2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Technology Buffs

It’s almost December! Have you started your holiday shopping yet?

Starting with last week’s gift guide for the home cook and continuing this week with our gift guide for kids (and parents), London Drugs is setting you up for success this holiday season with gift guides for everyone on your list. Today we’ve got a great list of gifts for technology buffs. Know a techie who’s always got the latest gadget? We’ll help you pick out the perfect gift!

Here’s our guide to help you buy a gift for the techie on your list that you know they’ll love.

1. Tech Tools for Tracking Health

Wearable technology is all the rage, and nobody’s doing it better than health and fitness companies. You can track your heart rate, steps, activity level, sleep, body fat… we even have portable machines for tracking blood pressure and glucose levels. It’s finally cool to want to be healthy!

gifts for technology buffs

Give the techie in your life the Fitbit Ionic, which has all the functionality of the previous Fitbit watches plus is water resistant up to 50 metres–perfect for tracking one’s swims. This version of the Fitbit also includes an NFC chip so you can pay at a contactless terminal with your credit card, from your wrist! If your techie friend is really adventurous, they may prefer the functionality of a Garmin smart watch, great for multisport tracking with GPS and full colour maps. Pair a smart watch with the Fitbit Aria or another smart scale, which track body fat percentage and wirelessly sync stats so they can track progress over time.

2. Make Mornings Bright with the All the Right Gear

gifts for technology buffs

Looking for something to help you start your day right? Try this gentle alarm clock that mimics the sunrise. A great gift to help them wake up in a more gentle way for those early morning workouts. Need more motivation to get out of bed? This running alarm clock literally runs away from you, forcing you to face the day. Like to listen to music or podcasts before drifting off to sleep? This eye mask has built in wireless headphones and full button controls. 

3. Outfit Your Home with Smart Technology

Smart home devices have come a long way in the last few years. Nest is leading the way, having developed a thermostat, smoke detector, and security camera you can control with your smartphone. Other companies have taken their lead, creating water sensors to detect leaks, smart locks for the front door, and smart outlets that allow you to turn on and off anything you have plugged in from your phone. Techies can set timers for the outlets their lights are plugged into, or just reduce their energy footprint by turning outlets off. Upgrade your techie friend’s home with technology and give the gift of peace of mind!

gifts for technology buffs

If they truly love using technology to make their life easier, or if they’ve always dreamed of having a robot butler, then get the techie in your life Google Home, the voice-activated speaker with built in Google Assistant.  With an “OK, Google,” they can ask it questions (Math! Definitions! Sports scores!) or tell it to play a song or movie on their Chromecast. It also connects with Nest and other smart devices. “OK, Google. What’s the perfect gift?”

gifts for technology buffs

 

4. Get the Perfect Shot

 

Technology keeps getting better and better, especially when it comes to photography. No techie should be without a good quality digital SLR camera like the Canon Rebel T6i pictured below. They have all the functionality of an analog camera with manual control, but with amazing features you can only get in a digital camera: snap amazing high-definition shots, view and edit using a touchscreen LED, and even take 4K video.

gifts for technology buffs

 

For the adventurous techie, the GoPro is the way to go. Waterproof up to 30 metres and able to go up to 120 frames per second, GoPro cameras take incredibly smooth videos in difficult conditions. Perfect for exploring the beauty of Canada! Or try a drone with a built in HD camera for gorgeous aerial shots.gifts for technology buffsIf they already have the latest in digital photography equipment, a lightweight tripod or an external hard drive to back up their photos will always be welcome.

 

5. Small Stocking Stuffers

One of the best things about technology is all the accessories. Perfect to supplement a larger gift, or pop them in a stocking for extra Christmas cheer. Things like batteries (never included, why?) and battery chargers. Or AV cables and adaptors.

gifts for technology buffs

 

For someone travelling during the holiday season, nothing is more useful than a soft electronics accessory bag for all the cables and accoutrements of laptops, phones, and other devices–except maybe this all-in-one plug adaptor good for more than 150 countries. 

6. Fashion Accessories for the Tech-inclined

In cold December weather, these texting gloves for men and women allow for uninterrupted texting. Or bring a pop of pattern to your friend’s phone with a fun new phone case. If they take work with them on the go, these beautiful laptop totes are a stylish answer to the messenger bag. 

gifts for technology buffs

For more gift-giving advice for the kids (and parents) on your list, speak to an LD Expert today. To make a purchase, visit London Drugs in-store and online.

We’ll be back next week with a top gift guide for DIYers. See you then!

