What present to get for your loved ones? This is ‘the one’ question that haunts people in general. But this is the 21’st century. The age of technology. So, rather than getting them a mediocre dress or something they will rarely use why not get them something they’ll not only love but also use profoundly. But the number of electronic gadgets out there makes it quite puzzling what to get. Also most of them are pretty expensive and they will leave a huge dent in your pocket. But fear not. we are here to help you pick out the best gift for your loved ones. But before that, let us clarify the points considered while picking these items.
Price
This is the most important aspect to be considered, especially if you have a low budget. The price of the items mentioned below is in the range of $100 and $600. I know this is not a very inexpensive price range but since you would be giving these gifts to someone close to you, its really worth it. And as far as the distant relatives and friends are concerned, a sweater or a shirt should suffice.
Usage Scenario
You need to be smart while choosing one of the tech items. You really can’t gift your grandma a laptop, it’s just a waste of money because she surely won’t use it. And most importantly, it’s downright stupid. If you have a teenage brother or a son you want to surprise. A gaming console would be the best bet. So, you need to consider the usage and the likings of the receiver before deciding the gift.
Quality
If you want do something do it right. It applies here too. I’m not asking you to get the absolute best there is to buy. But buy something that is best IN the budget. Thus the listing below will give you a better idea of what to buy that’s best in a specific price range.
If a newer model is round the corner
This applies to most of the products in the list, but not all. I’m not saying that the new model is always better. But it is always smart to wait a bit or at least research the specs of the newer model.
TOP TEN GIFTS
You know, there can be plenty of gifts that can be put under the categories of laptops, cellphones, tablets or even cameras, thus I decided to put one for each categories. Now, these products may not be the best overall (you can’t be serious in expecting “the best” under the cost of $600), but they surely are the best, as a gift.
Canon EOS Rebel T3i
This is one camera that will provide exceptional picture, video and audio quality. It’s equipped with a 18-megapixel lens, uses the same image sensors as its previous models and most essentially shoots at 1080p. The focus of the camera is a bit of a problem, and, initially, if you take it to family events or your kid’s sports meet it’ll be a bit of a problem. But once you get a hold of it and can get and maintain the focus it’s a great tool to have. For the money, the Canon EOS Rebel T3i is a great choice for dSLR videographers and the image quality and general shooting performance are top-notch. So if you’re getting something for a photography fan this is your best bet. The camera is priced somewhat between $540 and $600, with the lens, and is bang for the buck.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite
If someone loves reading, why not gift them an ebook reader? Many people lay that claim that a tablet can be used to read ebooks which makes an ebook reader redundant but nonetheless, for many folks, an ebook reader is still the best choice. It’s distraction-free, easy to hold and use, and lasts for weeks on a single charge and most importantly its way cheaper than a tablet. . The new Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, newly updated for late 2013, is the best ebook reader you can possibly get in the market presently. It has a 6-inch display that delivers a reasonably sharp 212ppi and 16 levels of gray, bright, even edge lighting , smooth interface, cloud-based collections, GoodReads integration, and robust parental controls. In a nutshell, it has everything you could expect a decent ebook reader to have. It is priced at $119.
Audio-Technica ATH-M50
The Audio-Technica ATH-M50 Professional Studio Monitor Headphones offer excellent build quality and very detailed, balanced sound with tight bass. Even though they don’t look nearly as good as beats by Dr Dre headphones, but the sound quality absolutely blows the Beats out of the window. The only downside to them is that there’s no integrated microphone for making cell phone calls and the bulkier design makes them less suitable for mobile use. Other than that they are very comfortable and are a relative bargain.
Fitbit Force
The Fitbit Force is a portable fitness tech that allows you to track distance, calories, steps, and more in the palm of your hand—or rather, your wrist. With the price at $129.95 the fitbit force stands at the top of Fitbit’s current line of health and wellness products. Not only does the Fitbit Force make it easy to track steps, sleep, and calories it also has a built-in heart rate sensor or the ability to automatically distinguish between running, walking, and bicycling. Add to that the fact that it can double up as a stylish wristwatch, easily puts it among the best fitness gadgets out there. To anyone looking to get started with a fitness tracker, and who prefers the wristband form factor, and doesn’t want to break the bank, the Force is the device for you.
