When your holiday shopping is full of high-tech requests, it’s not hard to imagine your wallet taking a beating. However, no-one wants to be dealing with a post-holiday financial hangover in January, when those credit card bills start arriving.
To help you stay within budget, we’ve put together a list of 10 great tech gifts, each of which costs less than $100.
10 Great Tech Gifts to Buy for Under $100: 1More Stylish True Wireless In-Ear Headphones
True wireless earbuds are a hot gift category, thanks in no small part to the success of Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) AirPods.
You can get great audio, excellent battery life and a comfortable fit from 1More’s Stylish true wireless in-ear headphones. I reviewed these buds earlier this year and for under $100, they are a good value. With up to 6.5 hours of use on a charge (24 hours total including the charge case), they go for longer without needing to be recharged than AirPods, and 1More offers them in a choice of colors: black, gold, mint green and pink.
Amazon Kindle Fire HD8 Tablet
You are not going to get a cutting edge tablet for under $100. But you can get a pretty decent one in Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Fire HD 8. The 16GB version is priced at $94.99, or $79.99 with special offers (advertising).
For that price you get a tablet that’s easily held in one hand, with an 8-inch HD display, quad-core processor, 10-hour battery life and integrated hands-free Alexa. You don’t have access to anywhere near the selection of apps available from Apple’s App Store or Alphabet’s (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASAQ:GOOGL) Google Play, but there are still thousands to choose from through Amazon. And the Kindle Fire HD8 works perfectly well for web browsing, streaming video and reading e-books.
Google Nest Mini
The $49 Google Nest Mini is a great, affordable option if you want to give someone a smart speaker. Use Google Assistant voice commands from across the room to control streaming music, control compatible smart home devices or to ask for the weather forecast.
The second generation Nest Mini has improved bass for better music playback, improved voice recognition and it can easily be wall-mounted. Its recycled fabric cover is available in a selection of colors, so it can match pretty much any home decor.
Mujjo Double-Insulated Touchscreen Gloves
Do you know someone who uses their smartphone a lot, and lives in an area where the winters get really cold?
Mujjo’s double-insulated touchscreen gloves are the warmest I’ve ever used, thanks to multiple layers of Micro Fleece, Thinsulate and a wind-resistant Micro Pique outer shell. They’re very smartphone friendly with sticky Silicone grip lines and a conductive treatment that makes virtually all surfaces — including the thumbs and palm — able to operate a touchscreen. You can pick up a pair for about $55.
ROKU Streaming Stick+
If someone on your list would like to access streaming video services but their TV lacks built-in support, then the ROKU (NASDAQ:ROKU) Streaming Stick+ makes a great gift.
Just plug the $49.99 stick into an HDMI port and connect it to Wi-Fi for access to ROKU’s extensive channels, including Apple TV+, Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) new Disney+ service. The Streaming Stick+ supports resolution up to 4K, as well as HDR. It also includes a physical remote control, with built-in voice search capability.
Apple Arcade Subscription
If there’s a gamer on your shopping list and they use Apple gear — an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple TV — a subscription to Apple Arcade would likely be very well received.
Apple Arcade has over 100 premium games, with no ads, and no in-app purchases required. If you choose a family subscription, up to six people get access. Apple Arcade costs just $4.99 per month, so a year of gaming comes in at under $60.
Sega Genesis Mini
Even with the PS4 and Xbox One due for replacement next year, game consoles are still relatively expensive.
However, for just $79.99 you can pick up the Sega Genesis Mini. This 16-bit retro gaming console comes with two wired controllers and an HDMI cable for plug and play setup. It features 40 built-in classic Sega Genesis video game titles, including Golden Axe, Sonic the Hedgehog and Altered Beast.
Anker PowerCore+ 20100 USB-C
Anyone who’s into tech can use a good power bank. There’s nothing worse than having a battery run low and having to hobble along in power saving mode.
Anker has a reputation for making some of the best power banks, with premium quality and a lot of features for the money. The $69.99 Anker PowerCore+ 20100 USB-C has a big 21000mAh Lithium-Ion battery. That’s enough to charge an iPhone XR five times, yet it’s still within FAA regulations for bringing on an airplane. It also has USB-C output for the power to charge tablets and even a MacBook.
Amazon Smart Plug
With a $24.99 Amazon Smart Plug, just about any device or small appliance gets “smart.”
When you plug something into the Amazon Smart Plug (like a desk lamp, for example) instead of directly into an electrical outlet, it can be turned on and off using Alexa voice control. It can also be programmed to turn on and off on a schedule. All that’s needed is an Alexa-enabled device such as an Echo smart speaker, or the Alexa app on a smartphone.
BioLite HeadLamp 330
BioLite is a very cool company that makes interesting high-tech gear like the CampStove that burns twigs to produce heat and generate power to recharge mobile devices.
The $49.95 HeadLamp 330 is the company’s high-tech take on the headband flashlight, and it makes a great gift — even for someone who isn’t specifically hoping for tech gifts. The lightweight, rechargeable HeadLamp 330 is very comfortable, sits flush against the forehead, can be adjusted to multiple angles and two brightness levels, and it goes for up to 40 hours on a charge. The HeadLamp 330 also comes in interesting colors, including Sunrise Yellow.
As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
