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10 Christmas gift tips for all budgets

Christmas gifts: After Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping, the buzzword for Christmas presents is saving money, which means finding winning ideas for useful items without spending a fortune. In contrast to Cyber Week, this time, we offer you ten tips for shopping beyond smartphones, laptops and smartwatches. Because the technology market is so broad, you can find solutions for every type of person and budget.

Ariete Air Fryer Mini

It has been one of the most sought-after and best-selling small appliances for some years because it allows you to indulge your whims without overdoing it. It is one of the secrets of air fryers, with which you can prepare and enjoy fried food without fat, thanks to hot air cooking and the possibility of using only a spoonful of oil. The model made by Ariete is compact, weighs less than 3 kg and has 1000 W power to reach 200°C through preset programmes dedicated to fries, chicken, steaks, vegetables, shellfish, fish and desserts. The 2-litre non-stick basket is ideal for preparing double portions, then roasting and grilling while consuming 80% less fat, making the fryer ideal for everyone, at a discount from €60 to €30.

Trust IP-Cam 2700

With the right compromise, you can monitor your home without spending a fortune because there are many reasonably priced cameras. One of these is Trust’s ipCam 2700, an indoor model with 360-degree vision and the ability to follow moving objects. It can avoid false alarms when pets pass by and send notifications to the owner’s smartphone if it detects movement and sounds. It has compact dimensions (72 x 72 x 109 millimetres for 325 grams), a built-in microphone, and a siren. It also works at night with a 3-megapixel sensor and the Trust Wifi app. It also has an SD card slot of up to 256 GB for video footage and a 2-metre-long charging cable. Price: €39.90.

Green Farm hydroponic greenhouse

A small vegetable garden indoors? It is possible even for flat dwellers who do not have a garden with hydroponic greenhouses because models like Green Farm take up little space and do not need soil or direct light. Equipped with an LED lamp that recreates sunlight, it has 15 bays for growing flowers, herbs and vegetables. The 9-litre water, nutrient reservoir, and fan to maintain the right temperature for plant growth are decisive. With dimensions of 60 x 37.5 x 37.7 centimetres, the greenhouse can be used in the home, cellar, garage, office or any other enclosed space and is an ideal gift for friends with a green thumb. Price: €49.90.

Logitech Pop Keys keyboard

Bringing past and present together in a keyboard shaped like a typewriter and incorporating 8 customisable emoji keys. Only the Pop Keys created by Logitech, which has chosen recycled plastic and bright colour combinations to give it a touch of originality, does just that. Sporting a keyboard that combines mint and yellow, lilac and pink is not for everyone and is a gift appreciated by those who like to stand out from the rest. Compatible with Windows, macOS, Chrome, Android, iPad and iPhone, it has a battery life of three years, and via Bluetooth or USB, you can connect up to three devices simultaneously, switching from one to the other with the touch of a button. Price: discounted from €119 to €58.95.

Ebook reader Kobo Clara BW

Pocket size and a 6-inch HD screen for comfortable reading that does not strain the eyes. These are the two strengths of the Kobo Clara BW, an ebook reader that combines lightness, ease of use and comfort while flipping through the virtual pages of books. When they say it can be used anywhere, it is because it is not afraid of water splashes, as it is waterproof for up to 60 minutes. The 16GB of storage allows you to store up to 12,000 eBooks or 75 Kobo audiobooks, which can be listened to with wireless Bluetooth headphones or connected to a speaker. Price: €138.99.

Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4

Pure air without spending an arm and a leg. That’s Xiaomi’s recipe with this purifier, which can remove 99.7% of particles down to 0.3 microns, including dust, animal hair, pollen, and smoke. On the Oled touchscreen display, temperature and humidity can be monitored in real-time, while there is a sensor to detect PM 2.5 particles, which is useful for keeping an eye on the presence of air pollutants. Although slightly noisier than other similar models, it takes just over 10 minutes to purify a 40-square-metre room. There are six purification modes (low, medium, high, night, auto, custom), and the purifier is Alexa-compatible and can be managed with your smartphone via the Xiaomi Home app. The Xiaomi website offers a discount of €249 to €149.

Kodak Mini Shot 2 Retro

In the triumph of smartphones and images that fill device galleries but remain virtually immaterial for life, dusting off an instant digital camera seems like a revolutionary act. But above all, it is fun because it allows you to fix unique moments with a memory to see and touch. Among Kodak’s many models, the Mini Shot 2 Retro is a blast from the past, thanks to a compact camera that shoots fast. Photos measuring 5.2 x 8.6 centimetres can be printed via the Kodak Photo Printer app or via smartphone thanks to Bluetooth, taking advantage of the integrated portable printer (if you don’t like the photo, you can delete it). Printed on ribbon and laminated layers, the images can be made with or without borders, using the 60 sheets included in the price: €161.

Turntable The House of Marley Stir it Up

A gift that combines quality and beauty is not to be taken for granted. But if the recipient is a music lover, the solution is The House of Marley Star it Up, a record player with an unparalleled design. Made of bamboo, silicone and fabric from recycled materials, it is a belt-drive model that connects to Bluetooth speakers or your computer via a USB port (there is also a 3.5mm aux output). A fun way to go back to listening to vinyl, even switching between 33 and 45 rpm, it is equipped with an Audio-Technica AT3600L cartridge with a conical head to ensure better sound reproduction. The turntable from the company founded to keep Bob Marley’s legacy alive is on promotion from €269.99 to €169.99.

JBL Tour Pro 3

JBL’s idea was to offer earphones that give the user full control so everyone can manage the listening experience. This is possible thanks to Spatial 360 sound with head tracking, high-definition Pro Sound, and real-time adaptive noise cancellation that hides outside noise. Plus, the Smart Charging Case touchscreen is used to manage the earphones and leave the phone in your pocket. After testing, the result is optimal for listening to music and conversing with callers. Available in black and champagne, JBL Tour Pro 3 costs €299.99.

Huawei Watch Buds

Smartwatch or earphones? Huawei has decided not to choose by making a unique product: a smartwatch that incorporates earphones, which must ‘talk’ to a third element in order to work best because it is still the smartphone that runs everything else. Huawei deserves credit for having succeeded in creating an innovative and functional model with excellent autonomy and a few inevitable compromises, such as the noise cancellation of the earphones, which are not exactly top-notch.

But there is a smartwatch with a leather strap, a stainless steel case and a 1.43-inch touch screen, the button that opens the screen inside of which are the wireless earpieces, each weighing 4 grams, that incorporate a total of four microphones and bone conduction sensors to hear the speaker’s voice, as well as providing very good listening quality. Huawei’s 2-in-1 hits the mark, and on the company’s website, it is on sale for €399, 100 less than the launch price.

Alessio Caprodossi is a technology, sports, and lifestyle journalist. He navigates between three areas of expertise, telling stories, experiences, and innovations to understand how the world is shifting. You can follow him on Twitter (@alecap23) and Instagram (Alessio Caprodossi) to report projects and initiatives on startups, sustainability, digital nomads, and web3.