ASUS K55N-DB81 15.6-Inch Laptop
Normally you wouldn’t really go for Asus, as far as buying laptops is concerned, because there are plenty of other brands available that are much better. But I stumbled across this laptop and was pretty amazed at the quality and value of the laptop. Despite its looks being nothing special, it does have plenty of features. It has a15.6-Inch Screen which is big enough, 6 GB DDR3 and 750 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive. It comes with Windows 8 installed and has a pretty decent 5.5-hour battery life. Most importantly it is powered by AMD A-Series Quad-Core A8-4500M 1.9 GHz processor that really gives your laptop the kick needed to be quick. Prices at $450 with loaded features I really don’t see how you can go wrong with this one.
Apple iPod touch 32GB 5th Generation
If you want to surprise someone who has a lot of interest in music, go for the iPod touch. It has real great sound quality, a 5 MP camera, a great display (which is same as that of iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C). To top it all it has a memory space of 32GB which is enough to store well over 5000 songs. It really comes with everything that you’ll need and its setup too is extremely easy. If you don’t want to spend 800 or so bucks on a iPhone 5, you might as well go for this. The product is from Apple so the quality is no issue whatsoever and the price tag of 337 bucks makes it even more irresistible.
The Oontz Angle Ultra-portable Wireless Bluetooth Speaker
Now if the person you are gifting already has an iPod touch or iPhone or an iPad they can screen music to this Oontz Bluetooth speaker. You can hook it up to many different devices namely iPhone, iPad, iPod, MacBook, Samsung Galaxy s4 and s3, Galaxy Note, Amazon Kindle Fire HD, HTC Droid and One S, Nexus 7, Nexus 4, and all tablets, Smart Phones and PCs .It can be used literally anywhere. It works great at barbecues and back yard parties. You can use it at your College lacrosse game. No tangled chords, no stress. No need to build speakers into your walls. Just find someone with an iPhone or a Mp3 and you have music, anywhere, anytime.
Asus VS247H-P 23.6-Inch Full-HD LED-Lit LCD Monitor
If you need a monitor for your home or office pc the Asus VS247H-P is the one to go for. This Asus model sports a shiny, black, modern look with a round base and a forward-leaning arm. Although it lacks ergonomic adjustability and the height cannot be adjusted, but for this price range you might as well put a riser underneath it for more comfortable viewing. It is equipped with 1 VGA Port, 1 DVI-D Port, 1 HDMI Port and a headphone jack. So you have all the ports you will possibly need and thus you can hook up you computer or your kids gaming system to this and they will not be disappointed. Priced at a meager $149.99 this is a huge bargain and you must go for it if you need a decent monitor.
Apple iPad Mini
I don’t think anyone would be disappointed if you gifted them with an Apple iPad mini. It really is a super super device. You can do anything on it, you can play games, surf the internet, read eBooks, watch movies, listen to songs, anything. It really is the best well rounded gift you can get anyone. It has a 7.9 inch display, dual core processor, 5 Megapixel rear facing camera, 1.2 Megapixel front facing camera, 1080p video recording, and retina display. All in all, it has everything you could possibly look for in a tablet. Priced at about $300 this really is bang for the buck. On a lighter side, it may happen that once you buy this iPad for someone you may decide to keep it for yourself. So be strong folks.
Sony PlayStation 4
Make that special someone’s year by getting the system he or she won’t stop talking about. It is the ideal gift for any man or woman who’s into gaming. The PlayStation 4 serves up dazzling graphics, runs on a simplified and logical interface, and boasts a fantastic controller. It has plenty of decent games out which was not the case when it was first released. And to those who were expecting Xbox on the list, the fact that it is 100 bucks more expensive than the PS4, kind of took it out of the reckoning as far as gifts are concerned. The PS4 will cost you $399.99, but will be a staple of living room entertainment for years to come. If you get one for someone, make sure you have a camera ready to capture the mind-blowing moment.
