2016 Tech Lover Gift Guide

I feel a little differently about the Amazon Echo than a lot of people do. Having a speaker to put in my kitchen that can play music when I ask for it isn't really worth 200 bucks, but its integration with the Smart Home absolutely makes it worth the money. I can look at my calendar or play music on my phone, but the ability to give voice commands to turn on lights and adjust the thermostat really gives me something that I couldn't do before. In my home, for example, I can even control the locks on my doors as networked devices. The big problem with the smart home previously was that it was very difficult to get everyone using it. Typically the member of the family who enjoys technology the most will have it working perfectly on their phone, and no one else can get it to work. The difference that the Echo makes is that it immediately extends the smart home and makes it accessible to everyone. Your primary tech person gets everything set up properly, and then the rest of the family can interact using normal language. For me, that's the killer feature.

If I were buying an Amazon Echo, I would buy the Dot version. It doesn't require one of the full-size units to work, and it has all the functionality you need for a smart home. The only thing it lacks is a set of good speakers for music, but you can easily plug some nice speakers into the jack on the back. It has all of the smart home control capabilities of its big brother for a quarter of the price.

I started using a Nest learning thermostat a little over a year ago now, I have to say that I was impressed by the accessibility of the device to people who had not used one before. As a tech geek, I was able to get it all configured and connected to the network, but the important thing is that other people were able to easily interact with it after I got it set up. There are a lot of smart thermostats on the market, but the difference with the Nest is that it has motion detectors built in, and it can learn and sense when you are around to adjust the temperature. I rely more on the scheduling feature to set specific times with target temperatures. For me, the most useful part of the learning functionality is that it tracks over time how long it takes to warm up or cool down your house and can plan accordingly for scheduling.

Many smart home devices retrofit into existing systems. For example, you can replace the light switches in your house with smart switches. If every one of these devices needed to have its own network connectivity and brain, it would be exceedingly expensive. Fortunately, most of these devices can be bought with a networking technology called Z wave which is much easier to configure and cheaper to purchase than independent Wi-Fi devices. In order to connect all of these devices, you'll need a SmartThings hub. This hub is designed to perfectly integrate with Amazon Alexa (their name for the technology behind the Amazon Echo and Amazon Dot). SmartThings was a startup company that developed some groundbreaking technology and was later acquired by Samsung. Now that the smart home has taken off, they are selling tons of these things.

Many of the rooms in my home use lamps rather than ceiling fixtures. The quickest way to convert these lamps into smart lamps is to plug them into one of the smart outlets instead. Now you can simply turn these lights on and off with your voice if you have an Amazon Echo or Dot nearby.

You will need the SmartThings hub to use these switches, but they are the most affordable way to seamlessly upgrade your lights to smart lights. They come in a number of different varieties that you can find by clicking to the Amazon link.

If your lights support dimming, then you should pick up these switches instead of the switch paddles I recommended above.

I work from home, and I dislike the interruption that the doorbell causes during the day. With a video doorbell, I get video of my front porch and can have a conversation with someone standing at my door. This doorbell has a high definition camera, motion sensors, and infrared to see at night. As an added bonus, they will replace your doorbell for free if it gets stolen.

I bought my first Wi-Fi outlet a few years ago so that I could remotely turn on the space heater in the bathroom when I got up in the morning. More importantly, I could set it to operate on a schedule. We keep our house cool in the evenings during the winter and use heaters for individual rooms at night. These little Wi-Fi outlets make this much easier to do and have saved us a ton of money. This model does not require a SmartThings hub to operate and works great with Amazon Alexa.

No one needs a cooler with a built-in blender, Bluetooth speaker, bottle opener, and charger, but I can sure think a lot of guys who would love to have one. It seems like everything is becoming “smart” these days, but this tricked out cooler is something that I can get behind. While it certainly more expensive than your average cooler, it is actually pretty reasonably priced for what you are getting.

