Last Minute Wow Gifts for the Holiday Season

Items from places like AcousticSheep, Truly Ergonomic, Cyber Acoustics & Moen make for great gift ideas

If you’re still scrambling trying to find just that right particular gift for this holiday season, here’s a few practical, innovative and extremely useful few gift ideas with a little wow-factor.

SleepPhones

If your loved one likes to listen to his or her favourite tunes or podcasts while drifting off to sleep and standard earbuds are just not practical, SleepPhones by AcousticSheep may be the solution.

This bed-friendly gadget from a cleverly named company are literally headphones in a headband. Nestled between the layers of comfortably fitting fabric is an easily accessible and removable tiny rechargeable wireless Bluetooth module connected to a pair of flat speakers. 

The lightweight headband stays snuggly on the head- even for those who tend to sleep on their sides.  It allows listeners to enjoy their audio without the worries of getting strangled by wires, or having their earbuds fall out as they toss and turn throughout the night.

They are designed for sleeping but also great for when working out or walking outside in the cold and keeping the ears covered.

They come in three sizes, a variety of colours and choice of two fabric styles; Fleece – for a more soft, warm and luxurious feel and Breeze – a breathable, cooler style ideal for exercising. Both are non-pilling and hypoallergenic made from pre-shrunk and washable 95% polyester and 5% spandex. 

SleepPhones offer basic audio play functions including a power on/off switch.  The battery is rated for up to 12 hours of play with a recharge time of about two hours.

Wireless SleepPhones retail for $99.95 U.S. available directly from SleepPhones.com or Amazon for $129.95 CAD. Models with a built-in mic or a lower cost corded format are also available.

Truly Ergonomic Cleave Keyboard

If you’re looking for a great gift for someone who practically lives on their computer perhaps consider a gift of a Truly Ergonomic Cleave Keyboard. It’s designed to allow you to maximize your typing experience with less fatigue and strain on your hands and body posture.

Designed in Canada, its unique split symmetrical layout aligns naturally with your hands. It incorporates all the standard full-sized keys in an almost columnar layout. It uses 40% less space while maintaining traditional spacing between keys. As a result, you can cover more real estate on the keyboard without having to reach out minimizing wrist and shoulder pain.

Now there are some changes. The more common and important function keys like the Backspace, Delete, Shift and Enter are not placed on the perimeter but rather at the centre for quick and easy access and with your strongest fingers.

The keys are a unique optical infrared mechanical switches. It uses infrared light rather than metal or rubber contacts to register the keystroke so it’s accurate, effortless and does away with many of the issues that plague traditional mechanical keyboards. 

You can choose from three variant key switches at time of purchase depending on your typing style. There’s Tactile Silent keys, where you feel feedback from the keys, Tactile Clicky where you also hear a click and Linear Silent where you don’t feel or hear anything.

The keyboard body is composed of aerospace grade aluminum allowing it to be strong yet slim and sturdy. It’s accompanied by a cushioned palm rest to keep the hands comfortable. It measures 13.6 x 8.8 x 1.25 inches
(345 x 225 x 33 mm) and weighs two pounds (950g).

Other features include white LED backlight control to suit your lighting conditions and an advanced nanocoating shield to protect the surface from water, dust and even those pesky crumbs and food items, because who doesn’t eat sitting at their keyboard.

Truly Ergonomic Cleave Keyboard retails for $330. Currently it’s available directly for $199 with promo code XMAS40 with free shipping in North America.

360° Portable Speakerphone

For a gift for someone who likes to spend time talking on the phone hands-free but doesn’t necessarily want to wear earbuds or headphones, consider the Essential Speakerphone SP-2000 by Cyber Acoustics.

It features a bi-directional 360° speakerphone with an omni-directional noise cancelling microphone system that allows you to speak from within three metres while listening from anywhere in the room with crystal clear sound. 

It can be connected via USB-C or Bluetooth 5.0 so it can function wireless or wired. You can connect via Bluetooth to any iPhone or smart phone or tablet as well as via USB to your Mac or Windows machine. It has on-board controls and you can easily toggle between them with the push of a button.

It’s also ideal for Zoom, small group calls or even for use in your car. At a mere 5.7” (L) x 6.3” (W) x 1.9” (H) and only 0.66 lb., it’s portable and small enough for travel. Its built-in battery will give you up to 12 hours before needed recharge. 

Essential Speakerphone SP-2000 ships with a USB-C charging cable and user guide. It retails for $69.99 US via Amazon.com but you can also pick one up from Dell Canada for $89.99 CAD.

Moen Voice-Activated Touchless Faucet

If you’re looking at a gift that’s useful practical and for the entire family but still has a little bit of that high-tech feel, then what fits under the tree might just fit on the sink like the U by Moen Smart Faucet. 

You can dispense water by using the handle or without having to touch anything. Turn on the water hands-free by waving over a sensor, through voice activation or mobile app, saving you time, money and also helping you stay safe.

Dispensing water is accurate, so there’s no guessing. For example, you can ask it to please dispense 3/4 of a cup of water.  You can ask for as little as one tablespoon or 15 ml up to 15 gallons or 56 litres which I guess we might need on the rare occasion. You can further request the water be at a certain temperature, so you’re not scalding yourself. Even better, you can create presets for frequently used settings like filling the baby’s bottle or the morning coffee pot with exactly 12 cups of water. There’s even a hand wash command so you know exactly how long your hands need to be washed for.

Moen’s technology is incorporated into a myriad of models for designs and finishes for any modern, traditional or transitional kitchen style and to suit any taste. 

Price in Canada start at about $350. You can find them on Amazon, and home improvement outlets like Lowes & Home Depot.

Happy Holidays!

The syndicated edition of the article appears at Troy Media and 32 affiliated syndicated sites.

Greg Gazin, also known as the Gadget Guy and Gadget Greg, is a syndicated veteran tech columnist, communication, leadership and technology speaker, facilitator, blogger, podcaster and author. Reach him @gadgetgreg or at GadgetGuy.ca.

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