The hot summer of 2018 is now a distant memory and it’s time again to think about presents for that special someone.
If they’re a bit techie then hopefully the following will give you inspiration… and if my wife is reading this, I’ll have a Glowforge, please!
Oculus Go
This time last year I talked about virtual reality headsets – and, as expected, the technology has continued to develop at great speed. The headset I’m most excited about is the Oculus Go. Described as “an all-in-one virtual reality headset”, it allows you to discard the phone and PC and enjoy an untethered VR experience for the first time.
Dodow
For those who have trouble getting to sleep, the light metronome from Dodow might be just the thing. It’s also bang on trend with the whole mindfulness movement.
HDHomeRun
Plug this into your aerial, get the channels app and you can get all freeview television through a TV and other devices. You have the ability to pause, rewind and record on your TV, tablet or phone. Think Sky Q without the ongoing subscription.
Moshi IonSlim 10K portable battery
Portable batteries are old news; however, I quite like this one as my MacBook charger is a really awkward shape for fitting in a laptop bag. For those one-day trips, this could be a winner.
Chris
As more and more reports confirm the link between car accidents and drivers using their mobile phones, it’s clear that to stay safe we need to put the phone, rather than our foot, down. Chris is a digital assistant for drivers which allows you to safely operate your apps while driving by voice and gesture: messaging, navigation, calls and music.
CINEMOOD Portable Movie Theater
This cool little box is a projector that fits into the palm of your hand. You can connect it to Wi-Fi to stream videos from Netflix, Amazon Prime and YouTube, but it also comes pre-loaded with content, meaning you can entertain the kids (or yourself) anywhere – as long as you’ve got a wall.
Gemmy Airblown Mickey Mouse Movie Screen
Once you’ve got your projector – and it’s summer again – if you fancy being a little adventurous, you could even take the movies outdoors with this inflatable movie screen.
Bob Grillson Premium S
Thinking about BBQs in December might sound a little optimistic, but it helps to think of sunnier times when it’s getting a bit cold. The Bob Grillson Premium S is a smart BBQ that can be controlled via an app and boasts a smoker, grill, pizza oven and searing station. However the steep cost means you may not be able to afford the sausages.
Grillbot Automatic Grill Cleaner
Even if you’re more of a traditionalist when it comes to BBQs, I’m willing to bet a mince pie that you don’t enjoy cleaning it. It’s a messy business. The Grillbot is the world’s first automatic grill cleaning robot so you can just set it going while you get stuck in to a burger.
Glowforge
This is on the more ambitious side financially – we’re talking thousands of pounds – but the deeper pocketed of our readers may be interested to hear about the latest in 3D printing tech. Glowforge uses a beam of light the width of a human hair to cut, engrave, and shape designs from a variety of materials. You can print jewellery, toys, leather goods, lighting, containers and art.
The Signing Machine by Jaquet Droz
Just in case there are any multi-millionaires reading, this could be an option… if you’ve got a spare $367K and have had enough of signing your own name, then this is the gadget for you. Price aside, it does look like a beautiful feat of engineering.