Editor's note: has our selection of presents geekiest For the last 16 years, Network World, or simply techiest to give coolest gadgets for holiday gift purposes. We have seen the birth of smartphones, the dominance of the tablet and the shrinking size of the TV (at least the depth, the width and height keep getting better). We've seen robots, large and small, and every conceivable charger, phone case, travel widget, computer, printer and USB doohickey conceivable.
So here we are in 2015 are - (no longer used someone that term?) Halfway the second decade of the new millennium by. We live in a world of instant messages and social recommendations on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and countless other communication platforms. Most of your Christmas shopping will be done online - whether it's Amazon and other mega-shopping sites, or just the online side of your favorite retailers, depending on whether they are free shipping or not offering. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are national holidays. There is so much stuff out there and so many ways to buy the stuff, it's no wonder that people freak out on holidays.
Can we help you sort through the madness? Hell no - that would be a full-time job here at Cool Yule Tools headquarters, and we are very busy pushy fend PR people who insist that their iPhone 6S case is absolutely the perfect gift guide position (and in one case it was, as it can also charge our phone).
But what can we do, is offer our humble list of products and technologies that someone can impress on your holiday gift list. Some of the stuff is ultra-techie and ultra-geeky, at some of the things you can see and say, "What a gift it?" Quite simply, it is the things that we have tried this year, things that we have not yet defined, or things that we think you can help (or someone you know) a better life in this crazy, tech obsessed culture ,
Gift Guide 2015
Cool Yule Tools home
This article shows our selection of gift items for "WORK" meant - things that will help you to be more productive when you are traveling, or when you're sitting at your desk behind the cabin walls.
Choetech CHOE 51W, 4-Port Smart USB Multi Quick Car Charger
$ 19.99 (Amazon Prime)
If you do any kind traveling with children who take a lot of equipment with them in the car, you go lOVE lOVE love this adapter. It has four USB ports! Four!
If you own one of these devices (Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge HTC M9, Nexus 6, HTC Butterfly 2, HTC One M8, Moto X, Galaxy Note 4 / Note Edge, Sony Xperia series) can the Qualcomm Quick charge technology to recharge it a lot faster than a normal adapter.
It is one of the elements, a small gift, to know that the recipient does not immediately appreciate, but I guarantee they will use so long after the novelty tie fades. If you ever at a point where you need more than four USB ports, you can always look for a vehicle that has two charging terminals, a second of them and then get eight USB ports. If you need more than eight, well, then we need to have a discussion on what you do in your car.
- Document written by Keith Shaw
Starts at $ 1400
Apple gets a reputation for really, really thin and light notebooks with its MacBook Air line, but there are also some thin and lights on the Windows PC side of the also ball. This is the case with the line LaVie Z Lenovo - start at 1.87 pounds and 0.7 inches thick measurement (? thin), is so light this notebook, you will probably try a bigger problem going to remember if it in your pocket during your travel or commute.
The lightweight design is not such performance or battery life in the field seems to sacrifice - Lenovo claims that the battery life lasts up to 9 hours (with several power saving options available to prolong life if you extra juice required), and it comes with the fifth generation of Intel Core processors (the unit we tried had a i7 Intel Core). For users who are really, really into the thin-and-light, they are, how little this system weighs be stunned.
The thin design, a few things do sacrifice - there is no optical drive slot and no port for an Ethernet cable - you will get a docking station or an external device for these functions. You only get two USB 3.0 ports as well - so adding things like extra storage, a keyboard or an external mouse could mean some shuffling or stroke purchases (a colleague I mentioned should move only for keyboards and mice with Bluetooth, but pffft - I m a traditionalist there). There is also an HDMI output if you want to see on a screen the things that is greater than the 13.3-inch display.
The one big downside for me on this model is the keyboard - perhaps as a way to get the device lighter and thinner, as it appears, the keys are less durable and functional in comparison with keyboards I have used on other notebooks. Moreover, for some reason went Lenovo with a smaller backspace / delete button (the one next to the + / = side in the second row). Instead of a double-wide Backspace, you receive instead two smaller - a label "FWD Space" and another with "Backspace". As typist, which was very annoying as my fingers usually hit on the left side of the back button when I enter, so that every time I put it on the LaVie I tried to hit the FWD spacebar. I'm not even sure why you need a FWD spacebar on this system, if you are already a Spacebar and a four-way scroll key, which includes a right arrow key (someone enlighten me how this key is different).
If the keyboard backspace thing do not fret that much, so this can be a very cool notebook worth looking at his.
- Document written by Keith Shaw
Ventev Ventev Chargesync tangle free charging cable
$ 29.99 (Blitzadapter tested)
This cable is an update of one of my favorite accessory company, Ventev. Latest ChargeSync cables now include an aluminum alloy cable option, making it even less likely to get tangled when you wrap it up, or frayed, if you bend the cable too much.
