CHRISTMAS is almost upon us, so it’s time to celebrate with some top tech gifts.
Since we’re all indoors more, I’ve divided the gifts into the rooms you’re likely to end up using them in.
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A few presents are blow-the-budget ways to wave off 2020, but most are well-priced and there are even some stocking-filler ideas.
LIVING ROOM
BLOW THE BUDGET
- Microsoft Surface Laptop Go: £549, microsoft.com – buy here
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Microsoft’s own-brand laptops are solidly built and have the perfect fit with Windows and Office. This 12.4in model is super-light and portable, with great battery life and strong performance.
- Ruark R1 radio, £229, ruarkaudio.com – buy here
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British company Ruark has redesigned its upmarket radio with a whole new look. DAB and FM sound fantastic here, but you can also play tracks from your phone, and even charge the phone from the radio’s USB-C socket.
- Apple HomePod mini, £99, apple.com/uk – buy here
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The newest smart speaker from Apple is the size of a baseball, though it sounds much bigger. And for an Apple product, it’s very well-priced. If you’re playing music on your iPhone, just tapping it on the mini transfers the music to it.
STOCKING FILLER
- TCP Smart Wi-fi Plug, £14.99, B&Q – buy here
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Turn any socket into a smart socket with this clever pass-through plug which connects to your wi-fi. Then, through your phone or voice assistant device, you can control the socket with your voice.
BEDROOM
BLOW THE BUDGET
- Theragun mini, £175, theragun.com – buy here
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You’ve hurt a muscle on a run. Theragun is a massage device that vibrates to relieve muscle soreness. The mini is the most affordable.
STOCKING FILLER
- Amazon Kindle £69.99, amazon.co.uk – buy here
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Even the most affordable Kindle ebook reader now has an adjustable light. And because it is a front light rather than back, it’s much more restful on the eyes. The battery lasts ages, too.
KITCHEN
- Nespresso Pixie Coffee Machine, £139, nespresso.com – buy here
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Here’s a way to unleash your inner barista. And with so many flavours of coffee pods to choose from, it’s makes a great gift.
STOCKING FILLER
- Amazon Echo Dot, normally £49.99, currently £29.99, amazon.co.uk – buy here
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The new-design Echo Dot is a compact smart speaker, that gives you the weather and even cracks a joke. You can control smart home devices with it, and play music via Spotify, Apple, Amazon and more.
ON THE MOVE
- Fitbit Sense tracker £299.99, fitbit.com – buy now
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This is one of the most advanced trackers on the market, capable of measuring heart rate, blood oxygen levels and even stress, thanks to a skin temperature sensor. A sensational smartwatch.
STOCKING FILLER
- Mous Clarity phone case, from £39.99, mous.co – buy here
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You won’t find a better protective phone case than the ones from Mous. The Clarity looks the coolest because it’s transparent and has materials in it to stop scratches and yellowing.
- Kami outdoor battery camera, £79.99, Currys – buy here
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This weather-proof outdoor camera is easy to install — there is no wiring, but instead a battery that lasts you up to six months.
BATHROOM
BLOW THE BUDGET
- Dyson Supersonic hairdryer £299, dyson.co.uk – buy here
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Sure, this is a lot to pay for a hairdryer, but it’s unlike any other.
It delivers high-pressure air that dries your hair rapidly without getting too hot (it checks the temperature 40 times a second) and is generally very enjoyable to use.
SITES DID NOT PULL PLUG ON DODGY ELECTRICALS
THINKING of picking up a cheap hair-dryer, charger or snow powder from Amazon or eBay? Beware. The web giants have been allowing the sale of dangerous goods, putting us at risk this Christmas.
Watchdog Which? found they and shopping site Wish were ignoring reports about a range of products which have all been banned from sale for being unsafe.
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Items they found included:
- One Step hair-styling tools at risk of catching fire.
- Counterfeit Samsung chargers with bad wiring that could give an electric shock.
- Wow! Stuff Harry Potter remote control Snitch Heliballs with battery compartments that come open easily, allowing kids to swallow them.
- Grow Snow Insta-Snow Powder which expands by 50 per cent and could cause choling and more if a chils swallows it.
Which? says that when undercover researchers reported these items in the same way a consumer would, not one was removed from sale.
We are more reliant on shopping online than ever this winter and Which? is urging the Government to make internet market-places legally responsible for stopping dangerous products being sold.
Which? searched on Safety Gate, a data-base of dangerous consumer products across Europe that have been identified as risky to consumers, and found nine items still available from Amazon, eBay and Wish.
Only after the issues were reported to the firms’ press offices by Which? were the products removed.
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CHANGE CHECKER
The rarest 10p, 50p and £2 coins revealed – do you have one in your change?
XMAS DASH
Brits to blow £1.7bn today as they flock to shops over fear of going into Tier 3
BAD DEAL
Fury as Love Island stars plug ‘buy now, pay later’ site getting Brits into debt
TOP TIPPLES
Cheapest Christmas alcohol: Where to buy Disaronno, Baileys and Jack Daniel’s
SKY’S THE LIMIT
Sky to give customers free films, Premier League football and data
ON THE CARDS
Mastercard could be forced to pay Brits £300 each after losing court appeal
Which? spoke to Sam Holden, 45, who bought an electric heating pad for his cat from Amazon in 2016. He told Which? the product ended up overheating, emitting lots of black smoke and burning his sofa. Amazon did nothing when he reported it. He then checked the listing again last year and was horrified it was still on there, with other people raising concerns in reviews.
He said: “Our children were young at the time and I was angry. We were really lucky to catch the product overheating when we did. To find that it hadn’t been taken off the website years after the event was indicative of a company taking no responsibility.”
Amazon said the product was removed before being flagged by Which? But Natalie Hitchins, from Which?, said: “It is important for online marketplaces to be given greater legal responsibility for the safety of products.”
SPOTTING FAKE AND DANGEROUS PRODUCTS
- Deals that look too good to be true, often are. Many of the dangerous safety issues found by Which? have been discovered on cheap products bought online.
- Stick to known brands. The majority of problems found come from unknown brands, or unbranded products.
- Do your research. It’s worth putting the time in before you buy, and don’t just rely on high customer review scores which can be artificially inflated on the marketplaces.
Anxiety-inducing iPhone 12 drop test reveals £800 handset is ‘most durable mobile ever made’
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