Yahoo Finance Tech the halls: Great gadget gift ideas
‘Tis the season to buy gadgets, gear and games for loved ones — or, hey, why not yourself, too? — and in 2016 there’s no shortage of amazing tech toys to suit varying tastes and budgets.
Whether you’re shopping for a new smartphone, tablet, headphones, video game console or virtual reality system, the following is a brief look at some of some top picks, and why.
Oh, and in case you missed it, you can watch a repeat of our Facebook Live video of these products:
Hot hybrid
When is a laptop more than a laptop? When it’s also a tablet and a desktop replacement at the same time. Huh? The Dell Inspiron 17 7000 2-in-1 ($1,249) is the world’s first 17-inch 2-in-1, which means it can transform from a laptop to a touchscreen tablet on its 360-degree hinge (along with two other modes), and because of its huge screen and keyboard (with numeric keypad) it’s also great as a desktop replacement. This Intel-powered Windows 10 machine has an impressive battery of nearly ten hours.
Read between the lines
If you’re buying for a bookworm, the Kobo Aura One ($249) is a premium ereader with a large 7.8-inch screen – roughly the size of a hardcover book – yet it can store about 6,000 titles. Along with a sharp e-ink screen and anti-blue backlight ideal for nighttime reading, this Kobo is also waterproof, in case you want to slip into a bubble bath with it, or take it to the pool or beach. The Kobo Bookstore now houses more than 5 million titles, plus you can borrow public library books for free right from the wireless touchscreen ereader.
Game on (and on and on)
New for the holidays, PlayStation 4 Pro ($499) supports 4K gaming and media (like Netflix, YouTube), making it ideal for these new 4K Ultra HD televisions that deliver four times the resolution of 1080p HD. Whether the games are rendered in 4K by the developers or it “upconverts” older PS4 titles to near-4K quality, these interactive worlds will be a lot more lifelike. Along with a faster processor for smoother frame rates (motion), the PS4 Pro also houses a 1 terabyte hard drive to store all your installed or downloaded content.
Scan, man
You’re certainly not alone if you’ve ever wanted to digitize all your paper photos – to preserve those precious memories – but you didn’t want to waste time painstakingly placing each photo, one after another, in a flatbed scanner. Instead, the Epson FastFoto FF-640 ($899) is the world’s fastest photo scanner that can scan a photo – front and back – in about a second. Adding colour correction and optional file naming (to easily find each photo on your computer), this compact scanner can also handle documents, business cards, greeting cards, kids’ artwork, and much more.
Sound advice
Whether you’re looking to buy a gift for a frequent flier or music lover (or both), Sony’s MDR-1000X ($499) are soft, comfortable and exceptional-sounding over-ear wireless headphones (Bluetooth, NFC) with built-in noise-cancellation technology. Press a button for it to “listen” to the environment you’re in, to best block out ambient noise based on where you are. With the Quick Attention feature, cup your hand over the right earphone if you want to temporarily stop the noise—cancellation to talk to someone. Including a case and headphone cable, should you need it, the 1000X lasts up to 20 hours between charges.
Worlds away
Offering the most complete and immersive virtual reality experience, HTC Vive ($1,149) is built for personal computers and includes a comfortable headset with twin high-resolution screens and integrated camera (in case you need to see your environment); two room-scale base stations that track your movement as you move around your play space; and dual wireless controllers to touch and manipulate content, such as opening a drawer, painting in 3D, or shooting at flesh-eating zombies. You get two games for free, but the Steam VR store now has more than 700 HTC Vive-supported titles to download.
Phone it in
If you’re looking to upgrade your smartphone or gift a new device to a loved one, the Xperia XA is a $0 phone on a 2-year term with Bell, Virgin or Wind (or $349 outright). Despite it’s relatively affordable price tag, this 5-inch Android phone — available in black or white — has a great-looking screen built for comfortable one-handed use, along with two stellar cameras. The main, rear-facing 13-megapixel camera benefits from optical image stabilization and fast autofocus, while the front-facing 8-megapixel selfie cam has a wide-angle 88-degree lens and low-light sensitivity.
Yahoo Finance Canada readers, what on your tech wishlist this holiday season?