After a try of them, you will never, never, never go back to an inferior charging cable. Get one of these for those who buy a smart device for - they will use this for more than they use the device, in most cases.
Seriously, $ 30 for a charging cable may seem extravagant, but if you travel a lot and have experienced the loss of lower quality cable (or have those tangled much get), you are consumed appreciate the extra money.
$ 120
The last time that I was set up and use a personal laser printer in the mid-1990s, long before inkjet printers and the colored options they offer come into my life. Sure, I still use laser printers today, but they are the huge ones in the office with all sorts of other options, such as scanning, copying and faxing (yes, faxing!). need for my personal pressure, it is the multifunction color inkjet model in the last 20 years or been.
But you sacrifice to do something when it goes from laser to inkjet, especially for wordy documents such as contracts, letters, etc. There are with still something nice about a crisp, clear document that only one can offer laser printers. The lower price offered model here from Brother (only $ 120) gives consumers the opportunity again to own a laser printer of their own.
The two biggest features of this other than the price, the speed of the printer - Brother says the Print Speed 27 pages per minute can go - and the possibility of two-sided documents automatically print and easy. This feature helps save paper and time, if you mainly do something fancy like a booklet printing on.
The printer comes with a paper tray for up to 250 sheets of paper maintains, and can do both legal and letter-sized paper. Manual box at the top can handle things such as envelopes and labels.
There is a disadvantage to the printer - the only connectivity option is USB, and it does not come with its own cable - you need to make one yourself available. to see After years of printer with Ethernet and wireless options, it was disconcerting to have a little the printer close enough to my computer, move on to join it. This printer would probably live on a desk or in the vicinity, as opposed to network printers, which may be from your computer far away.
A compact laser printer may not be of your holiday be giving list at the top, but if you are someone who prints a lot of documents, the price is good enough for a printer that can give them the joy laser again ,
- Document written by Keith Shaw
Plantronics Explorer 500 Bluetooth headset
$ 59.99
[19459001dasWachstumvon] in the vehicle Bluetooth speaker systems, the need for driver lowered into a separate Bluetooth headset to invest, but if you are one of those drivers who do not yet have such a system in their car (either by choice or that you an older car) the drive here is again, a headset option, you will appreciate.The Explorer 500 is a very small Bluetooth headset that appeal to users that their ear is not a big, bulky microphone or a device like hanging (or in). It is extremely light, and can be fixed with the supplied earpiece to the ear easily, or attach plastic ear loop that goes for more stability on the ear.
Tech features include dual-microphone noise reduction (which Tronics says enhanced by HD voice when broadband enabled handsets and services used) and voice activation, which connects directly to now either Siri or Google. A fully charged unit provides up to 7 hours of talk time, and it also includes a "Deep Sleep" mode, the headset turns off when the headset to the phone gets out of range (as if you leave it in the car, but forgot to turn it off).
holding at the simplicity theme, there is no bulky power charger - instead, you get a flexible charging band that can connect to a USB port - if you do not use the strap the advantage of two magnets in it take to to create a loop that can hold the headset.
For activities beyond just talk on the phone supports Headset A2DP for music and podcast streaming, although they can be heard in one ear (non-stereo), and in-unit audio alerts let you know how much battery life remains, and if you connected to a phone.
- Document written by Keith Shaw
NETGEAR Around Town 4G LTE Mobile Internet hot spot
$ 199.99 (Amazon Prime price) and data costs (from $ 24.99 per GB up to $ 74.99 for 5GB).
If you have ever used a portable Wi-Fi hotspot, which also wireless WAN capabilities (3G, 4G, etc.), you will be familiar with the Around Town device. It is a small device that provides about the size of a flattened, rectangular hockey puck, the cellular data access via an internal WLAN connection. In this way you can share that 4G connection with multiple devices, good for hotel rooms to family trips or with the customers work together (rather than a hotel for more than one Wi-Fi connections to pay, for example).
Unlike other devices, the Around Town will require no monthly data service costs. You will get 1 GB of data with the purchase, and if you are using, you can pay for additional data - you pay basically for what you use. With monthly data plans, any unused data will be lost by the month (unless you pay for a data plan carry), and if you go on - then for data overage charges ready.
This is all gone with the Around Town, this will make for an employee a nice option, traveling only occasionally, or for groups of workers who might need network access for a quick overnight trip (an IT employee this can happen out and then give it to another worker in the next week).
seem the cost of data plans a little high (even at the high end, $ 15 per GB is expensive), especially when you consider that a very fast data can devour lots online these days do ( Lost streaming Netflix on this matter).
