to what you’ve eaten, plus other apps via IFTTT. It works with both iOS and Android devices, and operates on a coin cell battery that lasts for about four months with daily, 24/7 wear.
Happy Shopping!
Check out these and plenty of other gift options at Best Buy Online. www.bestbuy.ca
