Black Friday has just passed and the shopping season can be said to be in full swing for the year-end holidays now.
If you’re scratching your head wondering what techie gifts to give your loved ones this year, worry not. Techgoondu is coming up with a series of gift guides that should delight everyone at home.
Starting this week are gizmos that will bring a smile to a road warrior, a frequent traveller who’s always on the go.
Including the latest laptops to smartphones, here’s a list of what a geek would recommend to another geek who spends a lot of time on the move.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3 – S$1,048
The original Galaxy Note back in 2011 started the phablet trend and this year, the third iteration is still going strong and beating out competitors that have belatedly joined the fray.
It doesn’t have the largest screen any more, with its 5.7-incher bested by others offering as big as 6.44 inches, but Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 is a phablet that still fits comfortably in a user’s hands.
If you’re after Samsung’s cutesy design, and a slim bezel that keeps things compact despite its size, then the Korean firm’s gadget has to be on your list of gifts this holiday season.
Plus, the handy stylus and very bright Super AMOLED screen help make this a pleasant smartphone to unwrap as a present. Check out our review.
Others worth considering: HTC One, HTC Butterfly S, Samsung Galaxy S4, Sony Xperia Z1, Sony Xperia Z Ultra
Apple iPad mini with Retina – from S$548 for Wi-Fi model
When everyone dissed the original iPad mini as a bad tablet, I actually liked it for its size. The 7.9-inch format is great because it just about fits in your hand like a small novel to read on a plane or a notepad for jotting down notes.
Compared to rival 7-inchers out there, the slightly larger size does count when you’re surfing the Web too. It certainly helps now that Apple has included a super-sharp screen boasting 2,048 x 1,526 resolution. It packs a crazy amount of detail in such a small display.
Only thing to note is that you have to live with Apple’s iOS. If that’s not your cup of tea, there are several Android options offering 7- and 8-inch screens.
Others worth considering: Asus Nexus 7 (2013), Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0.
Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 (2014) – S$998 for 4G version
When it comes to the bigger tablets, Android’s 10-inchers offer a number of options with very sharp screens pumping out 2,560 x 1,600 pixels.
Samsung’s pleasant-looking Galaxy Note 10.1 released this year stands out for not just its sharp screen but handy stylus that lets you scrawl on the large screen. If you’re of the Android persuasion, and more tablet users are now, then Samsung’s new tablet could be the new toy to own in 2014.
If Apple’s more your thing, then the iPad Air must be top of your list.
Others worth considering: Apple iPad Air, Toshiba Excite Write, Asus Transformer Pad TF701T.
Asus PadFone Infinity – from S$1,226 with dock
What if a tech gift is aimed at someone who likes to travel light, without so many gizmos? Well, a two-in-one device may be a nice gift.
Asus’ PadFone Infinity combines an excellent Android smartphone sporting a 5-inch screen with a dock that transforms it into a 10-inch tablet. All you have to do is slide your phone into the dock and the bigger screen powers up.
Under the hood, you can expect a fast 2.2GHz Snapdragon 800 processor to keep things zippy. The camera is not shabby as well, as our hands-on test shows.
Just make sure you get the latest version because Asus released two similarly-named devices within months of each other.
Sony Vaio Pro 13 – from S$1,999 for Core i5, 4GB model
The laptop to have now, according to this goondu, is Sony’s slim and light wonder, the Vaio Pro 13. Weighing just 1.06kg, it is among the lightest PCs around that still provide the full power of Intel Core i5 or Core i7 processors.
The beautiful carbon fibre frame is matched by an excellent 13.3-inch touch screen that offers Full HD, 1,920 x 1,080 resolution. It’s not the sharpest around, but it’s still very sharp for such a small screen.
Go for the 8GB versions if you can push your budget a little more. Sadly, Sony only offers this on two expensive models, a S$2,699 one with a 256GB solid state drive and a crazy S$3,999 one with 512GB.
Others to consider: Apple MacBook Pro 13, Samsung Ativ Book 9 Plus.
Got other gift ideas? Share with us in the comments below!