- Document written by Keith Shaw
Lytro Illum light field camera
$ 1,200
a few years ago, surprised us with Lytro his first offer, a camera, users could be the focus of their images in postproduction to change, to ensure that the photos would always be good in question.
The Illum camera is the next step in this development - instead of going after the consumer mass Illum camera is clearly aimed at professional photographers and semi-professionals - the digital camera "Pro-Sumer" audience. This is a serious camera with a TON of different functions to the user with the ability to selectively create awesome pictures. If you are a camera users who take pictures with the autofocus button like to take, step away - it's a bit of a learning curve with this device.
The camera is to capture 800 processor light from every angle in a position with its sensors and Snapdragon. corresponds with an 8x optical zoom lens and 30-250mm focal length, the camera is a high degree of flexibility, the depth of a photo in new ways to capture - Users can choose to details to the foreground and background with greater accuracy than in a conventional digital camera focus. in front of the other and to the focal length handling. No way I'm a professional photographer, but I felt like I was. Better shots than what create I could get with my phone or other digital cameras Examples of a lot better "living pictures" have been created with the camera, are on the Lytro Illum website.
The system comes with additional applications - a free desktop application, you can import the images and do extra work, especially in the re-focus perspective. Since the image data contains so much information, you can also create animations and 3D images from the single shot. The company also offers a mobile application, the user's phone and tablet view images from the camera (via a direct Wi-Fi connection) can.
I feel like I just scratched the surface with the kinds of pictures I can create with the camera - if you have a serious photographer enthusiast on your holiday gift list to see this camera.
- Document written by Keith Shaw
Kangaroo Mobile Desktop PC
$ 100
the kangaroo mobile Behind claims to be the world's smallest Windows PC 10, and it's hard to argue with this statement. This little gadget offers a full Windows 10 experience, this is to make a very interesting proposal not only for work but also for use at home.
The device comes with a small docking station to which you join to provide an HDMI cable video available and with a compatible monitor or TV sound (the hardest part for us was in our review process therein, such a monitor here at the office).
But that's not all - with the OSLinx app through the Apple Store, you can connect the Kangaroo device via the USB cable to an iPad and get the Windows 10 experience on the iPad. In addition, the kangaroo can be operated in this mode without an external power supply (it is for about four hours on its battery with "occasional use," says running kangaroo).
The kangaroo, the version of Windows 64-bit Home includes 10 off runs an Intel Atom x5-z8500 processor, has 2GB of RAM and a hard disk 32 GB. Extra memory can be added via a microSD card, or attach via an external USB hard drive to one of its ports.
is My only complaint with the device that 2GB RAM is not really enough - during my review that I was unable to install an app that 4 GB required; this could limit what you can do with the system - kangaroo, you can have a 4GB or 8GB version?
As long as you have the additional gear for a computer experience (an HDMI monitor / TV, keyboards and mice), $ 100 price tag is a huge selling point as possible additional PC for scenarios home or at work.
- Document written by Keith Shaw
Apple Apple iPhone 6S
start at $ 649 (64GB model tested, other capacities and financing options available from Apple and carrier)
comes this write from the perspective of the Apple iPhone 5 to the new 6S model move (the regular size, not the 6S plus). Between 5 and 6 S there were two other models of Apple (the 5S and 6), so that this upgrade is apart about three years for me, a bit longer than the typical upgrade cycle of two years.
The biggest change for me, dealing with the size of the 6S - the size for the 6 changed - it is more in line with the larger Android phones from Samsung and other manufacturers. The days of a tiny smartphone with appear to be gone, but at least with the 6S you can have a slightly smaller phone.
With iOS 9 on the phone, you can get a number of new features, and feature upgrades from the previous two phones, if you are like me and have not been updated for a while. This means I. To experience features like Photo Slow and fast motion video capabilities The 6S (and Plus) feature the new "Live Photo" option that some animation before and after the image is to give you a sense of what was going on before you snapped the picture. It is the "Harry Potter" effect that any dizzy seems to be, but in my limited use of this feature, I have not been so excited about it.
more exciting for me is the ability to burst mode to do on my pictures, which gives me several shots to try the right image and find particularly useful when photographing several children at the same time. The video options, in particular able to shoot in 4K resolution is to update search also a great incentive for owners of older iPhones.
The iPhone 6S also has force-touch on the display, which gives you some additional app functionality. For example, pressing down harder on the News app, you can select text message sender / receiver directly from the list of "recent", you. To the area faster than before Not every application has not Force-touch functions on them, but they probably will when they find out a useful feature for it. For example, the Facebook app will be able to a photo / video take to upload a photo / video, or a review of Force Touch write instead that these things do from the open app.
