2023 Holiday gift guides – Gift ideas for the gadget obsessed!

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ARTICLE – If you’re here, you love gadgets and gear, so here is a selection of cool gifts that will make the gadget-obsessed happy! Also, be sure to check all of our other 2023 holiday gift guides!

Peak Designs Tech Pouch

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The Peak Design Tech Pouch is an ideal gift for the tech-savvy and organized individual in your life. This sleek and intelligently designed gear pouch is not just a storage solution; it’s a game-changer for anyone who juggles various gadgets and accessories. With its multiple compartments, elastic loops, and zippered pockets, it provides a dedicated space for everything from chargers and cables to SSD drives and adapters. The thoughtful layout ensures everything stays neatly in place, eliminating the frustration of tangled cords and misplaced accessories. The durable and weatherproof materials add a touch of reliability, making it perfect for daily use and travel. Gifting the Peak Design Tech Pouch is like giving the promise of hassle-free tech organization and easy access, making it a thoughtful and practical choice for the tech enthusiast in your life.

Price: $59.99
Where to buy: peakdesign.com and Amazon

HP Smart Tank 5101 all-in-one inkjet printer

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Budget inkjet printers can get you printing for cheap, but the cost of inkjet cartridges makes the value proposition less impressive when it’s time to replace them after a few months. HP has been at the drawing board and come up with a new design, meant to keep you printing longer for cheaper. The HP Smart Tank ink system ditches the conventional inkjet cartridge for ink reservoirs – and they’ve nailed it on the HP Smart Tank 5101. The included ink supply will get you up to 6,000 pages, a significant improvement from the hundreds you’d get in a typical budget cartridge.

Ever get frustrated that you can’t print a black and white document because you’re out of magenta? The Smart Tank system lets you top off on just the one color, so you no longer have to replace the entire tri-color cartridge. The bottle and reservoir system are well designed to make the process easy and mess-free. Good on your wallet, and good on the environment.

The HP Smart Tank 5101 All-in-One printer has all the features you’d need for printing at home – wireless connectivity, scanning, and printing. Supported by HP software, it also supports a mobile app to make printing from your phone or tablet a breeze. This is an excellent bit of hardware, and the lower cost of the consumables makes this an excellent gift for when they’ll need to resupply on ink (though it won’t be for a while!).

Price $249
Where to buy: HP.com

OWC Thunderbolt Go Dock

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A Thunderbolt Dock is almost a requirement if you’re running a newer laptop with limited ports. Connect an external monitor (or two) or other accessories like hard drives, webcams and more with a single Thunderbolt cable back your laptop that will keep it charged to boot. We won’t judge if you want to pick one of these up as a gift for yourself or a desk-bound friend or family member.

OWC’s Thunderbolt Go Dock has a significant advantage over others in that the power supply is built-in, so a single power cord is all that’s required helping to keep your desk uncluttered or making travel that much easier. Other features include… Lots of ports – 90w computer connection, 3 Thunderbolt 4, 3 USB-A, 1 USB-C, 3.5 audio I/O and Gigabit Ethernet; Support for 2 external monitors at 4K; SD card slot and security cable receiver. A rugged aluminum enclosure design allows for fan-less operation and years of service. A great gift indeed.

Price: $299.99
Where to Buy: owc.com

JOBY Beamo Studio Deluxe Lighting Kit

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Are you searching for a gift for that podcaster, or online meeting Zoomer in your life? The JOBY Beamo™ Studio Deluxe Lighting Kit is a perfect gift for under $100 for either of those two activities. The two light kit includes one 3 color temperature Key Light coupled with a Soft-Lens light diffuser along with 10 adjustable brightness levels. The Key Light is mounted on an angled, adjustable 27” – 37” table stand and includes a flexible GorillaPod® Arm to hold your phone in place during either their podcast or online meeting sessions as well as Cold Shoe locations allowing for the attachment of a mic if needed.

The awesomeness does not stop there as in addition, the JOBY Beamo™ Studio Deluxe Lighting Kit includes a 12 color, 10 brightness level adjustable Background Light to allow for creative background lighting to convey the mood of the day.

The Key Light is USB – A powered by the attached cable / controller, while the Background Light is powered by the included USB A – C cable.  The kit does not ship with any 120V AC / USB bricks; however I found the kit to work very well with any portable power brick that has two free USB – A ports.

