Tony Jeff: Technology stocking stuffers

Posted by: Contributing columnist, CLARION LEDGER FEATURE, BUSINESS, December 2, 2015: 635833795407067530-Tony-Jeff

I’m always looking for new technology and gadgets, so this is an exciting time because not only are there always a lot of exciting technology items promoted for Christmas, but the Consumer Electronics Show will be coming up the first week of January.

I’ll be covering the Consumer Electronics Show in another article since Innovate Mississippi will be there with several Mississippi companies. Today I want to talk about some of the coolest technology gifts for Christmas this year and hopefully hear some other favorites from you online or by email.

Of course, the whole idea of gifts is that they match what the receiver wants, and I’m not going to pretend that my list of things I think are cool gifts should be the list that you would want. I have two preschoolers at home, too, so the things that I come across won’t fit nearly everyone’s lifestyle or tastes. I’m also skipping the really high-ticket items like 4K TVs, high-end drones, and GoPro cameras. Those are great, but I’m assuming readers aren’t spending that much, and I’m focusing on less expensive items.

If you’ve read my previous articles about the transformation of video technology to 360-degree immersive video, a 360-degree camera is an amazing new option on the market. A single camera can capture high-speed video in all directions and store it in a format that is easily viewable through a smartphone, Google Cardboard or even through the View Master VR Viewer.

You may remember the View Master from when you were a child — that old picture-wheel viewer where you clicked and the pictures rotated around. As lot has changed since then, and the 2015 View Master VR is a virtual reality headset that you can use to completely immerse yourself into the worlds of those little disks or even view other 360 degree videos. You can walk the streets of London, look at Big Ben and then click to read more about it or take a tour inside. Travel, space, scuba diving and other worlds are available at additional costs.

If making things is more your speed, you just may need a 3D Pen. 3D Pens started with a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013 for the 3Doodler, and the 3Doodler 2.0 is still the market leader in this space. 3D Pens are essentially glue guns that “write” in plastic that instantly hardens to form amazing shapes and art work.  There are several templates for making amazing and surprisingly functional small parts and designs, and while there are limitations on what can be made because of the strength of the plastic, imagination & artistic talent can combine to make some amazing things.

If motion is more your speed, a hover board is all the rage for getting around. Hover boards, or self-balancing scooters, are essentially like a Segway with no handlebar.  They come under several brand names and several different styles, but they all operate simply from standing on them and leaning the direction you want to go. We had some trick-or-treaters come by the house for Halloween this year on hover boards, and while I personally think these kids were probably a little big for trick or treating, they had certainly figured out the fastest and most efficient way to get around I’ve seen.

On the home front, Amazon’s Echo — which is both a Bluetooth speaker and a connected “Siri-like” device — is a smooth combination of several useful technologies. Echo follows voice commands and can be connected to the web and to personal calendars to be able to answer questions as diverse as “What is the weather going to be like today?” and “When is my first meeting today?”  It also integrates with home automation devices, alarm systems and runs streaming music apps like Pandora. It essentially adds voice commands to all device functions, which does seem to be an improvement that could enable further integration of smart home technologies.

Finally, although I mentioned I wouldn’t be talking about high-end drones, there are many smaller drone systems that make reasonably good video and still pictures.  More importantly, they are just fun to fly and will make adults feel like a kid on Christmas morning. By next Christmas the “selfie drones” and wearable drones will be on the market, but you’ll have to wait until next year to see how those are.

Almost no area of our lives isn’t being touched by technology in new and interesting ways, so I dare say anything you buy for Christmas this year will have a technology element to it. I would love to hear what your favorite technology gifts are this year.

Tony Jeff is the president and CEO of Innovate Mississippi. He can be reached at tjeff@innovate.ms.