With about a month left in the holiday shopping season there is still time to find that perfect gift—especially for tech lovers. From shutterbugs to beer lovers to those just in need of an upgrade for their laptop or tablet, here is a handy guide of the latest devices to hit the shelves this holiday season.
Entertaining: Make Any Beer Taste Better
Beer lovers agree that expertly poured beer straight from the tap is always better. After all, froths, foams and bubbles all enhance both the beer’s aroma and flavor. Now you can have that experience at home with any beer thanks to the Fizzics Beer System ($170). The device is compatible with most store-bought carbonated beers from bottle to can to even 64-ounce growlers. Just place the beer in the unit and it delivers the perfect foam head that stimulates all five of your senses to deliver a sublime beer experience.
Router: Control WiFi With a Wave
This summer, Google introduced the first iteration of its OnHub router designed to make WiFi set-up and management a breeze, rather than a headache. Plus, its stylish package makes it worth displaying out in the open, which helps ensure it delivers the optimal signal. Well, Google is already stepping up its game with the new ASUS OnHub ($220) and its Wave Control feature. Now, you can boost the WiFi speed for a particular device by simply passing your hand over the top of OnHub and waving it toward the device.
Tablets: An Expanded Creative Canvas
In addition to releasing new versions of the iPad Air and iPad Mini, Apple has also debuted its largest, most powerful tablet yet—the iPad Pro ($799 and up). The 12.9-inch screen offers 78% more display area than the iPad Air 2, 5.6 million pixels and a revamped Multi-Touch system that works with your finger and the new Apple Pencil. The Apple Pencil offers something different for creative and design enthusiasts with an imperceptible lag time. The display can also sense pressure, allowing for varying line thickness and even shading just as if you were drawing with an actual pencil.
Camera: Handheld Without the Shakes
DJI’s Osmo ($649) is an integrated camera and handheld stabilizer that uses DJI’s signature three-axis gimbal stabilization technology to eliminate the shake of traditional handheld devices. That means motion shots without any blur and perfect video even when you move. Osmo comes standard with a 4K, 12-megapixel camera with a 1/2.3-inch sensor and a 94 degree field-of-view lens, but it is also compatible with DJI’s Zenmuse camera series. It also includes a detachable mount for a smartphone, which can be used a monitor.
Laptop: Not Your Typical Surface
Microsoft expanded its line of Surface devices to include the Surface Book ($1,499 and up), a full-fledge laptop that offers more power than the Surface Pro models with similar versatility. The screen can detach to become a digital clipboard or can be flipped around for a creative digital canvas in a pen first mode. In this mode, the Surface Pen experience is even better as Palm Block technology lets you rest your hand on the screen to write naturally, just like a pad of paper.
