Christmas is rapidly approaching and when it comes to presents for your technology-loving friends and family, socks just aren’t going to cut it. To help you out, we’ve put together a guide to the best tech-related Christmas presents money can buy. Whether you have RM30 or RM300,000 to spend, you should be able to find something for that special someone, this holiday season.
If you’re on a budget….or you’re not all that fond of the person you are buying a gift for.
If you’re buying for a music lover and want the recipient of your gift to share their music with you, the JBL Go portable Bluetooth speaker is now retailing for around RM71, and provides pretty decent sound and portability for the price.
Alternatively, you are getting a gift or someone who likes to spend a little too much time in the shower, singing along with their favourite tunes, a water resistant hands-free shower speaker might be a better fit at only RM31. If you have trouble getting them out of the shower it’ll also come in handy as it also allows them to take calls!
Buy JBL Go Portable Bluetooth Speaker from RM71
Buy Water resistant Bluetooth Hand Free Shower Speaker from RM31
Why not give the gift of flight this Christmas? The Cheerson CX10 Mini Quadcopter may not be the biggest or the best drone on the market but for RM66-RM89 it’s the perfect starter gift for the budding drone enthusiast. The CX10 was even voted “The Best Drone Desk Toy” by Gizmodo in a recent roundup of all the best indoor drones on the market.
Buy Cheerson CX10 Mini Quadcopter from RM66
Whether it’s for gaming or for work, if you regularly have to share space with someone whose computer time generates a frustrating level of noisy clicking and scrolling, a “silent mouse” from Logitech might be the best gift idea for both of you this Christmas.
Coming in two flavours, the more compact, travel worthy Logitech M221 & and the slightly bulkier, more ergonomic M331, both feature the same “feel” of a normal mouse but offer a huge reduction in the noise produced. As wireless mice, they might not be the best for eSports worthy game players, however, if they’ve reached the stage that they are regularly on stage as eSports events the noise from the mouse isn’t going to be a problem.
Buy Logitech M221 Silent from RM47
Buy Logitech 331 Silent Plus from RM59
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Now we’re talking. Satisfaction almost guaranteed.
Wireless keyboards may be ten a penny (but worth considerably more in reducing carpal tunnel syndrome and posture issues, if set up correctly) but if you do a lot of typing, you’ll know that having to switch from your keyboard to another — usually touch-screen device — can take a second or two. Banish that cognitive dissonance by requesting a Logitech K375s Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard from Santa Claus this year. Once set up this wireless keyboard can be connected to up to three devices via either or Bluetooth or Logitech’s own Unifying Protocol and their tiny dongles so that, at the press of a button, you can switch from typing on your computer to typing on your mobile device or tablet.
It even comes with a little stand to hold your phone or tablet handy on your desk so that you switch to using it instantly.
Buy Logitech K375s Multi-Device Wireless Keyboard from RM119
Often when driving, honking the horn or using.. um… “sign language” isn’t quite enough to convey your true feelings to other drivers. With this circular LED display, you can let other road users know exactly what you think of them. Using a remote control you can trigger a number of messages and emoticons of varying intensity, from the relatively innocent “sorry” and “thnx” all the way to “back off”.
Buy Drivemocion LED Car Sign from RM162
Is there anyone in your life who is constantly having to buy new headphones thanks to tangling and damaging the cords all the time? Perhaps a Bluetooth headset might be of help?
Earlier this year, Cheryl recommended the AKG’s Y50BT on-ear headphones:
“All in, we’d definitely recommend the AKG Y50BTs if you want a super fuss-free wireless headset that sounds pretty dang good. It’s comfy, it stores pretty well and last but not least, it’s a very practical headset.”
These headphones also come with a huge advantage over many Bluetooth headphones; if the intended recipient (or yourself) can be trusted with cables for short periods of time then the headset can be used as a normal wired headphones when the battery is drained (a constant source of personal frustration is that my own Plantronic Back Beat Go 2’s become a rather lacklustre necklace once their power runs out).
Buy AKG Y50BT Wireless Headphones from RM699
For the Android phone owning fitness freak, and no longer just the Samsung phone owning one, according to Cheryl’s review earlier in the year “At RM699 you probably won’t find many fitness bands that come cheaper than the Gear Fit2”.
With its own GPS tracker, 4GB of internal storage for music, the ability to stream audio to any Bluetooth connected device along with all the regular features expected of a fitness tracker, the Gear Fit2 is a stylish, comfortable choice for the athlete who wants to go phone free when exercising.
Just make sure that whoever you are buying for has an Android phone running Android 4.4 or above. If they’re a fan of Spotify they’ll also need to keep their phone close and engage in some minor hacking to get it working on the Gear Fit2 outside of the US.
