It’s that time again, the holidays are approaching. We realize that our readers come from many different parts of the world but everyone gives gifts at some point during the year, not necessarily on Christmas but for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. We’ve come up with some cool gift ideas for any occasion, not just December 25th. Here we go!
Get on the list: No, not the naughty or nice list. We’re talking about email lists, of course. Dell, HP, NCIX, RadioShack (TheSource in Canada) and many other retailers send out weekly emails which highlight their current specials. The more lists you subscribe to, the more informed you will be about current prices. This goes for anything you buy, of course, but we tend to subscribe to tech companies. We even have separate email accounts to handle these subscriptions. If you’re going to make a purchase in the near future, make sure you open these emails as soon as you get them. The best deals go fast!
Watch out for shipping costs: Many online retailers ship for free. Some don’t. If you don’t live in the U.S., make sure the retailer will ship to you at reasonable cost. We’re in Canada and many of our retailers ship for free, sometimes with next day delivery at no extra cost. On the other hand, if we buy from a U.S. shop, we often get hit with high customs charges, etc. Make sure you know how much the total will be before you click the words ‘Place Order’.
Gift Ideas:
1. Touch Stylus: Everyone has a smart phone or tablet. To make the most of apps like Snapchat, they’ll need a stylus. Using your finger to swipe and doodle is fine but a stylus can be much more precise. With a stylus, fingernails don’t get in the way either. We’ve seen them for under $5.00 so a basic one won’t break the bank. Ours have pens on the other end so they do double duty..analog and digital!
2. USB Battery Pack/Charger: Smart phones are always running out of juice, right? Usually at the most crucial point of the movie, too. Pick up a USB charger/battery pack and your troubles will be over. Plug it in before you head off on your day trip, for example, and you’ll be able to text, film, photograph all day long. When your phone’s battery gets low, plug it into the battery pack and you’ll get a charge in jig time. Many of these devices will charge your phone several times as well as holding their own charge for months. Small and light, these go for under $40.00. Get one for everyone on your list plus yourself. Some of these units add a flashlight to their array of tools. That’s something to look for when you’re shopping.
3. Small Weatherproof Camera: You’ve all seen the fantastic Go-Pro HD videos; the crazy guys on top of the tall buildings, the bungee jumpers, etc. While your life might not be quite as exciting, some of your friends may be into some sports activities which they’d like to record. Go-Pros are expensive but a small and light weatherproof digital camera with HD video capability will suffice in most cases. Olympus makes several models, some can be bought on sale for under $200.00. There are also different versions of Go-Pro copycats for less than $100.00 but make sure you read the reviews carefully before you buy. If you’re checking reviews, Amazon.com has lots of comments for just about any product out there. Try to sift through the false-positive comments however. Some sites don’t tell you that they’re being paid to write positive reviews.
4. Bluetooth Accessories: These days, Bluetooth is gaining in popularity. It seems there is no limit to the number of accessories you can get for mobile devices and tablets, all connecting wirelessly using Bluetooth. Most newer cars allow you to set up your mobile phone using the vehicle’s sound system instead of an earpiece. That’s done via Bluetooth. We’ve seen keyboards, earpieces, headphones etc. that make life much easier while you exercise, type emails on your phone or walk and talk to your friends. USB devices are cheaper, at least at this point, but at this time of the year you can pick up some pretty good deals on Bluetooth accessories.
5. App Store Gift Card: Whether your friends or relatives spend money on music or apps, it’s easy to pick up a gift card from their mobile store, be it Apple or Android. In Canada, gift cards don’t expire but that may not be the case where you live. Make sure there is no time limit on spending or, if there is, make sure you tell the recipient about how long they have to make a purchase.
There’s five main ideas to start. As we get closer to January, we might revisit this topic, specially if we see prices coming down in certain tech areas. Other suggestions would be flash drives, external hard drives, USB earphones and headsets as well as USB microphones, cameras and so on. We prefer shopping online, obviously. Online or bricks and mortar, there’s lots of cool stuff out there. Have fun!
A free gift that you can offer to anyone is a link to our Facebook page. Comments and questions are welcome but Likes on our Facebook page get immediate attention. Here’s the link:
Computers Made Simple on Facebook
As always, thanks for reading!