10 AWESOME GIFT IDEAS FOR THE GADGET LOVER IN YOUR LIFE!
If you’re looking for inspiration for gifts for the gadget lover in your life, whether
it’s for birthday, Christmas or just because you love them, this video is my roundup of
the 10 best gadgets you might want to buy for them.
As always you can check out more details and purchasing links for all these gadgets in
the video description, so please check those out to help support this channel too.
Alright then, Let’s get started!
1. Google Home Mini or Amazon Alexa Dot
These digital assistants have taken the world by storm in the last couple of years, so if
the person you’re buying for hasn’t already got a smart assistant in their home, I’m
sure they’ll love either a Google Home Mini or an Amazon Alexa Dot.
You can ask it questions, listen to music, play radio stations, ask for directions and
weather forecasts and lots more. You can also use them control your smart home gadgets like
TVs, lighting and plug sockets with your voice, too. Have you not got any smart home gadgets?
You’re in luck, they’re coming up next!
2. Smart WiFi Plug
These clever little plugs let you turn anything in your house on or off via a mobile app on
your phone, automatically on a schedule or simply with your voice if you have a Google
Home or Amazon Alexa. They’re great for things like Christmas tree lights, your coffee
maker or that lamp that you can never quite be bothered to get up to switch on...
3. Smart WiFi LED Lightbulb
If you grew up in the 90s then you’ll probably remember the scene from FRIENDS where Monica
dates a billionaire and his luxurious and futuristic home lets you turn the lights on
just by speaking. Well that’s now a reality for the non-millionaires amongst us too!
With this Smart Wifi LED lightbulb you can control the main lights in a room either via
the app on your phone or - if you have one - by just shouting at your Google Home or
Amazon Alexa. You can ask nicely, too... that also works.
Plus, it’s dimmable so you can even turn down the lights when it’s nearly bedtime
to help you wind down. They’re great for being super lazy and turning lights up/down
or on/off, and you can also control them when you’re away from home to make your house
look occupied and keep thieves away.
4. Google Chromecast or Chromecast Audio
These are two must-have gadgets for any film, TV or music lovers, and it’s something else
you can control by voice with your Google Home or via various supported apps on your
smartphone, tablet or even PC. The Chromecast is a little dongle which plugs into the HDMI
port of your TV, whilst the Chromecast Audio plugs with a 3.5mm jack into a set of speakers
or your HiFi system.
Once connected, you can play videos from Netflix, YouTube, BBC iPlayer (and all other catch-up
TV services), plus Facebook and pretty much any video or web page from the Chrome browser.
It basically turns your TV into the smartest of smart TVs which can play anything - no
matter how old it is.
The Chromecast Audio lets you play music from apps like Google Play Music or Spotify, and
if you have more than one you can group them to play the same tracks in sync, for a multi-room
setup - and it includes your Google Home devices as well, for even more speakers throughout
the house. It’s great for parties when you want the same music playing in each room,
but at a level quiet enough so that people can talk, too.
5. Amazon Fire TV Stick
For those in the Amazon ecosystem - never fear, you can get your hands on the Fire TV
stick which does more-or-less the same thing as the Google Chromecast! You can of course
play Amazon Prime videos with it as well, which you can’t do on the Google Chromecast.
I wonder why not?
The Fire TV stick is also ideal for people who like to have a separate, physical and
dedicated remote control - this has got you covered.
6. KIWI Design Google Home Mini Battery
This clever little gadget from KIWI design is essentially just a USB power pack, but
by virtue of its clever design to house the Google Home Mini, it’s worth much more than
the sum of its parts. Once it’s charged up you can fit your Google Home Mini inside
it like this and then take it with you around your house and garden - anywhere your WiFi
reaches - making it truly wireless. So, next time you want to listen to some tunes in your
garden or maybe even take it into the bathroom with you - this is what you need.
The B-roll footage of me in the bath listening to music on my Google Home seems to have gone
missing, sorry about that.
In the interests of Full Disclosure: I was sent this free by the manufacturer, but I’m
not being paid to review this so here’s my honest opinion. The unit feels very solid
and really well made and comes in a range of colours to suit your Google Home Mini.
The wrist strap is a nice touch too so you can hang it up, plus as it’s basically a
big battery pack you could always use it to charge your phone in an emergency if you’re
running low!
I’m giving this one away to one lucky subscriber to the channel - so for your chance to win
it see the details at the end of this video! And if you’re not lucky enough to win, don’t
worry - there’s a 20% discount code in the video description too.
7. Laptop Privacy Screen
This next one is for anyone who works on a laptop when out and about - whether that’s
on the train, in a coffee shop or in an open-plan office. If you’re ever worried about people
looking over your shoulder and seeing what’s on your screen, then you can fit a privacy
shield like this which dramatically reduces the viewing angle of your screen so that you
- and only you - can see it when you’re sat at it looking straight forward, but anyone
to the side of you just sees a blank screen.