Buy Samsung Gear Fit2 at Samsung Malaysia stores and online from RM699
Are you buying a present for a prolific doodler? Are they always complaining about losing their most precious thought and notes? Rather than getting them yet another Moleskine notebook that they’ll fill and eventually lose, this smart moleskin set electronically tracks where the pen is on the surface of the page and transfers notes and drawing to a phone app in real time. Now they can lose notes in “the cloud” instead of around their desk!
Buy Moleskine Smart Writing Set from RM1,150
How happy are you with the quality of videos you shoot on your phone? Are you giving your friends and family constant headaches by making them watch all the video you’ve shot “guerrilla style” i.e. the action is super shaky?
With the OSMO Mobile, you can bid farewell to shake and nausea as the Osmo acts as a mini camera stabiliser, smoothing out your action. More than just a gimbal, the Osmo can be used as an advanced selfie stick, syncing with phones via Bluetooth to keep you in the picture as well as offer dedicated buttons for recording and changing settings.
Buy OSMO Mobile from RM1,188
Virtual Reality may not be within everyone’s reach just yet, but photographers who don’t want to get left behind in the VR stampede, this golf ball sized (and shaped) 360 camera is perfect for capturing full 360-video. Able to record your entire surroundings and stitch them together into a beautiful 360-degree 3840 x 1920 30fps video.
This should only go on your Christmas list if the intended recipient has a Samsung Galaxy phone though. All the cool features like using your phone as a viewfinder, controlling the timer and other useful settings are only available on the Samsung Galaxy line of phones. Other types of phones, even other android versions, are out of luck.
Buy at Samsung Stores and online here from RM1,299
Whether you are into film-making or not, everyone these days has, or needs, a GoPro. The most recent version, the Hero 5 is available from around RM2000, with the even smaller Hero 5 Session, retailing from around RM1500, once you factor in the cool accessories you’ll need. Both are waterproof, support 4K recording and are small enough to fit into a handbag or headband. Perfect for capturing special moments, holiday videos or documenting any reckless antics where a larger camera would be more of a burden.
Buy GoPro HERO5 from RM1,849
Buy GoPro HERO5 Session from RM1,368
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It’s unknown what long-term effect Twitter’s shuttering of Vine, or Instagram’s adoption of “Stories” will have on Snapchat’s viability but whether they become mass market or limited edition a pair of Snapchat Spectacles are sure to become hugely sought after accessories this Christmas. Instantly more fashionable than Google Glass and with a purity of purpose that was sorely lacking from Google’s headset (press a button on the side to record a 10 second snap) the only problem with Snapchat’s accessory is that they are only available via a pop-up store in New York City and roaming vending machines in the US.
Buy Snapchat Spectacles from RM570 (plus either the airfare to fly to the US to buy them or the costs of paying a scalper, which could set you back more than RM1,300, to buy them for you and ship them over)
For big fans of Wall-E, Cozmo is the next best thing. A cute little robot, his reactions to the world around him were, in part, designed by former Pixar and Dreamworks animators! Paired with his smartphone app, he will recognise different people’s faces, say their names, play games with the and will, apparently, even develop a liking for some people more than others. More than just a simple toy, he will react accordingly whether he wins or loses the games you can play with him. Accordingly yes, perhaps but perhaps not appropriately, as he can lose his temper and storm off.
Based on the video (and numerous reviews) Cozmo is also designed to melt hearts. He’s not cheap but how much would you pay for own mini Wall-E?
Buy Cozmo from RM1,300
Want the best (in both value and features) smartwatch for an Android smartphone to come out in 2016? Well, look no further than the Samsung Gear S3. This Tizen-based smart wearable comes in two flavours — Classic and Frontier — both offering premium build, a big and beautiful Super AMOLED display, plus an intuitive method of navigating between menus and widgets with the rotating bezel. It’s also rugged with an IP68 water resistance and MIL-STD-810G military standard durability rating.
It’s certainly an improvement over the previous Gear S2 smartwatch as it comes with higher-quality rubber standard 22mm bands that are user swappable with easy to remove tabs. You can also make calls, control S Voice, and accurately track fitness metrics with a heart-rate sensor and built-in GPS. Despite all of these features, the watch still boasts about two days of battery life on a single charge. Want to learn more? Check out our full review of the Samsung Gear S3 Frontier edition.
Buy the Samsung Gear S3 from at authorised Samsung retailers nationwide RM1,399
While the newer, more powerful PS4 Pro is now available, if you don’t a 4K TV that supports HDR (or don’t understand any of those terms) then there’s no real point in buying one yet. with a wide library of games and a huge install base, at RM1,349 the Slim is the perfect jumping on point for anyone who doesn’t have a PlayStation of any type and wants to get into modern gaming.
