2021 Tech Gifts to Play and Travel Smarter

[click_to_tweet tweet="The weather outside may be frightful, but these tech gifts can help your friends and family travel to some place where it's delightful (plus take some pictures and videos so you can see it, too)!

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Hobbies

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GoPro Hero 10 Black: The Best GoPro Yet

Anyone can use it, but those who better understand photography/videography will get the most value from it. It’s worth noting that with additional uses, like as a webcam, and the growing industry of GoPro camera mods, the company has really done well at making their cameras fit more than just action junkies.

GoPro Hero 10

Our Impressions

“Being an avid GoPro user (but admittingly coming from the Hero4), the Hero 10 Black made me feel like a kid on Christmas. I was a little worried that with so many new features that I would be overwhelmed, but honestly the camera’s walkthrough during set up made that feeling quickly subside. Taking and recording video produced some of the most stable and clear content that I’ve ever experienced, and we as a team are already making plans on how to utilize the Hero 10 Black for more great content to share with our audience.” -- Ryan

Where to Buy: Website

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Popular Science by Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 100AZ: Smartphone App-Enabled Refractor Telescope

This is a great telescope for anyone, especially those with no telescope experience thanks to the app’s user-friendly interface and detailed tutorials. This is the first telescope that uses your smartphone to analyze the night sky and calculate its position in real-time -- and aims to be a great starting point for those interested in astronomy.

Popular Science by Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 100AZ

Our Impressions

“For someone who has always been interested in the night sky but overwhelmed with the number of telescopes in the market, I was very pleased with the overall ease of use, fast set up time (~20min), and overall simple integration with the app to take the leap into exploring the galaxy a bit more closely.” -- Ryan

Where to Buy: Website

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ZERO X Pro Smartphone: Stay Connected to Your International Loved Ones

This is a phone for media enthusiasts outside of the US. With a really clear, bright screen and vibrant-sounding speakers, the ZERO X Pro smartphone seems great for anyone who finds themselves spending the majority of their phone time scrolling through videos or listening to music.

ZERO X Pro Smartphone

Our Impressions

"The ZERO X Pro is really reasonably priced, feels sturdy, and looks and sounds great. Because it wasn’t intended for US audiences, we were really only able to test it on WiFi."-- Ryan

Where to Buy: Website (Non-US Audience)

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Travel

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Nexar Pro: GPS Dash Cam

While a fit for anyone, with so many choices in the market this is a better fit for professional drivers (i.e. rideshare drivers) looking for high-quality video for both road and cabin recording.

Nexar Pro

Our Impressions

“While I am not a rideshare driver, this has been a great dashcam to test, as it was super easy to set up and install. The quality of the video is fantastic and has me exploring other Nexar products that find one that fits best for my driving needs.” -- Ryan

Where to Buy: Website

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reMarkable Tablet 2: The World’s Thinnest Tablet for Note-Taking and Reading

Anyone looking for any easily portable paper-like digital tablet specifically built to help you focus and improve your thinking while you work will love this. This is perfect for those who like writing by hand, but want to be able to reuse their work in their digital workflow.

reMarkable Tablet 2

Our Impressions

“For someone who writes down everything, whether it be brainstorming notes, to-do lists, you name it, I found this device fantastic. I wasn’t sure what to expect since my previous digital note-taking tablets I’ve used have been shoddy at best, this was so smooth and fluid of an experience. The ease of starting new notes, and keeping them organized was a real seller for me, not to mention how thin it is to take up the least amount of space possible.” -- Ryan

Where to Buy: Website

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PowerVision S1: The World's Smallest Smartphone Gimbal

Help your friends and family take their smartphone video recording and streaming to the next level. It comes loaded with features like facial recognition, power follow, and gesture controls helping make video capturing smooth and free of any extra movement.

PowerVision S1

Our Impressions

“This was my first time using a gimbal, and it makes me wonder how I have not been using it to shoot video with this whole time. This pocket-sized device took me a second to figure out how to operate, but once I was up and running it was quite impressive, especially the AI hand gesture controls available while recording. It also has a built-in wireless charging power bank which was a nice addition.” -- Ryan

Where to Buy: Amazon

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Sabre Smart Pepper Spray: Multi-Layered Connected Personal Safety Device

If you’re looking to enhance your personal safety, maybe you walk alone at night to your car, or just want something to feel a little more secure, this smart pepper spray is connected via Bluetooth to the SABRE Personal Safety App giving you the ability to send alerts to emergency contacts with your location when the pepper spray is deployed. 

Sabre Smart Pepper Spray

Our Impressions

“We know not everyone needs or wants pepper spray, but there are a lot of people who do. For those, we have found this to be quite an innovative solution with its continuous location tracking, and ability to attach professional monitoring (via a paid subscription) to add extra layers of protection to a long-existing personal safety solution.” -- Ryan

Where to Buy: Amazon (May not be available to ship to all locations)

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Velox Magnetic Wireless Charging Air Vent Mount: Fast Charging Mount for MagSafe Compatible iPhones

iPhone users with MagSafe compatible iPhones with room on their car’s vents to keep their phones charged while driving will love the accessibility and convenience of this product.

Velox Magnetic Wireless Charging Air Vent Mount

Our Impressions

“I’ve been waiting for a MagSafe compatible car vent mount to come out ever since I bought my iPhone -- since all of the other solutions I have tried have required the phone to be plugged in to charge. From my testing, the magnet works through my Apple case with a fairy sturdy hold while driving. It does add an extra wire to your console, but unless you have a wireless charging pad in your car, there is no getting away from it.”  -- Ryan

Where to Buy: Website