DECEMBER 2015

GIFT GUIDE 2015
TECH GEEKS, REJOICE!
BY ERIC YOUNAN
Santa is coming to town, but given the North
Pole’s distance from Silicon Valley, he may not
be carrying many gadgets. Whether you’re buying
for a binge TV watcher, fitness freak, smart
phone addict, music lover, gamer or computer
nerd, our gift guide has you covered.
For the Music Lover
Braven 570 Bluetooth Speaker
$59.99 at Amazon.com
Braven.com
This affordable portable speaker does more than play
music. It features a built-in speaker phone and the
ability to charge other mobile devices. Its 1200 mAh
battery, which delivers 10 hours of playtime, makes
the Braven 570 an ideal choice for picnics, tailgates,
fishing trips and other outdoor activities. It’s available
in black, white, green, blue and purple.
For the Binge Watcher
Roku Streaming Stick
$49.99 at Best Buy
Roku.com
This gateway to couch potatodom provides a powerful
punch at a minimal price. The streaming stick provides access
to more than 2,000 channels and content from Netflix,
YouTube, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime and countless other
apps. It also allows streaming of personal content from
smartphones, tablets and laptops. With more and more
people cutting the (cable) cord, the Roku Streaming Stick
is sure to please. Best of all, it’s easy to install and even luddites
will be up and running in a matter of minutes.
For the Gamer
Microsoft Xbox One 1TB
Holiday Bundle
$399.99 at multiple retailers
Xbox.com
The Microsoft Xbox One 1TB Holiday
Bundle gets the nod over its closest
completion due to its included games:
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Rare
Replay, and a full-game download of
Ori and the Blind Forest. As an added
bonus, this game console doubles as a
streaming device for Netflix, Pandora,
Hulu Plus and Skype so gamers can
binge-watch television or listen to music
when their thumbs need a break.
For the Fitness Freak
Fitbit Surge
$249.99 at Target
Fitbit.com
Wearable tech continues to be hot and
is now a staple in the fitness world.
With so many options, the Fitbit Surge
stands out for its reliability and simplicity.
This an intuitive smart watch that
provides automatic, continuous heart
rate and activity tracking right on your
wrist. It integrates GPS to accurately
track steps, intensity, distance, number
of stair flights climbed, calorie burn and
sleep quality. It wirelessly syncs to your
smartphone to provide a fitness tracker
dashboard. There’s even a social aspect
where you can add friends for friendly
competition and bragging rights.
For the Computer Geek
Microsoft Surface Book
Starts at $1,499 at multiple retailers
Microsoft.com
With the Microsoft Surface Book, you’ll have to make
one less decision this Christmas: Whether to give a laptop
or tablet. That’s because the Surface Book transforms
into three configurations: a laptop; a tablet by removing
the screen; and a creative canvas by turning the screen
around and reattaching it. With up to 16GB of memory
and an optional discrete graphics chip, this is a powerful
computing device, even in its tablet configuration, with
a performance level that is exponentially higher than
any iPads and Android tablets currently on the market.
It’s suitable for the boardroom or dorm room. Plus, it can
run the full version of many software applications, which
has been a limitation for most tablets.
For the Smart Phone Addict
Google Nexus 6P
$499-$649
Store.Google.com
It would’ve been easy to list the iPhone 6s or 6s Plus or
one of Samsung’s flagship Galaxy Note 5 or 6s. However,
the Nexus 6P edges them out for several reasons – it’s the
first Android launched that runs the 6.0 Marshmallow
operating system. Plus, it includes the new fingerprint
scanner technology, USB Type-C port for connectivity
to peripheral devices and Now On Tap capability, which
means you no longer have to leave one app to run a
search in another, or to use a mobile web browser. Another
attractive feature: it costs $200 to $300 less than
those Samsung and Apple smartphones.
24 CHALDEAN NEWS DECEMBER 2015