Tis the season to be jolly, so they say, and whether you love Christmas or don’t celebrate it, here are some of my top tech Christmas tips and treats you might consider buying or passing onto your family or friends …
Smart Plugs
These are actually really useful and won’t break the bank. If you or someone you know has a Smart speaker, then a Smart plug might just be that useful little gadget to pop into their Christmas stocking. They range in price and manufacturer, but connecting them with your Amazon or Google app is pretty straightforward, and means you can ask the device of your choice to ‘turn on’ the plug in that hard-to-reach corner or behind an item of furniture. I recommend the Amazon Smart plug if you have an Amazon Echo, but there are lots of other brands too. I have an Amazon Smart Plug and would hate to be without it as I have plugged it into my HiFi system, and now simply ask Alexa to ‘Turn on first Smart Plug.’ A satisfying tone from behind the HiFi cabinet tells me she has done so.
USB Wall Chargers
Many devices now come with USB cables, but not every package contains the USB wall charger you need for connecting the cable. A lot of gadgets now use USB C connectors, but what if the wall charger you have only fits an USB A cable? So to avoid disappointment and frustration, purchase one of each so that you always have a wall charger that can accommodate a USB C cable or a USB A cable. There are literally thousands of different brands, colours and places to buy them for around a tenner each.
Batteries
If you have children where toys seem to gobble power like food, or you have gadgets that take removable batteries, you can’t go wrong with a pack of double AA or triple AAA Duracell alkaline batteries. Shop around though because there are bargains to be had for packs of eight or more batteries. Avoid cheaper brands, you will only be wasting your money if you purchase unbranded packs for a couple of pounds. It is more economical in the long run to purchase brands like Duracell Plus. If you opt for rechargeable batteries, do be careful not to mix them up with ordinary alkaline ones as charging an alkaline battery could be dangerous!
Gift Cards
These are a great gift to give a family member or friend as they come in so many denominations and can be purchased from hundreds of outlets. Some vendors will let you send the voucher by email, while others let you purchase a physical card that can be posted direct to your intended recipient. You can also purchase cards that support your local High Street or Town Centre so that the voucher can be spent locally. Be imaginative, there is a huge range of gift cards on the market to choose from.
Mass Storage
A USB pen or SD card is a really useful and inexpensive tool to have for storing photos, music, books and other data. They come in different denominations and brands, so whether you prefer a USB pen over an SD or micro SD card, there is plenty to choose from at affordable prices. I would stick to brands such as SanDisk or Kingston, and go for class 10 as transfer speeds are faster. If you want larger mass storage, I would recommend a Solid State Drive (SSD) over a mechanical drive. These tend to be more expensive but cope with faster transfer speeds.
Smart Speakers
These devices are still very popular and enable you to do so many useful things with them such as listen to podcasts, radio stations, ask the time or weather forecast, play the latest news headlines, stream your favourite music, read books from Audible or Kindle, set timers, calendar alerts and reminders, and ask questions or play games … the list is endless. You can go with the Amazon Echo ecosystem, the Google or Nest route, or anything on another setup in between such as Sonos, Bluesound, Sony or Bose. Prices start at around £40, but it depends what kind of system you want and your budget. For blind and partially sighted users, you can link an Amazon account to the RNIB Talking Books service so you can sit back and ask Alexa to read your favourite titles through the Talking Books skill.
Zoom H Essential Series
Moving up in the price bracket, the company Zoom - not to be confused with the video networking platform that became so popular during the pandemic - has released a series of top notch recording devices in 2024 that contain several accessibility features. These recorders start from the £100 mark, depending of course on what you want the device to do. They are all equipped with text-to-speech which makes it nice and easy for a blind or low vision person to navigate the various menus. You can check out the Zoom H1Essential, Zoom H4Essential, Zoom H6Essential and, just released, the Zoom H2Essential here
Meta Ray-Ban Smart Glasses
I am sure most people have heard of, or read about, these stylish glasses with built-in stereo speakers, microphones, and an assistant to help you. They start in price at £299 and go up to around £400, depending on the size and lenses you want. For a full review, please refer to one of my previous blog posts, A Meta Way To Use Smart Glasses.
They offer some very useful features such as the ability to call a Be My Eyes volunteer if you have Be My Eyes linked to the Meta View app that works in conjunction with the Ray-Bans. They were not designed specifically for blind and low vision users, but the built-in voice assistant and other features make them very useful.
Apps And Subscriptions
Many apps are free to download from the Microsoft Store, Apple App Store and Google Play Store, but magazine subscriptions and Kindle books are not, so an iTunes, Audible or Kindle gift voucher is a great way of gifting to a loved one or friend. You can choose how much you want to purchase and then gift it to the lucky recipient.
The Gift Of Well-being
Finally, no matter what the time of year, the gift of being kind to yourself, as well as to others, is beneficial to everyone. If you look after your own health and well-being, it not only brings peace of mind to you, but also to your family and friends who care about you. Make time for yourself as well as for others you care about.