Never too late for Mum’s gift
Still deciding? Balqis Lim helps out with eight tech gadgets that will make her feel special
SMART TAGS
DOES your mum always leave things behind? Adero is a system of Bluetooth-enabled tags that communicate with one another — and you — through an easy-to-use app. Just stick Taglets on everyday essentials and pair up to three of them to a single Smart Tag. By pressing the Smart Tag, it will glow green when all of its Taglets are with their Smart Tag. A red light means one or more Taglets aren’t together with its Smart Tag. Open the Adero app to see what’s missing. Price: US$59.99 at Adero.com
COMPACT POWERBANK
DON’T want mum to run out of battery when you call her? The Mohsi Ionbank 3K is not only stylish, but also compact. Its soft vegan leather cover opens to reveal a built-in lightning cable to charge any iOS device as well as a USB cable for recharging the battery pack. In addition, its SmartSense circuitry is capable of charging the device and IonBank at the same time.
Price: US$64.95 at Moshi.com
NOT-SO-ORDINARY MUG
EMBER’S smart mug is great for those who enjoy their tea and coffee piping hot. The Ember ceramic mug connects to the Ember app, allowing mum to set the appropriate temperature and be notified when it is reached, personalise LED colour and create temperature presets for her favourite drinks. A fully charged Ember mug will keep mum’s drink at her preferred temperature for about an hour. Or use the included charging coaster to make it last all day. Price: US$79.95 (RM332) at Ember.com
POWER USER
WITH Eve Energy Strip, mum can individually control three outlets with the app. Rest assured that appliances are safeguarded by overcurrent, overvoltage, and surge protection. The appliances can be scheduled to work completely autonomously. It can be used at the same time each day or at irregular times. From the app, mum can also track their combined power consumption. Price: US$99.95 at Amazon.com
BEDSIDE TOOLS
PART smartphone stand, part vase, this bloom box is sure to brighten up mum’s bedside table. Handmade from glazed stoneware, the stand can be used for fresh flowers or dried blooms. Mum can keep her existing phone cord nestled in the groove at the bottom of the stand while charging her device. RM132.65 at Uncommongoods. com
DOWN MEMORY LANE
IF mum has lots of negatives from the days of physical photography, help her digitise these with the Kodak Mobile Film Scanner. Assemble the cardboard platform, switch on the internal LED backlight, insert a slide or film, and get to work via the dedicated app. Besides editing features in the app, there’s also no need to save photos on a computer or SD card as the app has a Share icon so mum can post in one easy step. Price: US$39.99 at Amazon.com
FOR THE COOK
IF mum is an excellent cook, give her the Crock-pot Multi-Cooker that can cook meals at a fraction of the time that traditional cooking requires. The multi-cooker is eight-quart in size, and is a compact appliance that lets mum serve nutritious meals for her family or a party of 10 people or more. Thanks to convenient one-touch settings for various pressure-cooked meals, mum can choose to eat sooner, or use the slow cook setting to enjoy a delicious, hot meal later. The multi-cooker can also steam, brown, saute, simmer, boil, or manually set the pressure setting. Price: US$79.99 at Amazon.com
FACIAL TREAT
GIVE something to pamper mum in the comfort of her home. Foreo UFO is an advanced smart face mask designed to turn the usual favourite 20-minute sheet mask treatment into a 90-second treat. It combines UFO-activated masks with Hyper-Infusion Technology (heating, cooling and T-Sonic pulsations) and LED light therapy for a professional-level treatment at home. Heating opens the pores, T-Sonic pulsations infuse active ingredients into the skin and cryotherapy both seals the active ingredients and firms up skin. Price: US$279 at Amazon. com