Again, Full Disclosure: I was sent this for free by 3M, but they’re not paying me so
this is my honest opinion. When you compare what you can see of the screen with and without
the shield, it’s really pretty impressive! Plus, if your laptop has a touchscreen like
mine you don’t need to worry about losing touch functionality as that still works just
fine. With something like this, this instantly increases the number of places you’ll feel
comfortable working in, or to look at it another way it increases the list of tasks you can
do on your laptop in any given place, as privacy can be much less of a concern. Brilliant!
8. Quad Lock
In at number 8 is the brilliant Quad Lock system for mounting your smartphone. I personally
use this on my road bike handlebars for running Strava, and in my car for using Google Maps
as a satnav. It’s great because it’s a single, compatible system which works in all
places so after attaching the extremely secure Universal adaptor to the back of my phone
case I can easily switch it between my bike handlebars and my car dashboard. If I fancy
going for a run I can use the arm pad and both track my run with Strava and listen to
music at the same time, and they even make a mount for motorbikes too.
You can buy dedicated phone cases with the mount built in for most of the most popular
smartphones on the market, but if yours isn’t one of those, or if you prefer to use your
own case, you can buy the universal mount which fits to anything.
You don’t need to worry about it falling off either - I read one reviewer who said
they crashed their bike at 40mph and their phone stayed solidly fixed to their handlebars!
They then had to show the kind member of the public how to unhook their phone so they could
call an ambulance!
9. A subscription to Audible
I’d love to have more time to read books, but with work, family and looking after kids
etc. it’s hard to find the time. That’s why audiobooks are great, because you can
listen to books instead so whether you drive, cycle or get public transport to work you
can listen to all the books you’d never have time to read otherwise!
If you’ve not heard of it, Audible is a service from Amazon and it lets you choose
from a library of over 200,000 audio books! You pay a small monthly fee which includes
a credit for 1 book a month, and you can swap books in your library any time. Every audiobook
you buy is yours to keep - even if you cancel. You can download the app to your smartphone
or tablet and listen anywhere. To get a 30 day trial absolutely free, click the link
in the video description.
10. NETGEAR Orbi Whole Home Wifi Mesh System.
The Wifi in your house probably sucks. Most people’s wireless routers are the ones that
come free from your Internet Service Provider, and they’re usually rubbish, despite all
the marketing in the adverts saying they kick out a really strong signal, and reach to all
areas of your house, blah blah blaj. It can be hugely frustrating when you pay for a good
internet service, and do actually receive one, but then the actual wifi beaming it to
your devices lets you down by being slow or intermittent.
That’s where a mesh system comes in. As well as actually being a good wireless router
in the first place, the Netgear Orbi system gives you additional units that you can place
elsewhere in your home or office to ensure they get a full covering as well. This works
much better than using WiFi extenders or repeaters, as they often use half the available bandwidth
on the signal back to your main router, meaning slow speeds, or powerline plugs using your
home’s electrical wiring - which does work, but never gives you the best speeds. A mesh
system like Netgear Orbi uses either a dedicated high-speed wireless link back to the main
router or can even user a proper hard-wired connection if you have the cabling, meaning
you get the full speed of Internet access that you’re paying for, regardless of where
you are in your house. Plus, there’s just ONE wifi network name throughout the whole
house - your devices like smartphones and tablets will seamlessly switch connection
to the nearest and strongest unit without you even knowing about it. No more irritating
“upstairs” and “downstairs” WiFi network names, and constantly having to switch between
the two.
As well as the Netgear Orbi, you might also want to consider the Google WiFi mesh system.
They’re both excellent, and the Google is especially good if you’re not hugely technical
and just want a super-easy setup all done via a mobile app and don’t need to delve
deep into advanced settings. There are links for both in the video description.
COMPETITION TIME!
We’re giving away a Netgear Orbi system to one lucky subscriber as well as the Portable
battery featured earlier on for the Google Home Mini. For more information and to enter
both competitions, click the link in the video description.
So those are my Top 10 gifts that I think you should consider if you’re looking for
a present for a gadget lover this year. If you buy any of them, please do click the links
in the video description to help this channel, which is very much appreciated. What do you
think of the selection? What would you put in your top 10? Let me know in the comments
selection below, and if you’re not already subscribed to the channel then please click
the logo on screen now to do that. We cover a range of topics including technology, gadgets
and the Internet on this channel so you’ll be glad you subscribed - and you can check
out some other videos from the channel on-screen now too.
Don’t forget to enter the competitions, good luck and I’ll see you in the next video!