This was also the first time that I experienced the Touch ID fingerprint sensor - the only question that I remembered had to use it to log in or on the Phone (you can still in a longer enter six-digit PIN, rather than the earlier four-digit method). After a few weeks I had to remember the location. Colleagues, which was upgraded from the 6 to the 6S, activated in the Touch ID first, say that the sensor is much faster to detect the pressure.
yet battery life is not ideal - one of the big reasons I upgraded was shocked at how quickly I drained the battery, so I was a little disappointed that I would still need to wear Options Shop, cables and battery packs. But at least there are some good options out there - see other parts of this guide for suggestions.
At this point in the life of your smartphone experience, you have probably made the OS choice and are unlikely (or unwilling) to change. If the Apple camp, and you have an iPhone 4 or 5 is to make the leap to the larger model to learn at the time some of the cooler new features that Apple has on his iPhone.
- Document written by Keith Shaw
Samsung Samsung Galaxy Note 5
starts at $ 249 (with two-year contract, as well as data and voice plan, 32GB capacity)
this year's model of the newest phablet from Samsung is the first time that I have experienced their S Pen, the very cool pen that allows you to write notes or draw things on the screen. This can be brought to the early days of the PDA as the PalmPilot or Handspring Visor, but Samsung is the S Pen on the device is not to be nostalgic, but to be more productive with their activities the user.
to make the biggest decision in view of the phablet is the size - are ready to carry on a 5.7-inch screen, whether in your pocket or in a bag? As a longtime iPhone 4 and 5 user, I'm used only on the larger iPhone 6S, so that the larger size of the Galaxy Note 5 is initially quite daunting.
Once you get past the size, you will be amazed at the high quality display on the device - the Quad HD Super AMOLED screen is awesome. The two cameras are also impressive - a 16-megapixel rear camera provides fantastic images, plus the ability to shoot 4K video. A front-facing camera (now called as "selfie camera") is 5 megapixels.
The Android phone with a variety of applications comes complete and the ability to learn more about the Google Play Store to download so that you can be a lot in your work and personal life to integrate these. The phone looks good, feels good and makes for a great holiday gift this year.
- Document written by Keith Shaw
Samsung Samsung Galaxy S6 edge +
Starting at $ 349.99 (32GB model), with two-year contract, and voice and data tariffs.
The original Edge smartphone Galaxy S6 extends the display on the phone at the edges of the device to provide the very cool-looking curved screen. The latest version of the Edge +, adds some extra size on the device - the phone now sports a 5.7-inch display, similar to the size of the Galaxy Note 5 device.
The phone sports now a Quad HD Super AMOLED display and has 4 GB of RAM, as well as the ability to record video in 4K resolution and pictures of 16 megapixels to shoot. A front-facing (aka "Selfie") camera to take 5 megapixel photos and includes a 120-degree wide-angle function for better selfies (because that is what the world is all about now).
The edge of the phone, you can do some additional things, such as the list of your (Samsung calls this "People Edge") five most important contacts or your five favorite apps to start quickly. The edge lighting function can be set to illuminate the underside of the rim when a call or a notification comes in. News, weather and sports results can also be accessed on the side of the device. You can use the device in a night time display for quick access on the nightstand rotate (perfect if you are in a hotel room and need to know how much extra time you sleep in need).
Finally, the Edge Display a nice conversation starter, especially if you are one of those people who show their phone to other, like and impress them with new features like this.
- Document written by Keith Shaw
Logitech Logitech K380 Multi-Device Keyboard
39,99 $
I'm usually not a fan of tiny keypads, as they tend to my extremely genial touch input interrupt capabilities. To shrink the size of the keyboard shrink manufacturers generally the size of the keys themselves, leading to more typos than a full-sized version.
Still, I was quite impressed with the K380 as it functionality and portability adds that a larger keyboard is missing. Primarily, the keyboard that you connect seamlessly via Bluetooth to three different devices. Can This can include Windows or Mac computer, as well as iOS or Android smartphones or tablets. Turn is as easy as the corresponding yellow button in the upper left part of the keyboard.
Second, the smaller size of the keyboard means that you can package them away in a laptop bag easily, if you do one of those people who want their laptop digging and try to complete all your work on a Tablet. Logitech promises to two years of battery life, but everything depends on how much you use it.
- Document written by Keith Shaw
SanDisk SanDisk Accessories (Ultra microSDCX UH-I card; dual- USB drive, dual USB flash drive 3.0 flash drive for OTG Smartphone)
Price from $ 13 to 249.99 $ field
The kind people at SanDisk sent a number of small bearing on storage accessories, you probably find yourself with in the next few years - such as the large package of AAA batteries that you forgot to buy more until just before the holidays, these are all improve other electronic devices and gadgets that you can buy for the holiday. , The second terminal (on the opposite side of the stick) of the new USB Type-C reversible connector that promises easier ways is to be connected, because you do not have to worry about which side is and what side down.
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