Price: $99.00
Where to Buy:  JOBY and Amazon

iStorage diskAshur M2

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How do you protect your most sensitive data?  Tax files.  Passwords.  Kickstarter projects that you’re not ready to share with the world yet.  Extra work for your best client.  Your newest proposal.  Financial and retirement information.  Photos and videos that no else should ever see.  How do you transport it from here to there such that no one can steal the data?  You can’t trust cloud storage for that, as you don’t control how it’s encrypted, where it’s stored, or what employee might decide to go snooping.  For these situations in life, you need a portable storage drive with hardware-based encryption.  The diskAshur M2 from iStorage is exactly the right gift to buy this Christmas season.
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The M2 is a small and lightweight SSD that is encrypted according to FIPS 140-3, a US government standard for effective cryptographic hardware.  It’s a hardware solution with an onboard chip that does the decryption and encryption as the data is read and written.  The data is impossible to extract from the drive without knowing the PIN.  It has a self-destruct mechanism to protect against brute force attacks.  It’s IP68-certified, which means that it’s completely protected from both dust and being submersed into water.  The interior is encased in resin, so if an attacker pulls the drive apart in an attempt to hack a chip, he would wind up destroying all the components instead.  It can survive a 4-meter drop onto concrete and can be driven over by a Ford F150 pickup without getting crushed.  And it only weights 2.3 ounces and is about the size of an iPhone.  Holy moly!
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The M2 is neither the cheapest nor the fastest SSD on the planet, but if you’re looking to absolutely protect your data, especially when you’re on the go, it’s the best stocking stuffer around.  The M2 is available in capacities from 1240GB ($169) to 2TB ($559), and it comes with a protective sleeve, a carry case, USB-A and USB-C cables, and a quick start guide.  The M2 works with Windows, MacOS, and Linux.
Price: $169 – $559
Where to buy: iStorage

Baseus 140W Portable Power Bank

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Many of us have power banks that we’ve been using for years, but a lot of those can only charge phones and tablets (and slowly at that). Power delivery (PD) power banks are great for both being able to charge higher demand devices like laptops, but also to fast-charge new devices that support PD (power delivery) at higher wattages than typical chargers. The Baseus 140W Portable Power Bank will make a great gift for anyone with a modern laptop like a Macbook or Surface, or portable entertainment systems like the Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck, as well as providing power to any phone or tablet (at least any that can connect to USB-C or USB-A)!

This power bank is the maximum size allowed for airplane carry-on, and can even charge up to 3 devices at once with a pair of USB-C ports and a USB-A port. I love the compact size and that it can sit upright while in use so you can easily see the current battery level while you use it. I’ve personally used this power bank with a couple of laptops, tablets, and phones, and it provides up to 140 watts to devices that support it. The included 240-watt-capable USB-C to USB-C cable is nice to have included as well.

Price: $149.99
Where to buy: Amazon

Joby Wavo Pro microphone

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These days we live in a world that is dominated by social media and more content seems to be the absolute mandatory requirement for a successful social media presence. Everywhere we look, we see folks walking around with cameras and smartphones recording just about anything that they can find that is related to their online ventures.

One critical ingredient for creating content that will keep viewers engaged is great audio. Whatever microphone that you use when creating content must be capable of operating in even challenging and changing environments, with constantly changing sounds and sound levels that can challenge the best Creator or Vlogger.

Enter the Joby Wavo Pro. This on-camera microphone is designed as an Interview-ready device with a built-in second microphone input for added convenience and versatility. It features Automatic Noise Reduction which is great for eliminating noise that occurs as you walk around with the camera. It also features a -10 dB safe track recording option, built-in LEDs to provide you with real-time notification of battery and audio levels, and a dedicated app to manage the sound.

If this sounds like a great audio solution for you, head over to the Joby website to learn more about this great little mic. You can also purchase one for $299.95. The Joby Wavo Pro is also available at several other major retailers.

Price: $299.95
Where to buy: Joby and Amazon

Victrola Music Edition 1 portable Bluetooth speaker

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No matter how many people are on your gift list this year, chances are many of them are music lovers.  That make this Victrola Music Edition 1 Bluetooth speaker a no-brainer.  This classic looking speaker has all the retro-vibes to go with almost any décor and it is small enough (5.5”x3.5”) to fit almost anywhere.

The Victrola Music Edition 1 also has a few unique features that make it stand out from the rest. If you are lucky enough to get two under the tree, you can pair both to one source for the stereo experience.  It has a p67 waterproof and dustproof rating which means you can use it outside or in the shower and its rugged steel construction means it can go on almost any crazy adventure and still look great.

With 12 hours of playback time, you can keep the music going all day long!  The Victrola Music Edition 1 comes in silver and black, $79.99 at Victrola.

