Hottest Tech Items for Holiday 2022
We have created a list of the top 5 items you should buy for your technophile friend this holiday season.
SanDisk 1TB Extreme Portable SSD - Up to 1050MB/s - USB-C, USB 3.2 Gen 2 - External Solid-State Drive - SDSSDE61-1T00-G25
With the advantages in high-speed thunder bolt 4 cables, we can now get NVMe solid state performance featuring up to 1050MB/s read and up to 1000MB/s write speeds in a portable, high-capacity drive that’s perfect for creating amazing content or capturing incredible footage. This does require a computer with thunderbolt capabilities as well. Most new computers have thunderbolt 4. This would basically include any computer built in the past 5 years or newer. Based on internal testing; Performance may be lower depending on the host device, interface, usage conditions and other factors. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes. However, we were able to keep this consistent 1050 read and just under 1k MB write speeds on our iMac 24".
This device also features up to 2-meter drop protection and IP55 water and dust resistance. It can take a pounding from rain or snow or whatever environmental situation you may be faced with. However, most people will not bring their portable hard drive into the snow.
There is a handy carabiner loop to secure it to your belt loop or backpack and we seem to use the backpack feature the most to secure the hard drive. I like keeping my multiple SanDisk drives on one keyring then securing it to the inside of my bag.
This device also includes password protection featuring 256‐bit AES hardware encryption. You won’t have to worry much about your data being compromised with this feature.
You should not have a hard time finding a computer that's compatible with this device, however if you happen to have a device that does not have a USB type C port you can convert it to USB type A. This will slow down the transfer speeds but not too dramatically. You will most likely get closer to USB 3.0 speeds with this option.
Overall, we can say that SanDisk does produce some very nice hard drives. They always have over the years. I would recommend this to anyone looking for some extra storage on their computer. Let’s face it. That's all of us. Get yours here $99
Miisso 6000mah Ultra Slim Power Bank with Built in Cables
Three In One: This power bank has a built-in type C cable and other cables. You do not need to take charging cables with you. However, if you like you can plug in any device that has a USB type A cable as an extra device to charge.
Credit card size or we should say close. While Miissmo claims this thing is as small as a credit card, we find its slightly thicker, but very close. It is the slimmest and the smallest of MIISSO portable chargers with cables, only 0.27lb (122g). The lightweight design is nice for transport and it's slim enough to put it in your pocket or in your backpack’s smaller slots. I find this especially handy for my backpack that has an external plug. I can use this to charge my devices directly from the backpack by plugging it in the side.
Slim but powerful. For the size of this it amazingly contains 6000mAh of power. Enough to provide a entire charge for a iPhone 12, 13, 14 or a Samsung Galaxy S10, s20 or almost 2 charges for the older yet still used iPhone 8. 6000mAh is impressive for its size. Just a few years ago something like this would have cost a lot more. I think anyone that has charging needs for any reason should take a deeper look at this power bank. The price is right.
You can charge up to 3 Devices at the same time with two cables and one USB output port. I find this to be a handy feature, but you would be draining your bank at a super high rate doing this. I don't advise. You can full charge the battery bank in roughly 2.5-3 hours with a 2A charger. Higher amperage chargers won't charge it much faster. The speed is limited by the device, but 2 hours is a fair amount of time to charge the bank and have it ready to go.
Overall thoughts. I believe this power bank for the price is the best deal you can snag right now. Your techie friend will absolutely love having super portable extra power. Check this out now while the deals last. $27.98 right now. Get yours here
Official Creality Ender 3 3D Printer Fully Open Source with Resume Printing Function DIY 3D Printers Printing Size 8.66x8.66x9.84 inch.
If you have a bigger budget, you may want to pick up this 3d printer for just $189.00 US. This printer is the entry level printer for enthusiast and hobbyist alike. If you are ever stuck in a power outage situation this printer can resume right where it left off. Most people do not run a UPS and they should. This will protect your print job and your spool.
Decent assembly. This comes almost together. There are a couple parts that you will have to install with 20 nuts. I highly recommend reviewing a how to build video before putting this together. Not because you can't follow directions but for the simple sake of less stress. There are some things on the printer that require precise tension, and this is something you don't want to screw up before you even start printing.
It does come with an upgraded extruder which greatly reduces the risk of the nozzle plugging which in turn causes bad extrusion. It has a V-shape with POM wheels making it move virtually without noise. The rollers on this printer are smooth and durable. No wonder so many people go for this as their go to printer. Today it has over 8 thousand 5-star reviews.
The hotbed on this printer will reach 110 degrees in about 6 minutes. That's fast and it is a nice feature to speed up those quick printing jobs.
Ender offers lifetime technical support for this printer. I think that's amazing for an entry level 3d printer. The company seems to really stand behind their products. I haven't had any technical issues with it yet, but I am confident due to the reviews that I could get support if needed.
