August 19th, 2017 | Updated on March 8th, 2024
Shopping for a gadget-obsessed friend or family member? Tech gifts are some of the most popular and sought-after gifts out there, yet many electronic gifts come along with a big price tag. But if you’ve written off any and all devices this year because of the fear of sticker shock. you might think twice after seeing our editors’ creative picks.
Whether you’re looking for a great pair of headphones, the perfect watch, or the best engineering toys, Popular Mechanics’ gift guide has you covered. If you are looking for gift ideas for that special techie in your life. Here are 21 awesome gadgets and gift ideas for techies.
1. Voltnow Riverfi Bluetooth Speaker and Battery Bank
Customer Review : I love love love this speaker. I have had others that were weak and would cut off at times. I took a chance and purchased this one. I mainly use it while in the shower. I used the suction cup and stuck it next to me in the shower next to the shower head and the water and steam caused the suction cup to loosen and the speaker fell hard on the ground but still kept playing. I thought that it would have been broken but it still held on strong. It is easy to use and works great. The Bluetooth connection is solid and has a great range. Get it from Amazon for $16.99
2. JBL Clip
Customer Review : This speaker is super clear and very loud for its size. It doesnt buzz when you turn it up all the way and has good range from bass to acoustic. It sucks that it doesnt show the battery percentage but i did notice that it does show on my phone. Idk about android but with iphone if you pull down the notifications it shows the exact percentage. Get it from Amazon for $49.95
3. LuminAID Inflatable Solar Pack
Customer Review : The lights are a brilliant idea. They inflate easy and charge in very low light. They came as advertised, partially charged and ready to “light up” your life. One small point is that I must not have read the directions very well as I thought the charge lights would light up to indicate the status. There is a small button that must be pushed to momentarily light up the charge indicators. Get it from Amazon for $16.99
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4. 2-Port USB Universal Foldable Solar Charger
Customer Review : Works exactly as advertised. I have a Droid Turbo 2 cell phone, which takes a lot of juice and charges notoriously slowly when not hooked up to a turbo charger. However, plugged into this solar charger, even on a somewhat hazy day, my phone charged to 50% in about 2 hours. That is almost as fast as what a standard wall charger will do with a turbo phone. Get it from Amazon for $39.99
5. Amazon Fire TV Stick
Customer Review : I didn’t really know what to expect so when I got the Firestick it was really easy to use,Alexa is great and very dependable,Lots of features and I was even able to pair my Bluetooth headphones!I can watch tv for silent viewing at night while my wife sleeping thanks for the meidong headphones,because the fire stick has no volume control so i have to adjust the volume with my bluetooth headphones,enjoy the moment Get it from Amazon for $39.99
6. Mophie Powerstation Mini
Customer Review : Fantastic to be able to keep my old Samsung Galaxy 4 Mini going with this portable charger for taking pictutes and keeping in touch with family in recent Grandson’s Graduation and Visits with Family Relatives. Get it from Amazon for $29.95
7. Hamilton Beach Set & Forget Slow Cooker
Customer Review : I like cooking whole chickens and roasts so the probe was the best option. I hate how dry my roast gets sometimes but with the probe it turns off the cooking when it reaches the desired temperature. So no more over cooked food. For families that aren’t home to change settings, this is a premium feature worth every penny. Get it from Amazon for $49
8. Pencil by FiftyThree
Customer Review : Love my stylus so far. No problems whatsoever at the moment. I was a bit skeptical about how the performance would be since it was refurbished but it’s working fine. I enjoy the way it feels in the hand, being a traditional artist, it feels nice. And it was affordable! Get it from Amazon for $29.98
9. TP-Link LB100 Smart Light Bulb
Customer Review : I bought four of these bulbs when I saw they are compatible for direct control using Amazon’s Echo. And sure enough, it takes a minimum of setup, and they work like a dream! And you can control individual lights, a group of lights, or all of the lights just by telling Echo “Alexa, turn on the living room lights.” The lights come on, Alexa says “Ok” and its perfect! Get it from Amazon for $19.99
10. Ultra Slim Battery Case for iPhone 6
