10 gadget gifts that won’t blow the budget
WELCOME to part three of our annual gift guide, and this week we dip below the £100-mark. If you’re on a budget, here are some ideas for great gifts for the tech lovers in your life.
POP SOCKET GRIP
GOT a friend who always has a cracked phone screen? We all have – they need a little help holding on. That’s why the Pop Socket grip is perfect for them. It sticks to the back of a phone and most of the time it’s more or less flat. Pop it out and it becomes a handy grip to help make sure you don’t drop it. It also doubles as a stand that can prop your phone up if you want to watch a video without having to hold it in your hand.
■ £10, Vodafone (vodafone.co.uk)
PAIPU PROJECTOR
PROJECTORS are the new TVs, with the option to watch on a massive display on any suitable surface in the house. The added bonus is being able to set up outside for an al fresco movie night… when the weather allows of course.
This projector from Paipu does not have all the bells and whistles some other much more expensive units have, but it’s an excellent entry point if you only want to watch in relatively low-light environments.
It connects to wifi so you can cast your smartphone content to it, but also comes equipped with a large range of physical ports so you can hook up smart TV plug-ins and game consoles.
■ £89.87, Amazon (amazon.co.uk)
APPLE HOMEPOD MINI
APPLE’S new smart home speaker offers premium sound at less than half the price of the original HomePod. Designed to fit anywhere in your home (it’s only 8.5cm tall), it packs a surprisingly powerful punch audio-wise, and uses some smart technology to adapt the sound to the room it’s in. Also allowing access to the Siri AI assistant, it can be used to control any HomeKit smart home accessories via voice command. As with everything in the Apple world, it also works well with other Apple devices.
■ £99, Apple (apple.com)
AMAZON FIRE TV STICK 4K ULTRA HD WITH ALEXA VOICE REMOTE
AMAZON makes a few TV dongles that turn any TV with an HDMI slot into a smart streaming TV, and this is their best.
It features TV voice control via the Alexa AI smart-assistant, but also has a full set of control buttons on the remote for those times when you want to keep it quiet. The device brings access to a wide range of streaming services, including Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+.
■ £49.99, Amazon (amazon.co.uk)
BELKIN POCKET POWER 5K POWER BANK
THE last thing you want when you’re out and about is a dead smartphone battery – however would you let the rest of the world know what you’re up to?
And while the batteries in phones are getting better, heavy usage will likely mean any device will struggle to last all day.
It’s a good idea, then, to carry a charge pack so you’re never short of juice, and this one from Belkin is as good value as they get.
■ £30, Vodafone (vodafone.co.uk)
STADIA PREMIERE EDITION
ALL the noise this year has been about the next generation consoles from Microsoft and Sony… but Google’s Stadia system brings a much cheaper way to play.
It’s a streaming service that requires nothing more than a controller and a Chromecast smart TV dongle – and this pack contains both. You can sign up to the service for free and purchase some of the latest and greatest games to play. Sign up for the Stadia Pro service at £8.99-a-month, and it brings access to a large collection of great games.
In addition, the Chromecast Ultra included also brings access to a wide variety of top streaming TV services.
■ £89.99 from Google (store.google.com)
IPHONE 12 | 12 PRO MAGSAFE ACCESSORIES
IF you know anyone who has bagged any variant of the iPhone 12 this year, you should know all about the MagSafe accessory collection.
Essentially it’s a range of cases, charges and other items that attach to the back of the phones magnetically. You can mix and match colours to create your own look and make the device your own – or their own if you’re buying for others...
■ From £49.99, Apple (apple.com)
RAZER KISHI
THE Razer Kishi is an ingenious device which essentially turns your smartphone into a hand-held gaming device with all the controls you need.
Mobile gaming is big business these days, with some of the top developers taking advantage of ever-improving hardware to create games that would have been unthinkable even on consoles just a few years ago. That’s why you need proper controls to get the best out of them.
The Kishi is available for both Android and iPhone, and folds down to a small package when not in use.
■ £79.99 for Android, £99 for iPhone, Amazon (amazon.co.uk)
KANO WEBCAM
THE Kano Webcam is a great multidirectional webcam that fits into the USB port of your computer.
The flexible arm means you can point it in any direction, making it a whole lot more useful than a built-in camera. And there’s a handy sliding lens cover that has a macro converter lens that allows you to get in close to subjects when it’s in position over the standard lens. You can also cover the lens completely for privacy.
It works with any computer, but is part of a wider eco-system of tech that includes build-your-own computers and other accessories.
■ £29.99, Kano (kano.me)