Electronics manufacturers use unusual components to make their devices hard to repair, but I still want to be able to fix my own gear. Fortunately, I was able to find a repair toolkit that contains all of the tools for modern mobile electronics. As I'm writing this, this very toolset is strewn across my desk. I found that it comes in very handy when I least expect to need it.

My home network is robust enough to support an entire office because I used my years of experience in computer networking to integrate enterprise components. Before doing this project, I found that I was having to replace my home network every 6 to 12 months to stay compatible with the newest technology and get coverage for all of my devices. This quickly became prohibitively expensive, so I invested significant time and resources in building something myself. This is neither practical for most people nor should it be necessary. Fortunately, Google decided to build their own Wi-Fi system that is designed to provide whole home coverage using a system that is easy to configure. Rather than just creating another router, something that Google has done a few times before, they decided to actually address the problem by building new technologies into the system for added convenience and control. For example, it allows you to pause the Internet on your kids' devices from an app. Finally, they include around-the-clock phone support from Google for you have any trouble.

Being really into tech is an expensive hobby to have. Every once in a while, something will come along that is both incredibly high-tech and affordable. Originally born on KickStarter, the Pebble watches have consistently impressed. They cost a fraction of what other smart watches cost, their battery life is better, they include fitness tracking, and they have full smart watch capabilities. I don't know many technology deals under 100 bucks that are more useful. This model has an easy to read color screen too!

If you're looking for the most technology put into the smallest package, the Samsung Gear S2 smart watch will meet those demands. Unlike most smart watches, this device can connect to Wi-Fi on its own rather than just connecting from the phone. You'll need an Android phone to use this watch.

If you love the iPhone, then you'll love the iPad. If you haven't use an iPad before, it's basically a giant iPhone. This makes it more comfortable for typing, watching videos, and reading.

If you prefer Android to IOS, then an Android tablet will suit you better. I personally prefer the Samsung Galaxy Tab series as they are affordable, durable, and easy to use. This tablet is an excellent entry-level option.

Unlike Apple, Android tablets are made in a number of different tiers for different users. The Samsung Galaxy S2 is my personal top choice for tablets, and I have purchased several of them. Their screen is brilliant, they run wicked fast, they are excellent at multitasking, and they are lightweight. After considerable testing, I found that this is by far the best tablet for use outdoors with a considerable advantage over the Apple iPad.

Many people are not aware that their phone charges differently when plugged into a charger rather than their computer or car. USB chargers cross the middle two wires within their circuitry to signal to your phone or tablet that they are not carrying any data. This allows your phone to accept more amperage and therefore charge much faster. When you plug your phone or tablet into your computer or car, however, the phone draws much less power and optimizes for communication. When I plug my phone into my car, I only wanted charging. This adapter neuters the USB jack on my car so that it will charge my phone more quickly. I have found that these make great gifts because users immediately notice the difference.

As a software developer, I have to do significant device testing. In fact, my desk has arrangement of iOS and Android devices spread across it. Because I need to be able to keep these devices plugged in and easily accessible, I prioritize putting them in high quality stands that allow for charging. As it turns out, most stands are of poor quality and cover the charging port. I found that these are the best stands available anywhere. This particular model is optimized for phones.

This model follows my recommendation from the previous phone stand by the same company, but it is the size for tablets. I have found these phone and tablet stands to be sturdy and reliable. You have a good grip surface that holds the stand study on the desktop and holds the device firmly in the cradle.

We make a lot of crockpot meals in our family because we can set it and forget it in the morning. The trouble with this approach is that it is easy to overcook meals because you had a change of plans. When you set the crockpot expecting to be home in eight hours but the night goes long, it can lead to food drying out. Being able to remotely control the crockpot and turn the setting down to low is something that we have wanted for years.

Trackball mice work by putting a ball under the thumb that you can roll to navigate the screen using small thumb movements rather than moving the entire mouse. This allows the mouse itself to remain stationary and limit the amount of wrist motion while using your computer. If you know someone who spends a lot of time on the computer and suffers because of it, this would make a great gift for them.