Still can’t decide on that Holiday gift? You’re not the only one, myself included. Compared to other special occasions there is no theme limit for Holiday gift giving. Check out Christine’s huge thorough multi-themed Gift Guide here on WiFiHiFi. Off course it’s the gesture that counts but thoughtful gifts with lasting value show you care. Here are a few of my favourites and a few that just showed up last week for Canadians.
An eSIM Watch That Impresses
Hot off the press and available now in Canada, the new Huawei Watch 3 Pro is the smartwatch to beat, even for Android lovers and a bit less, understandably, for Apple Watch lovers. Still, it offers unique features. Dig deep in your pockets for the polished titanium case and strap, ultra-vivid 1.43″ AMOLED sapphire display $700 watch on amazon.ca from the Huawei Canada Consumer Store https://consumer.huawei.com/ca/wearables/watch-3-pro/ It’s massive battery performance with has three levels of many features yielding one, two and three weeks between charges. With the exception of several features (below) only for Huawei phone owners here is what Android users get: accurate 24/7 heart-rate – blood oxygen level – skin temperature – stress level, direct app loading, 100+ sports modes, accurate GPS outdoor route tracking, automatic exercise detection for the 6 most common types of workouts, very touch sensitive screen with up, down, left and right side sweeps – the later for ongoing tasks, including workout, call, music, stopwatch and more, skin-friendly ceramic back, a 3D push-rotatable crown for volume and extended features, 30 pre-installed watch faces, including animated faces plus 1000+ designs for reasonably priced purchase on the HUAWEI Watch Face Store, app grid screen rollout out or scroll, Quick Charge, notifications from your phone’s socials and emails and more, 16 GB for onboard songs and free direct download of free audio books playing on the impressive speaker, daily and weekly records of step count – calories burned – sleep quality – skin temperature, charges off most reverse charge non Huawei phones like Samsung. Oh, one more thing. It is eSIM ready in Canada pending government approval soon for independently using the Watch 3 for data and calling away from your phone off your existing phone data and voice account. One disappointment though. Huawei watch wallet services still can’t work in Canada.
Limited time offer with Watch 3 Pro purchase: a free $260 Huawei FreeBuds 3.
Additional features for Huawei phones upgraded with EMUI 11 and HarmonyOS 2: stream direct music or sync playlists from phone, answer phone and stop phone calls with open/close fist gesture, take photos with your camera tapping screen and load short videos on your watch face.
Compact Wallets
The EKSTER Carbon Fiber Cardholder www.ekster.com 3k space grade Carbon Fiber line $97, is a minimalist light holder for up to six credit cards that conveniently fan out like a switchblade at the press of a small button. It blocks RFID wireless theft at only 32 grams and comes with an optional expandable external aluminum strapped holder more than doubling storage space for extra cards and cash weighing a total of 52 grams.
Wireless Charging on the Go
The Side Pocket Wireless $166, from Ampere Technologies is a small fanny pack that charges your devices hands and cords-free. It uses an included hidden Qi enabled 13,400 mAh Full Circle wireless battery power pack. When a wireless charge-capable phone is dropped in the dedicated pocket of the Side Pocket it starts charging wirelessly. It also keeps your valuables secure with an internal RFID blocking sleeve, is waterproof, and can be worn in multiple ways with an included heavy duty quick release strap/belt. The battery can be removed for external wireless use too with two additional wire plugins.
Floor Light With Style
The Philips Hue Signe Smart Bluetooth LED Floor Light $272, gets as much attention as the millions of colour hues it casts in areas of your home. Compared to other similar lights hidden behind furniture the Signe is front and centre with its sleek design, a 149cm LED vertical rod on a small floor base. It works off a smartphone app and is dimmable. It’s compatible with Google Assistant, Alexa and Apple Homekit so you can set your favourite hue. With Philips Hue + Spotify you can enjoy deep lighting and music integration translating to the music you hear into the light you see (Hue Bridge required). The Geo-fencing enabled lamp means you can set it to automatically turn on when you approach home! With a brightness of 2000 lm off the 27W lamp it casts a wide light and has an expected 25,000 hour lifetime.