See all of our 2017 Holiday Gift Guides here:

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Kids (and Parents)

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for the DIYer

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for Music Lovers

2017 Holiday Gift Guide for the Home Cook 

9 Fantastic Gadgets That Will Ramp Up Your Health & Fitness

  1. Fitbit
Best Health Gadgets - FitbitWith its surge in popularity over the last year, there’s no avoiding the usefulness of the Fitbit. From the Zip, which tracks your steps, calories, and distance, to the Apple Watch-like Surge, there’s a Fitbit for everyone. The happy medium seems to be the slim and lightweight Flex, which is affordable and functional – it’s even got the sleep tracking capability.
  1. Fitbit Aria
Best Health Gadgets - Fitbit AriaFitbit’s smart scale tracks your weight, body fat percentage, and BMI, and connects to your Fitbit data through the free Fitbit app for iOS and Android. The Aria is available in both black and white for the design-focused fitness buff.
  1. Taylor Smart Scale
Best Health Gadgets - Taylor Smart ScaleThe second option for a smart scale is the Taylor Smart Scale. It’s extremely accurate, and connects to your smartphone through Bluetooth to track your weight. It even allows you to set goals and track progress within the scale’s user interface. Or, you can connect the data with our next suggestion.
  1. My Fitness Pal
Best Health Gadgets - My Fitness PalThe app that tracks your eating habits and calorie intake also serves as an aggregator of data. It can sync with both your Fitbit and your Taylor Smart Scale to create a cohesive summary of your fitness goals and progress. Accessible from both your smartphone and your desktop computer, My Fitness Pal is easy-to-use and effective in helping you track data and get fit.
  1. Jabra Sport Plus Headphones
Best Health Gadgets - Jabras EarphonesOnce you step up your cardio (gotta put that Fitbit to work!), it might be worth upgrading those old Walkman headphones. The Jabra Sport Plus model is wireless, so there’s no concern about tangled cords. For tunes, you can listen to iTunes or Spotify through Bluetooth from your smartphone, or if you don’t feel like hauling any extra weight along, the headphones can connect to FM radio.
  1. Quitbit
Best Health Gadgets - QuitbitIf you still haven’t been able to kick the habit, new technology will soon be available to help you out. The Quitbit lighter tracks your cigarettes to help you better understand your habit. The accompanying smartphone app allows you to view your smoking trends and cigarette spending, and lets you share with friends (in case peer pressure helps your efforts!). You can even limit your cigarettes by pre-setting your smoke times ­­– the Quitbit will only allow you to light up at the scheduled time.
  1. Smartmat
Best Health Gadgets - Smart matThe Smartmat is the world’s first intelligent yoga mat – or, it will be. Though the exciting new product isn’t available for purchase yet, it is in final stages. Funded through Indiegogo, the mat is intended to teach the user yoga. An accompanying app guides the user through yoga classes, and the responsive mat gives the user verbal instructions on how to improve their form. Namaste, technology.
  1. QardioArm Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor
Best Health GadgetsIf you’re kicking up your cardio, it’s worth investing in a blood pressure monitor. The QardioArm is compact, easy to use, and dependable. Nothing should stop you from living life to its fullest.
  1. Netatmo Weather Station
Best Health Gadgets - Netatmo Weather StationThe Netatmo allows you to view info about your home’s condition, right on your smartphone. It will tell you what to expect in terms of temperature, humidity, indoor air quality, noise pollution, and monitors CO2. When the air quality deteriorates it chooses the right time for you to ventilate your home or room. Plus, you can personalize the settings to keep you comfortable.

Fitness Gadgets to get the most out of your fitness

Have you ever needed that extra little bit of motivation, or a reminder to get active? London Drugs tech expert David Levett sat down with anchor Darrell Rumold on CTV Morning Live in Regina to discuss some of the newest products on the market for monitoring fitness.

For someone looking for something simple, yet effective for fitness tracking, FitBit might be the perfect choice. These activity trackers are a very user-friendly option and are best suited for entry-level to average fitness trackers who want something simple. David showed off the FitBit Charge HR model, capable of tracking essential fitness measures like steps taken, calories burned and active minutes. The charge also acts a watch and is able to sync wireless to any laptop or smartphone. FitBit can also monitor one’s sleep. David explained in the newscast how the FitBit would track sleep and then display on an iPad the amount and quality of sleep he had. Starting as low as $70, FitBit provides an affordable option for users who want effective fitness monitoring without complexities.

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