The Ultimate Holiday Gift-Giving Guide for Techies
It's easy to find pre-holiday electronics sales—they're as common as needles on a pine tree. What's harder is spotting the true bargains on gadgets your family wants. That's why this year's guide doesn't just come with gift ideas for anyone on your list. It's got price targets so you'll know when you've found a real deal.
Cord Cutters
Each streaming stick, box, and connectable has its advantages. For the Google Chromecast, it's all about being easy to use. Start a video on your phone, tap the Chromecast icon, and watch it on your TV; no interface.
LIST: $35
BUY IT PRICE: $20
Movie Night Enthusiasts
The Vat19 Smartphone Projector Box takes the video running on your phone and projects it on a screen or wall. Requires some minor, kid-level assembly.
LIST: $32
BUY IT PRICE: $25
The Dad (or Mom) Cave
Perfect for a medium-size room, the Sonos Play 3 speaker pushes out great sound without using a whole table.
LIST: $300
BUY IT PRICE: $280
The In-House Daredevil
The GoPro Hero helmet-mountable videocamera is perfect for ski bums and skateboarders who like to go wild—and then show off to their friends.
LIST: $130
BUY IT PRICE: $100
Budget Apple Fans
The newer, svelter MacBook line has made the MacBook Air a bit passé. But the older model is still a great, nimble, lightweight machine, and this season it will be an excellent bargain.
LIST: $899
BUY IT PRICE: $699
Family Room Upgraders
You get a lot for a little with the Vizio 43-inch 4K TV, including razor-sharp resolution, streaming video apps, and a keyboard-laden remote control.
LIST: $600
BUY IT PRICE: $500
Hard-Core Duffers
The Garmin S2 golf watch comes loaded with the layouts of 30,000 courses to make club selection a snap. It's built like a tank too.
LIST: $180
BUY IT PRICE: $150
Media Omnivores
Want access to a jillion streaming services, popular to obscure? The Roku 4 pipes into just about every form of entertainment on the planet, and it features a killer DVR-like interface.
LIST: $130
BUY IT PRICE: $100
Junior Web Surfers
The Kindle Fire HD 8 is Amazon's Goldilocks tablet: not too big, not too small, not too cheap, not too expensive. It's durable and plays content from almost anywhere.
LIST: $150
BUY IT PRICE: $130
The Spy Kids
The UDI RC quadcopter drone is easy to fly and takes HD video that you can record for later viewing. (Don't tell the neighbors.)
LIST: $100
BUY IT PRICE: $50
