According to a recent Insights West-6S Marketing Christmas gift survey, 20 per cent of adults in BC would prefer technology gifts, edging out 12 other suggested categories, such as clothing, gift certificates and household items. Not surprisingly, that number increases to 59 per cent amongst teens.
WE Vancouver asked Black Press chief information officer, Frank Klassen the man in charge of, you guessed it, company-wide technology to offer up his top 10 Techmas gift ideas:
Become your own personal paparazzi with the worlds first intelligent wearable camera. The Autographer (pictured above) uses several key sensors including GPS, accelerometer, thermometer and motion detector that work together to decide when the camera dangling from your neck should take a 5 megapixel picture. Its also got Bluetooth and 8Gb of storage built-in. Its unfortunately not available in North America yet but if you have a friend in Britain you can be one of the first! Retails around $650. Autographer.com
These are not your old mans snow goggles. Beyond just looking cool, Oakley Airwaves will reinvent the way you ski or board. With GPS and Bluetooth onboard, you can pinpoint your location, track your friends and even analyze your performance (altitude, speed and airtime). iOS and Android compatible along with a glove-friendly remote. Not inexpensive at $600, but sure to please the hard-core skier/boarder. Ca.Oakley.com
I gave up wearing a watch decades ago. Now Ive got one on my left wrist which not only tells me the time, but counts my steps and calories as well as calculates the number of fuel points Ive generated daily. The Nike Fuel Band is a motivational tool to keep me active even letting me compete with friends online. iOS compatible syncs with the NikeFuel app. $149 and available at stores throughout Vancouver. Nike.com
In a city as densely populated as Vancouver, its hard to enjoy the full sound of your music or movies without disturbing the neighbours. Sennheiser RS 220 wireless headphones are the answer. Untether yourself from a cable while receiving uncompressed digital signals over 2.4 GHz the highest quality with no delay. $600-$800. Sennheiser.ca
Take your movies on the road with the 3M Streaming Projector by Roku available through Amazon.com ($300). This palm-sized box features a single HDMI input filled by Rokus Streaming Stick, giving you instant wifi access to any online services in Canada. With help from a built-in speaker and rechargeable battery, you can create a movie theatre for up to 2.5 hours almost anywhere.
Another new camera thats received some buzz is the Lytro ($400), which captures 11 million light rays of data (11 megarays) per shot (yes thats a million). It also captures the direction of each ray. With no focus needed, the image capture is almost instantaneous. The result is a 4-dimensional image that you focus afterwards. In fact you can share your photos with friends who can play with the picture as well. Available in limited quantities from Future Shop and other Vancouver retailers.
The folks at ION Audio have many great tools for turning your old music collection into MP3 formats that you can play digitally. At stores throughout Vancouver, you can pick up an iLP Digital Conversion Turntable ($100). This handy gadget features an iPad, iPhone and iPod dock built-in right next to the turntable, letting you convert your records straight to the portable device. The same is true for cassette tapes with the Tape 2 Go and Tape Express+ units from ION. IONAudio.com
Talk about your 3-D puzzle this 1300-plus-piece Lego build will result in a customized remote-controlled rock crawler or straight off-roader (or whatever crazy twist you want to put on your Lego Technic 4x4 Crawler). Available at the Lego Store in Oakridge Mall or online (Technic.Lego.com) for $200.
This may be one of the oddest tech toys Ive seen in awhile, but given the amount of rain and leaves that fall here in BC, it could be just the answer for homeowners who clean their gutters regularly but dont want to risk falling off the ladder. iRobot has added the iRobot Looj 330 to its arsenal, which automatically senses leaves and debris in any normal gutter while the detachable handle doubles as a remote control up to 50 feet away. You really have to see the movie to understand how it works. $300, iRobot.com
And finally, its low-tech meets high-tech with travel-friendly winter boots. If youre planning a snowy vacation, its a pain to pack bulky boots. For $170, the Teva Chair 5 Winter Boots are half the weight of most, yet dont sacrifice any warmth or protection with 250 grams of 3M Thinsulate LiteLoft insulation. Plus, you can squeeze them down to the size of tennis shoe perfect for traveller trying to pack light. Available throughout Vancouver. Teva.com
