Awesome tech gift around $100?

September 12, 2014 5:49 AM

Last year I gave them Beats earphones, what can I do this year?

I am looking for cool tech gifts that are around $100.

Last year I gave them Beats earphones, low hanging fruit. This year I want to really make it something awesome!

So far on my list of potentials I have -

The Lightpack ($100)
Pebble Smartwatch ($150)

I'd also like to add something really classy that can be used with tech, like a nice leather _____ or something beautiful made from wood. So feel free to suggest tech accessories.

posted by heavyp08 to Grab Bag (13 answers total)

Who is "them"? Family? Friends? Coworkers? Employees? Orphans?
posted by The Michael The at 6:01 AM on September 12, 2014 [1 favorite]

How about a kit to make this awesome clock? The clock itself is $250, but the kit is only $100.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 6:02 AM on September 12, 2014

Response by poster: Friends - 30-45 yo, a woman and a man.


Thanks!
posted by heavyp08 at 6:03 AM on September 12, 2014

Talking of clocks, I just adore this circling swallows one. I bought it for myself but it requires (simple) assembly so it's still sitting in its box. I see it's sold out on Anthropologie but you can find it elsewhere online.

(On review it's not a tech gift at all. Feel free to ignore.)
posted by Dragonness at 6:35 AM on September 12, 2014

Best answer: A Livescribe smartpen!

For the "something classy that can be used with tech" part, you want Levenger.
posted by jbickers at 6:46 AM on September 12, 2014

Best answer: I really like the UE Mini Boom bluetooth speaker.
posted by mullacc at 7:00 AM on September 12, 2014

Best answer: I have a Sound Kick portable bluetooth speaker and it's great. Same sound quality as much more bulky portable speakers I have used in the past, and it's really easy to travel with.
posted by burnmp3s at 7:00 AM on September 12, 2014

I'm testing out a pebble that a co-worker has leant me since he doesn't use his. I have a very specific use case; I use a tablet instead of a phone, so I want silent (read: vibration) notification alerts. For that, the pebble is nice, and I'm leaning towards buying it from him. I found that I also like having it when I run so I can get info (pace,distance,time). Inside buildings it's fairly hard to see the "e-ink" display. The vibration is pretty much perfect - strong enough that I notice it, but not jarring. It's also silent on my arm.

I'm cheap but I'm considering paying 2x+ the price (mine would be used) to get an android wear device despite the daily charging. With that said, I've worn this pebble for all of 23 hours.

The pebble is the largest watch I've ever worn (and I stopped wearing watches at least a decade before). If I didn't like/need it, there's no way that I'd wear this. If I went back in time to when I had a phone (yes, even a large one like the note-ii), I would have no use for the pebble, and would likely have stopped wearing it at most after a week.

My wife had been interested by the pebble when it was first release (I wasn't at the time); I got her started setting it up on her phone last night and she was done with it in about 20 minutes.

Maybe if you specifically know some of the people are your gift list is considering the pebble, then it might be good. But for most people I suspect it won't be appreciated.
posted by nobeagle at 7:39 AM on September 12, 2014

Best answer: I would love if someone bought me a 3D printing pen like the 3Doodler.
posted by phunniemee at 7:55 AM on September 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

Best answer: I'm going to go with better computer audio. I'd go with the M-Audio AV40 (which is a little over your budget), or something like the Micca MB42x and a Lepai Amp. (Note that the Lepai does not have a headphone jack, which might be an issue, depending on computer placement.) There are better amps, but they're $60 or so. The Lepai is 100% fine for all but the incredibly picky.

Either of these will be far and away better than whatever computer audio setup they have now.
posted by cnc at 9:57 AM on September 12, 2014

Response by poster: Still looking but here are a few more I found

Coin ($100) (Pre-Order)
Nomad Key ($30)
Hammerhead ($85) (Pre-Order)
Dark Energy Reservoir USB battery pack ($99)
posted by heavyp08 at 10:31 AM on September 12, 2014 [2 favorites]

Re: I love the idea but I'm too scared that with all the credit card leaks we'll be going chip and pin cards soon and it won't work. I would absolutely 2nd the 3 doodler though.
posted by dstopps at 2:07 PM on September 12, 2014

I will note that battery pack is HORRENDOUSLY overpriced. I have a 10,000mah one with a nice metal case that's worked great for probably six months... that was $16 on sale on rakuten. The brand is "new trent" and all their stuff has great reviews on amazon/etc.

If you're looking at bluetooth boomboxes, the two around $100 i really like are the soundblaster roar and g project g boom(note that this is essentially the new version of the soundfreaq above, it's done by the same people). Everything else around that size, including the little UE boom are just... too quiet. I got a refurb big jambox for around that price and initially liked it, but it's just... too delicate and breakable feeling. The metal on it is already bent in a bunch of places after a couple months of light use, and it got severely dented inside my cushy backpack the second day i had it.

Never buy an m-audio speaker product, also. The ones mentioned above burn out the amps fairly often, and i have a pile of burned out expensive m-audio 8in monitors in my storage unit they refused to fix. I have several friends who have also had m-audio stuff melt down in their home studios/bedroom systems/etc.

Similarly, i had an AWFUL experience with the nomad. I backed their kickstarter, and the damn thing fell apart on me after maybe two months of being on my key ring. They promised to send me a new one ASAP and never did, and have just ignored my emails since. The broken one is still sitting in my desk right now. Fortunately i got it for the early bird price, but i'm still bitter. It seriously lasted what felt like a few weeks.

Also, for a similar price, i still think the metawatch is a lot nicer than the pebble for the price. It's just made out of higher quality materials, while still being like ~$130.

I really like these cases, and i'm pretty sure the minimallyminimal guy reviewed them and loved them too. Maybe one of those and a chromecast?

If any of them sit at a computer all day, $100 is around the price that you can start looking into getting a decent mechanical keyboard. There's been several threads on the green about this, i'd search around.
posted by emptythought at 5:32 PM on September 12, 2014 [1 favorite]