Our top tech gift suggestions for Christmas 2021, that should not break the bank.

 

Happy December everyone!

We are just shy of three week before Christmas Day, but the days have been flying by! So many of us are more busy that we have ever been, which tends to be compounded by, among other things:

  • the anticipated Christmas/New Year break,
  • the low-key parties and get-togethers that are likely to be held,
  • children being on holidays, and
  • organisations either trying to close off the reporting quarter or the financial year before the holidays begin.

With so much on our plate, it can be a bit nerve-wracking trying to figure out what might be great tech gifts this year. Although most of us would be happy to get the latest smartphones, tablet computers or laptops from one of the top brands, they can be quite pricey, and might not be as readily available due to demand at this time of year. We are thus recommending five gift ideas that we think would be greatly appreciated.

 

1.  Smart plug

As we all transition to smart homes – whether we realise it or not – smart plugs are an excellent and budget-friendly investment. Essentially, smart plugs fit existing electric sockets, and since they are wireless-enabled, they can act as remote controlled power switch, to make ‘dumb’ electrical devices and equipment ‘smart’ by allowing them to be turned on and off via a smartphone, voice command, or remote console.

There are several brands of smart plugs on the market, and they tend to range in price between USD 10.00 and USD 30.00. Some have just a single plug, whilst others have two or more receptacles along with other features. Nevertheless, they can have wide range of applications in the home, such as to schedule devices to turn on or off at particular times, especially when the house might be empty.

 

2.  Wireless chargers

Wireless chargers have been around for several years, but with all of us being on our mobile and personal devices more these days, and using them intensively, it is likely that a good charge no longer lasts a full day. Although a portable charger is useful when we are on the go, at home, keeping track of our chargers can be chore.

Moreover, since in many households there will be multiple devices that need to be charged, either daily or on a regular basis, a wireless charger could be an excellent investment. Although they vary in design, and consequently the features they possess, a good but basic wireless charger is either the same price or less than a replacement wired charger for a smartphone.

 

3.  Wireless earbuds

Wireless earbuds are always a welcomed gift, either for yourself or others, and to some degree, one cannot have too many wireless earbuds! In being wireless, they can get lost easily, and so it may be ideal to have multiple pairs, which can be assigned to specific activities, such as for work and/or at your work desk, or with your gym/exercise gear, and/or for general use at home.

Similar to the previous gift suggestions, a variety of brands are available that vary in price point. They tend to start over USD 50.00, and can be as high as USD 250.00; but good quality offerings are available between the USD 70.00 to USD 100.00 range.

 

4.  External hard drive

Our smartphones, tablet computers, and laptop/desktop computers have become our lifelines in so many ways. We are using them so continuously for work, play and everything in between, that we cannot afford for them to fail, and more importantly, for us to lose files permanently.

For years we, at ICT Pulse, have been touting the importance of external hard drives, which can either act as additional storage, or more importantly, as back-up storage. Ideally, it would be recommended that the external drive is network enabled, so that data (e.g. files, device settings, website bookmarks, etc.) on all of your devices can be automatically backed up to that drive on a daily basis.

Nowadays, external hard drives are inexpensive. A 1 TB (Terabyte) external hard drive can cost under USD 50.00, with 4 TB under USD 100.00. Essentially, once the external drive and all of the desired devices are correctly configured, you really do not have to do much more, but check it from time to time to ensure that the back-ups are indeed occurring.

 

5.  UV cleaner

An ultraviolet (UV) cleaner might not be very sexy, but it is a sign of the times in which we live. For well over 18 months we have been living in a world of frequent sanitising and hand washing, but for our smartphones and tablet computers, which we handle all the time, and in a broad range of situations, these devices could benefit from being disinfected on a regular basis.

In a nutshell, UV cleaners use UV rays to destroy viruses and bacteria, and so can disinfect as wide range of surfaces. These types of cleaners have been in use for several years, particularly in industrial settings and in hospitals, for example, to disinfect premises and surfaces, However, the manufacturing standards for UV cleaners for personal use tend to vary, which would also have an impact on price, so it is important to read the specifications and compare.

 

 

Image credits: freepik; 16078228 (Pixabay); Ivan Radic (flickr); Wikimedia Commons; LifestyleWomensTrends (Pinterest) Wikimedia Commons;