Buy PlayStation 4 Slim from RM1,349
While there’s plenty of smart watches and fitness trackers out there, for the consummate “gearhead” who absolutely must have the latest, best-looking tech and needs to it match their running gear, the Nike+ edition of the Series 2 of the Apple Watch is the only choice. Available in various Nike themed colours and wristband combinations, the smart watch itself is the same as any other series 2 Apple watch but the Nike + version comes pre-loaded with Nike’s running club app and a set of exclusive watch “faces” that match the style of the strap and support complications (features that appear on the watch face when you take a look at it) that allow users to easily start and track their exercise routines.-
Buy Apple Watch Nike+ Edition from RM1,649
If you’ve ever wondered in awe at the electrical arcs in old black and white horror movies like Frankenstein or seen videos of people “playing” music on giant Tesla coils, the One Tesla Musical Tesla Coil brings that magic to your own home! Coming pre-assembled (unlike the smaller Tiny Tesla Coil) the coil can shoot sparks up to 20″ long and can generate sparks in time to “play” songs passed to it in MIDI.
It might be a little late to order in time for Christmas but you can wait until the new year to shot sparks across your living room, right?
Buy OneTeslaTS MegaTesla Kit from RM1,800
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If you’ve got it, spend it (oh and can we get a loan until payday?)
If you already got the best PC, the best graphics card and the latest PC games, what’s the point of turning all the display settings up to ultra if you haven’t got a monitor to do it justice. Enter the Acer Predator X34. This huge curved IPS display is PC Mag’s Editors’ Choice for “big-screen, ultra-wide gaming monitors”, with impeccable colour performance and minimal lag. Its curved screen will place you right in the action no matter what game you’re playing.
Buy Acer Predator X34 from RM4,269
While the DJI Phantom 4 is the de facto drone of choice for those who can afford it, it’s still a bulky beast to carry around. With the recall of the tiny GoPro Karma due to intermittent power issues, DJI’s Mavic Pro is simply the best, compact drone you can buy right now. Small enough to fit in a normal backpack (not those huge DJI branded ones!) and leave room for more than just a small sandwich. The Mavic’s small size doesn’t lead to any compromise too much in quality, however, with a 12MP, 4k camera, up to 27 minutes flight time and a dedicated controller.
Buy DJI Mavic Pro Drone from RM4,280
Of the recent crop of “last mile transport devices”, Boosted Boards seem to be the most “cool”. Essentially a motorised longboard, you steer as you would on a normal skateboard but instead of all that exhausting pushing, the board is propelled by electric motors, with the speed controlled by a wireless handheld device. Astoundingly useful in urban environments, as you can see from any of the videos from New York Videogapher Casey Neistat, they also look like tremendous fun.
With a top speed of 22mph, Just make sure to keep it charged or you could end up with a long walk home.
Buy 2nd Generation Boosted Board from RM4,400
Back in June, we called the Huawei P9 “a fantastic flagship smartphone at an amazing price point”, so for a luxury phone recommendation where cost (and sense) don’t matter, we’d have to go for P9’s big brother, the Mate 9 Porsche. Yes. Porsche, the car design company. Only available in limited numbers, and only in fashionable graphite black, the Porsche variant is slightly smaller than the Mate9, offers the same Leica cameras but upgrades the RAM to 6GB, provides a whopping 256GB ROM storage, 2 SIM card slots and a 4,000mAh capacity battery.
None of which matters, really. The only real reason to buy this phone is to see the look on your friends and family’s faces when they see the Porsche design name and logo on your phone!
Porsche Design Huawei Mate 9 at RM6,999 (Available 22 December 2016 in Malaysia).
If money is no object there are plenty of super expensive cars out there to choose from. If, however, you have an interest in technology, then right now The Tesla Model X is the one that we should get. While there may not be many charging stations in the region and getting one here might be a drag, the cachet of having one of the small number electric cars in the region, and one with such striking gull wing doors would be immense. Tesla’s own Model S may have the X beaten on range (315 miles vs 250 miles) however you can’t pretend to be Doc and Marty in the S. While you’re ordering, you might as well throw in another USD10,000 (around RM44,425) for the “Ludicrous Speed” option.
Buy Tesla Model X from RM390,000 (US Pricing).
Ever dreamed of flying your own aircraft but are afraid of all the perceived dangers and risk involved in flying? The Icon A5 amphibious light aircraft could be for you. Designed with a Spin Resistant Air-frame, the A5 shouldn’t ever stall or go into a spin, reducing the skill required to fly it and making it easier to fly (though you still need to complete a training course). Icon is aiming to make flying an aircraft more akin to riding a Jetski or ATV. With a host of additional safety features like a stall indicator (not standard on most aircraft), that spin resistant air-frame and wings that fold up so it can be transported on a trailer the A5 is the ultimate toy!
Buy an Icon A5 Light Aircraft from around RM840,000 (US Pricing).
And that’s it!
Hopefully, you can find something for everyone this Christmas and receive what you are looking for in return! Merry Christmas!
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