The 8 gifts I'd give to my cool techie friends this holiday season

4 days ago 12

I'm what you'd telephone a acquisition snob. I person precocious standards for what I'd springiness a person oregon household member. So astir of the time, erstwhile I spot a acquisition usher that includes AirTags oregon socks, I thin to yawn oregon shingle my head. These aren't atrocious gifts, per se. They're just... generic. Anybody with entree to the web could benignant successful "what to get dad" and find an AirTag arsenic a viable, easy shippable option. 

Also: We hand-picked the 13 champion tech gifts to give

My doctrine for acquisition giving is to find a functional merchandise with aggravated personality. The champion gifts lick problems, but bash truthful successful a pretty, appealing package. I've enactment unneurotic a database of products that bash precisely that, and I'd beryllium blessed to springiness oregon person immoderate of these this year. 

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Sometimes the coolest happening you tin bash is halt scrolling connected your phone. Using the Brick made that really imaginable for me. The tech down the Brick is elemental and rudimentary: down the grey cube lies an NFC spot that you pat your telephone to, and it blocks you from accessing your database of restricted apps. 

You tin acceptable schedules to restrict definite apps, say, during the workday oregon precocious astatine night. I similar voluntarily tapping my telephone to the Brick erstwhile I americium acceptable to artifact retired distractions. This allows maine to beryllium intentional with my telephone usage and summation immoderate of the power I've mislaid to my screens back. Bricking my telephone earlier furniture to chopped retired distractions similar Messages, Instagram, and TikTok is proving to beryllium astir useful, since my Brick is successful the kitchen, a just locomotion distant from my bedroom. It besides helps maine commencement my time disconnected scroll-free, until I've decided to Unbrick my telephone and drawback up connected missed messages and news. 

Also: I bricked my telephone to forestall doomscrolling - and accidentally fixed my life

Not lone is this a large acquisition for young adults, but I cognize a just stock of older parents who could usage this arsenic well. It's a utile acquisition for anybody looking to alteration their screentime this twelvemonth and next. 

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We tin warrant that you haven't seen a headphone similar this before, and that's the magic of Nothing. Nothing's Headphone 1 has a head-turning design, reliable noise-canceling and transparency modes, large sound, and a distinguished sound. 

"The plan volition undoubtedly crook heads and commencement conversations, but it's the audio show that volition marque everyone halt and listen," ZDNET's Kerry Wan writes successful his review. 

Also: I enactment my AirPods distant wrong hours of investigating these headphones

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Whether you've near the Christmas histrion lights moving a fewer hours excessively agelong oregon fell dormant with your bedside lamp connected due to the fact that you were excessively bushed to crook it off, I person a sneaky and inexpensive solution to acquisition oregon give. 

Also: Why this astute plug beats each different 1 I've tested

These astute plugs automate the location routines you've grown accustomed to doing yourself by turning each appliance into a astute one. They're particularly adjuvant for turning connected and disconnected lights, whether that's a Christmas histrion oregon room display, but they tin besides kickstart tasks similar making a greeting cookware of java oregon charging a rechargeable bony brushwood each 2 weeks erstwhile the artillery dies. 

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I'm ever looking for ways to declutter my tiny table and marque it arsenic utile arsenic possible. Additionally, I'm perpetually managing a barrage of chargers, laptop ports, and more. I've got my eyes connected this cord organizer, and would emotion to person and acquisition this arsenic a stocking stuffer this Christmas. 

One Amazon lawsuit wrote successful their reappraisal that this cord organizer was a godsend for neat freaks looking to support their table tidy. "The convenience of being capable to tally cables up the backmost of a table and beryllium retired of the mode until you request them (I usage them a batch with charging cables for example) is extraordinary. THESE cablegram clips, though, are the ones to buy. There are a bully magnitude of them connected Amazon, but these are the cleanable size for mean cables," the Amazon reviewer writes. 

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The Remarkable Paper Pro Move feels precisely similar the benignant of merchandise you'd astir apt ne'er bargain for yourself but would beryllium blessed to person arsenic a gift. It's a integer notebook that is slim and bladed capable to bring anywhere. It's got thoughtful bundle integrations and an enjoyable plan that wowed ZDNET merchandise reviewers. It's an implicit pleasance to constitute on, acknowledgment to the textured solid aboveground that turns the integer penning process into thing astonishing and satisfying. 

Also: My favourite e-ink tablet has a worthy successor with upgrades successful originative ways

"The smaller signifier origin is particularly applicable for jotting down notes, numbers, oregon speedy sketches, simulating a handheld notepad alternatively of a full-size expanse of paper," ZDNET's Kyle Kucharski writes. We loved the Paper Pro Move truthful much, we gave it a ZDNET Editor's Choice award. 

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I've had this talker for a fewer months now, but I inactive emotion looking astatine it due to the fact that of its eye-catching appearance. At $50, the Ikea Nattbad talker isn't the champion talker for audio delivery. It won't present the afloat scope of dependable that a Sony oregon Bose talker can. But it's got a unsocial plan with poppy colors, arsenic good arsenic bundle integrations that person rapidly made it my go-to chamber speaker. Connecting to the wired talker successful settings instantly initiates opening Spotify, a tiny but effectual bundle determination that simply makes sense. It's an affordable but chill acquisition that would jazz up anyone's surviving country oregon bedroom. 

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Give these slumber earplugs to your person surviving successful that noisy flat oregon sleeping adjacent to a snoring spouse -- and convey maine later. When I was surviving successful a cacophonous chamber that overlooked a engaged Brooklyn road, I'd enactment these successful astir each nighttime and they did the trick. 

Also: I compared these $50 slumber receptor plugs to my $300 slumber earbuds

You could besides springiness them slumber earbuds, a acold much costly prime they whitethorn oregon whitethorn not beryllium afloat sold on. 

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Think of the ScanWatch 2 arsenic a smartwatch that doesn't privation to look similar a smartwatch. It tracks 40 exercises without initiation and has 1 of the longest artillery lives connected a smartwatch we've seen. It looks similar an analog ticker but has each the features you'd privation connected an Apple Watch oregon Google Pixel Watch.

Also: My favourite hybrid smartwatch has a 30-day artillery life

The ScanWatch 2 surreptitiously tracks your wellness with a signifier origin that doesn't request attraction -- it simply blends into its stylish surroundings. 

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