Price: $79.99
Where to buy: Victrola.com and Amazon

OBSBOT Tiny 2 AI-Powered PTZ 4K Webcam

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Consider gifting an OBSBOT Tiny 2 AI-Powered PTZ 4K Webcam to the work-from-home people on your list this holiday season.

This isn’t just any old webcam. The OBSBOT Tiny 2 has features that regular webcams will envy. The Tiny 2 features AI tracking with auto zoom, elevating the video conferencing experience. Powered by OBSBOT’s sophisticated deep neural learning network algorithm, the Tiny 2 ensures accurate and fluid tracking, making virtual interactions feel more personal. What’s even more impressive is its ability to automatically adjust the zoom settings, ensuring that every moment is captured with precision.

Thanks to the innovative All-Pixel Auto Focus technology, the Tiny 2 shines with its 4x faster focusing in low-light situations. Every pixel across the 100-megapixel sensor surface ensures accurate and rapid focusing, ensuring crystal-clear visuals even in dimly lit environments. And with PixGain HDR, a feature enabled by the Dual Native ISO. OBSBOT Tiny 2 captures two images with separate native ISOs simultaneously, eliminating motion blur for excellent image quality even when moving around.

The Tiny 2 also comes with an upgraded privacy mode. With a simple tilt-down gesture using the OBSBOT webcam app, you can pre-set a video or picture, allowing you to step away while your message continues to resonate with your audience.

If those features weren’t enough to impress, you can also use your voice to control the OBSBOT Tiny 2 webcam. Just say “Hi, TINY,” “Track Me” and it will!

This holiday season, give the gift of connection and creativity with the OBSBOT Tiny 2, a thoughtful present that transforms virtual interactions into memorable experiences.

Price: $329.00
Coupon Code: GD8 (8% OFF)
Where to buy: obsbot.com

Jabra Elite 10 and Jabra Elite 4 earbuds

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Jabra Elite 10 earbuds are Jabra’s most advanced earbuds that have been designed to provide a lifelike sound experience using Spatial Sound with Dolby Head Tracking so that you always feel like you’re in the middle of the music/sound.

Jabra’s own Advanced Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) is now 2x stronger than Jabra’s standard ANC and it is designed to auto-adjust for the sounds around you so it knows what sounds to block and which ones to let in.

With 6 built-in separate microphones, your phone calls will be crisp and clear for the person on the opposite end of your conversations no matter if you’re at home in your relatively quiet office or on a busy noisy street.

Pair them with your phone and your computer and switch between devices with ease.

You get all of these advanced features AND up to 6 hours of battery life with ANC turned on (8 hours with ANC off) and the wireless charging case will juice them back up again and again for up to 27 hours of total power with ANC on and a whopping 36 hours with ANC turned off.

Jabra’s ComforFit with unique oval EarGels means that you’ll get all-day comfort without uncomfortable in-ear pressure.

Price: $249.99
Where to buy: Jabra.com and Amazon

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If the Jabra Elite 10 earbuds aren’t in line with your budget, Jabra has more affordable options like their Elite 4 earbuds. The Elite 4s have ANC, Bluetooth multi-point for connection to 2 devices, 4 microphones for crystal clear calls, and all-day comfort with 3 sizes of eargels. With up to 22 hours of total battery life using the compact wireless charging case, you’ll be able to enjoy all your favorite music, and calls with your friends and family, without depleting your bank account. And, you can choose from quite a few colors!

Price: $99.99
Where to buy: Jabra.com and Amazon

1MORE Fit SE Open Earbuds S30

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Sticking with quality earbuds for people on a budget, 1MORE’s Fit SE Open Earbuds S30 features an open-ear design for people who don’t like earbuds stuck into their ear canals. With 10-hour battery life per charge and up to 30 hours of use with the wireless charging case, you’ll be able to listen to your favorite tunes for a long time before you need to recharge. The IPX5 sweat resistance rating means even your hardest workout won’t damage them.

Price: $59.99
Where to buy: 1more.com and Amazon

JLab JBuds Mini earbuds

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For a true bang for your buck, you can’t go wrong with a pair of JLab JBuds Mini true wireless earbuds. When they say these are mini earbuds, they aren’t kidding. The JBuds Mini earbuds are available in 5 colors and feature Bluetooth Multipoint so that you can pair them with two devices so that you can switch back and forth from your laptop to your phone. They are IP55, have noise-canceling for clear calls, and the charging case will give you one hour of battery life with a 15-minute charging session.

Price: $39.99
Where to buy: Jlab.com and Amazon

Also, be sure to check all of our other 2023 holiday gift guides!

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