Fill your stocking for less than £100
As the price of must-have gadgets tumbles, there is a feast of Christmas goodies on offer, and not a turkey in sight
IT’S not too late to bag a magical bit of tech for your special ones this Christmas.
We’ve dipped under the £100-mark for this, our final gift guide of 2019... and as good tech naturally becomes cheaper over time, there are some real crackers on that last-minute list for Santa this year...
PHILIPS HUE WHITE AMBIANCE TWIN-PACK
THESE new bulbs from Hue come with Bluetooth connectivity, so all you need is your phone to get started – a gateway hub is not required.
They are a great way to dip your toes into the smart home world. And if you do want to go further with a fullyfledged Hue system, they’ll fit right into that, too. Price: £39.99 at 2. meethue.com/en-gb
AMAZON KINDLE FIRE 7 TABLET
AMAZON’S best-selling tablet is one of those devices that you look at and simply marvel at how they could make it so cheap. It’s decent in every regard. So, while it’s made of plastic and may not have the build quality of some of the higher-end tablets, it’s got the muscle where it needs it.
Described by Amazon as an “entertainment device”, if all you want to do is read, watch and listen, you’d be a fool to pay any more. It’s an even bigger steal once you realise Alexa is built in, too. Price: £59.99 at amazon.co.uk
AMAZON ECHO DOT
NO longer the cheapest way into the world of Alexa (that honour now goes to the £24.99 Echo Flex), the Dot remains the best value for money, largely because of its improved audio capabilities.
It’s a pretty decent music machine, and can stream sounds from Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music… so you are spoiled for choice with services. That would be enough, I think, to make this good value – but the whole world of Alexa voice control and information retrieval is also at your disposal. Price: £49 at amazon.co.uk
IPHONE 11 CLEAR CASE
YOU’RE not going to spend £750 on one of the most beautiful phones ever made and then hide it away behind a case, are you?
Of course not – that’s what the Apple clear case is for.
Made of clear polycarbonate and flexible TPU, it’s rigid on the back but flexible at the sides, and is also scratch resistant all over. As well as bringing much-needed protection to the device that you will undoubtedly use more than any other, it also brings a better grip, meaning you’re less likely to drop it in the first place. Price: £45 at apple.com/uk
APPLE PENCIL (FIRST GENERATION)
THIS Christmas lots of people will be waking up on Christmas morning to the new iPad – Apple’s entry-level tablet is more powerful and yet more affordable than ever before at £350.
One of its new features is compatibility with this, the first generation Apple Pencil. Complete the set by adding this powerful game-changing accessory – it adds more functionality and opens up a whole new world of creativity. Price: £89 at apple.com/uk
BELKIN POCKET POWER 5K
THERE’S nothing more frustrating than being out and about when your phone’s battery dips into the red zone.
It’s true that you shouldn’t have to worry about that, and yet as phones get ever-more complicated, battery technology is hardly keeping up with the pace. That’s why you need to carry a spare battery pack with you wherever you go, so you no longer have to worry about running on empty.
There aren’t many makers with a better reputation than Belkin, and there aren’t many packs they make that are better value than this – you should be able to recharge the average phone one-and-a-half times.
Price: £25 at vodafone.co.uk
KODAK SMILE INSTANT CAMERA
THE Kodak Smile camera brings the best of the digital and analogue worlds together in a single device – it is both a camera and a printer. OK, so the camera bit of it won’t be giving Leica nightmares, but as a fun point and shoot, it’s a bit of take-anywhere joy.
It prints your photos instantly using an inkless process, so you never have to worry about running out of ink (the colour is in the special photo paper you have to use with it), but if you stick an SD card in it, it’ll also store your digital photos for use online later. The best of both worlds, I’d say. Price: £99.99 at amazon.co.uk
SONY WH-CH500 WIRELESS HEADPHONES
DECENT headphones are a must these days, and wireless is the way it go – these affordable on-ear Sonys, left, tick the boxes in all the right ways. Coming from Sony, you know they’re going to work as advertised (not always true of wireless audio devices), and they’ll be built well. They’re not the cheapest out there, or even Sony’s cheapest – but they do offer a nice balance between affordability and quality. Also known as good value for money. Price: £59 at centresdirect. co.uk
SKULLCANDY INDY WIRELESS EARBUDS
IF you’re looking for some more discreet on-the-go sound machines, and you’re not going to splash out for Apple’s excellent AirPods Pro at £250, Skillcandy’s Indy earbuds, above left, are a decent compromise.
They’re water resistant, offer up to 16 hours of battery life via the included charging case, and have on-device touch controls. They do everything you want them to, and nothing you don’t – and they sound pretty good, too. Price: £69.99 at skullcandy.co.uk
GOOGLE CHROMECAST ULTRA
THE simplest way of getting video off your phone or tablet and onto the big screen is Chromecast, Google’s plug-in dongle that provides video streaming from devices to TVs.
More or less any video app on Android and iOS will stream to this device, at quality up to 4K (some exceptions do apply, so check the app you want will work with the Chromecast before buying).
There’s a cheaper Chromecast available, but this is the one to go for if you have a 4K TV or are planning to get one... it’s future proof. Price: £69 at store.google.com