With the holiday season right around the corner, time is running out to find the perfect gift. Fortunately, these three presents are sure to satisfy any “techie” or techie at heart, and better yet, are readily available online and in stores— all for less than $50.00!

Smart Home Hub 

Featured Product: Google Nest Mini – $49.00

A smart home hub is quite simply one of the best gifts for curious teens and adults alike. Harnessing the power of Google Assistant, the Google Nest Mini combines a bluetooth speaker, dictionary, encyclopedia, timer, and an assistant all in one. This assistant can be used to communicate with smart home tech, provide news updates, create schedules, and set reminders all without you (or the donee) having to lift a finger. The Google Nest Mini is less than 4 inches wide and 2 inches tall, meaning it can fit practically anywhere in a room, and comes in an array of colors, from flashy red to more subtle gray. 

Trackers

Featured Product: Apple AirTags – $29.00

Everyone misplaces something at some point in their life, but with a tracker like Apple’s AirTags, hopefully the next time will be more stress-free. Using “advanced” chips and speakers, by securing an AirTag to a bag or other item susceptible to being lost, it could be tracked across the world. AirTags are able to determine their location by pinging off of the iPhones nearby, so in a city any lost item could be located with unambiguous accuracy. Better yet, with newer iPhones, a feature creatively named “Find Nearby” enables the iPhone that the AirTag is paired to to clearly provide how far away and in what direction one should walk to be reunited with the metal and plastic disk. It is worth noting that Airtags can only be paired with an iPhone, but could make a unique paperweight for those with Android devices. 

Portable Chargers

Featured Product: Belkin BOOST UP CHARGE Power Band 5k with Lightning Connector – $39.99

A portable charger is one of the few presents in which gifting someone a giant AAA battery is acceptable. The 61 character (including spaces) portable charger named above has its own spin on things, though, by only requiring one power cable to charge devices and the battery itself. The USB-A connector on one end of a USB-A to lightning cable plugs directly into the battery bank, while the lightning connector on the other end can be used to charge an iPhone or iPad. Then when the battery needs a recharge, the same lightning connector connects to the battery bank while the USB-A connector connects to a power brick.