Customer Review : I bough this battery case for my iPhone 6s and it worked pretty well and didn’t added a big bulk to the phone at all. Sadly the case stop charging and I was no longer able to use. Luckily the customer service is awesome and ask me if I wanted a replacement or my money back. I took the money because I didn’t wanted to risk going thru the same issue again. This complaint stand behind their product and that’s I’m give them a 5 stars. Get it from Amazon for $21.99
11. Amazon Echo Dot
Customer Review : My brother Robert who has been bed ridden and paralyzed with Multiple Sclerosis from his neck down for more than 30 years now has a new friend named Alexa! He was in tears with happiness when Alexa played 70’s music, played Jeopardy, answered all his questions and wakes him up every morning. Thank you Amazon for giving my brother a new bedside companion. Get it from Amazon for $49.99
12. Fujifilm Instax Mini 8
Customer Review : take good care of the camera i.e it shouldn’t be jostled or dropped because THE LENS circle thing WILL FALL OFF. You can stick it back on but there’s always a little risk involved, the first time the lens fell off I nearly got a heart attack. Get it from Amazon for $56.25
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13. JUMP cable
Customer Review : Love this little portable battery boost/charger – the charging cable I had been using kept giving me the ‘this accessory may not be supported..’ message on my iPhone, and eventually just stopped working. The native union jump cable works brilliantly and the packaging and design are super sleek and cool. Exactly what you’d expect from an Apple product, even though it’s not made by Apple. Get it from Amazon for $29.95
14. Pronto Peel Universal Remote
Customer Review : Received on time and as described. Cool Product but IOS only at this time. Android version coming soon. I have been using it for few days and it is very fun and easy to use. Highly recommended. Get it from Amazon for $23.98
15. Misfit Shine
Customer Review : As an early adopter of these products, I’ve pretty much seen them all and used many of them myself, ever since the original Fitbit which didn’t even have an app for years (which I was actually fine with). My boyfriend thinks I’m nuts, but whatever, over the years, we’ve both seen a real impact that these things have made in my life. Get it from Amazon for $28.49
16. Belkin SongStream Bluetooth Audio Receiver
Customer Review : A snap to set up and start listening to your music. I use this to play my music and Podcasts from my phone on my home stereo. I just hooked the RCA connectors on the included output cable to the AUX input on my amp and it was ready to go. It was pretty much instantly “discovered” by my phone Bluetooth, I tapped on “connect” on the phone Bluetooth settings and that was it – I was listening to my music. Nothing complicated at all about this thing. Get it from Amazon for $30.34
17. WeMo switch
Customer Review : This light switch and the other outlet style plug has worked reliably for over 3 years. There would be occasional hiccups like power interruptions that cause the switches to restart, but they have never failed on me. However, you are at the mercy of your internet connection and if you happen to be away while the network crashes, you won’t be able to communicate with the switches. Get it from Amazon for $34.99
18. Anker MP141 Bluetooth Speaker
Customer Review : Dang this speaker is amazing. Cannot beat the metal build quality and huge sound from this compact but well designed cube speaker! Overall, I personally love this device and it will be my daily bluetooth from now on. I had an older 2.1 bluetooth bar that sucked compared to this one. The ease of use, quality of the product, and just great sound from such a small package is worth way more than the price and reliability of this Anker product. I’m surprised at how low the price is when this is a premium product! Get it from Amazon for $27.99
19. Tile
Customer Review : For 25 years I have helped my husband look for his wallet. EVERY DAY. No matter what system I tried to introduce him to, what basket was on the counter just for his wallet…was a dismal failure. EVERY DAY FOR 25 YEARS. I gave this tile to him for Christmas. It has been the best two months of my life. Get it from Amazon for $24.99
20. GoolRC CX-10G Quadcopter
Customer Review : I have never tried any radio controlled toy before but the instruction was easy to read and understand and it is a very simple to use. Also there is youtube video for people who would like to learn visually. Get it from Amazon for $25.99
21. Toymail
Customer Review : It took me a while to get it all setup, but it was well worth it. Gave it to my 2 1/2 year old niece as a Christmas gift. I live in CA. She’s in TX. It’s fun to know (via the internal accelerometer) when she’s playing with the toy. I can send her a quick voice text. With her mom’s help, she can use it to send voice messages to me or her distant grandparents, or other pre-approved family members. Get it from Amazon for $56.34
source : buzzfeed.com, digitaltrends.com