Sonos Beam Mutli-Tasking Speaker
If there’s one speaker to get started with WiFi based Sonos, look no further than the eight speaker Beam Gen 2 $559. The complete makeover from the original Beam places the new voice enabled Beam in the sweet spot for price, functionality and quality. The first NFC Sonos speaker makes connecting a breeze. Experience rich panoramic sound and crystal-clear dialogue for shows, movies and games. When not watching TV, you can stream music and more from all your favourite services, even music on your phone. Control is easy with the Sonos app, your voice (Google/Alexa) and Apple AirPlay 2. Everything connects over WiFi. The Beam has touch controls, TV remote Sync and is ready to process the best in audio quality from HDMI eARC, Dolby Atmos, Apple AirPlay 2. Just last week Sonos announced support for decoding DTS Digital Surround. I have it under my 4K PC Desktop dual function monitor for amazing sound at work and play.
Philips Men’s Hair Groomer
For those who have been growing out their beards behind the mask and while working from home, the new and improved Philips OneBlade Pro is the perfect tool try out a new style this fall. The Philips OneBladePro is a revolutionary hybrid styler that can trim, shave and create clean lines and edges to help you create your perfect post-pandemic style on any length of hair. You can forget about using multiple steps and tools, OneBlade does it all for a quicker, streamlined grooming routine. Not sure what look to try? The Philips GroomTribe App offers articles, personalized recommendations, and a real-time preview mode specific to your tool to try out different beard styles and tips on how to trim it down, edge it up, or shave it off to achieve the look!
Huawei Wireless Mouse GT and Charging Pad
The Huawei Canada store is on overdrive with smart peripherals. not just phones. The Huawei Wireless Mouse GT $149, gaming mouse is on steroids. It supports wired, Bluetooth and 2.4G connection and can sustain 35 hours on a 5-minute charge. A full charge yields 350-hours of play. The mouse’s sky-high 16000 DPI for ultra-precision onscreen and multiple customization options. The 1000 Hz report rate ensuring when you click your cursor on a target it is exactly there. An ultra-responsive photoelectric design eliminates rebounds, syncing your clicks down to the millisecond. 16.8 million colors are supported on the curvaceous mouse LED stripes with pre-installed standard, breathing, wave, and color ring themes, as well as an endless array of customized lighting effects. You can even LED pair colours with your favorite games. The 7 programmable buttons, including mouse wheel, enable you to create your dream configuration. A meticulous thumb base design soothes and supports your fingers keeping them fresh, even after hours of clicking away. The button surfaces come coated in a supple rubber material, which helps identify where it is being touched, with even the gentlest tap or slide.
Add the Huawei Wireless Charging Mouse Pad GT $119, in glossy jet-black finish sports an ultra-smooth polymer material that turns slides into effortless glides. This puts generic cloth pads to shame. The mouse pad is also a universal QI standard power bank charging through a USB-C port, for in turn, wirelessly charging any brand QI device or watch. It turns off when charged to save battery, also blinks red if a foreign object like keys fall on it or if the temperature exceeds 65°C.
Spot Gen4 Satellite Messenger
An affordable compact life saver and best way to keep in touch with anyone while out of cellphone range, the newest affordable compact Spot Gen4 Messenger $162, is a satellite device. Unlike much pricier siblings the Gen4 does not have a keyboard and as usual a subscription is required for the satellite service. In non-emergency situations you can send pre-typed custom text messages or email like “I’m fine” with optional Auto Send motion activated GPS waypoint coordinates or even alert your personal contacts that you need help in non-life-threatening situations. You can also let them know you have called SOS. Speaking of which, in a life-threatening event pressing the SOS button kicks in the real deal where the closest rescue authorities will come to the rescue. You can even use SPOT S.O.V. for professional vehicular services for your disabled vehicle on land. (Additional service required)
A Mouse That Eases Wrist Strain
The Logitech MX Vertical graphite construction Wireless Mouse $130, features Advanced Ergonomic Design that reduces muscle strain and offers unique control on your desktop. It places your hand in a natural handshake position using a unique 57-degree angle, preventing forearm twisting and reducing muscular strain by 10 percent. It features a 4000 DPI high-precision sensor that requires 4x less hand movement compared to a traditional mouse with a 1000 DPI sensor. Seamlessly work with up to three screens, for copy-paste text, images, and files from one to the other using Logitech FLOW. Use with up to three Windows or Mac computers via included wireless USB unifying receiver or Bluetooth smart technology or the included USB-C charging cable. Stays powered for four months on a full charge or get 3 hours of use from a 1-minute quick charge.