Overall thoughts. For the entry level hobbyist. I think this is a great value. It allows someone to get a good look at the printer before they decide to commit to the higher dollar options out there. I would recommend this printer as a gift for any tech lover out there. Of course, don't forget to purchase at least one spool of printing filament to get them going. Otherwise, that's like buying your kid a toy without the batteries to power it. Get yours here $189
Logitech MX Master 3S - Wireless Performance Mouse
Logitech is no stranger to great accessories. This mouse here is one of the top-rated gaming mice to this day. This mouse has some incredible features to break down so let’s get started. First and foremost a great mouse must have great DPI. This mouse features 8k DPI which is as responsive as it gets. It also allows you to use it on any surface including glass, with customizable sensitivity. Some gamers may opt out of a wireless mouse due to latency or lag. Response time is a big deal. In this case this mouse is no slacker and pulls off extreme low latency and timing.
The quiet click of the mouse is the first thing my wife noticed after I unboxed this beast. It is just super quiet. The clicks are so subtle that it can be used without anyone noticing. The feeling of this is also amazing as there is a super short travel and it is something you must experience for yourself.
This mouse has remarkable scrolling speed. Logi claims it can scroll 1000 lines per second and I have felt it. If you are a lover of a fast-scrolling mouse this is the one for you. I for one love the smoothness of the scroll wheel. It pops up just perfectly out of the top of the mouse and features a secondary horizontal scroll wheel that is completely programmable.
We have talked about features now let’s talk ergonomics. The mouse is comfortable. Comfortable enough to use all day you ask? Yes. I have used this mouse now for several weeks and it has a great feel. The rise on the back of the mouse and the side bump makes the difference. Let me break this down. The rise on the back is pitched to a point that it doesn't cause excess strain on your wrist. It also has a very smooth and satisfying feel to it. The positioning of the thumb scroll wheel is perfect for my hands. They really nailed it for the long-haul user.
This mouse is customizable as we have said but how customizable you may ask. Well let’s just say every single button can be customized to your liking. Once you download the MX Master application it’s as simple as picking the button you want to change and changing it. I shouldn't say all buttons. This isn't true for the DPI switch on top, but it is true for the buttons that matter. There are certain limitations like you can only change certain properties of each button but none the less very customizable.
Multi-device and multi-OS: Connect the comfort mouse with up to 3 devices via Bluetooth or the included Logi Bolt USB receiver on Windows, macOS, Chrome OS or Linux. Moving on to my favorite feature. Underneath the mouse there is a button with 3 windows and 3 led lights next to it. This allows you to switch between Bluetooth devices with the touch of a button. Yes, you can simply pair via Bluetooth 3 different computers or devices that accept Bluetooth input and you can then switch to each device by clicking that same button. Albeit in a different way. You hold the button down to pair. A simple one click will switch. They are labeled 1, 2, 3. So you just must remember your device number and you are all set. I tend to pair these in order of the most important, so it’s not easily forgotten.
Let’s talk power. This mouse will stay on for roughly 70 days when fully charged. You can then charge the mouse for one minute and use it for up to 3 hours in an emergency. The coolest part here is that the mouse designers were smart. They put the USB charging port at the very front of the mouse. Why is this so important? The magic mouse from Apple, which is arguably my number two mouse to use, happens to put it underneath. This is substandard because you cannot charge the mouse and use it at the same time. We have had passthrough charging on devices for years, so it makes sense to put the charger on the mouse in a position where it can be charged during use. This mouse does just that. You can charge the mouse while using it and never have to worry about it running out of power. Just make sure you have a USB type C cable hanging around in case this does happen. You could also charge the mouse once every other month.
Overall thoughts. I believe this is the best mouse on the market. I have over 200 mice around my workshop, and I will not use any other mouse if I can help it. It feels great in the hand, works on any surface, and is well worth the price. Only $99 right now. This will truly be a wonderful addition to any gamer or avid users’ library. Get yours here.
Gocokia Travel Cable Organizer Bag, 3 Layer X-Large Capacity.
I can tell you being a tech lover, gamer, computer programmer, and blogger, this bag is the bees’ knees of power cable and accessory bags. It features a 3 layer X-Large capacity. This bag has 3 main layers with 14 elastic loops for cables, 7 mini mesh segments, 4 mesh pockets, 1 tablet pocket, 2 loops for your power bank, chargers, hard drive and even more room for other electronics. This thing is large. It comes in at 30x23x11cm. It is large but not too large. That is the key here. We cannot have a bag that can't fit into our normal sized backpack that we carry with us for work or school. I found the standard here is around 38cm or close to it. For all my friends in America, that's around 15 inches. The normal size of a quality laptop. However, if you have a larger bag, that is going to accommodate as well. What we are looking for is to create space, not to take it away. This not only does that, but it is a superior way to organize your power cords.
The bag is made of a decent quality, yet waterproof material. The zipper is sturdy and doesn't feel cheap. The elastic bands inside the case provide an excellent way to keep everything tight and in their place. I run into more of an issue when I use thunderbolt 4 style cables. These cables tend to be stiff, not easy to wrap up, and they are not nearly as thin as a normal cable. This case does a good job of holding them in their place while leaving enough room, so I don't have to use more than one slot for each cable.
Reducing clutter is key here. That is the overall purpose of the bag, and it does that well. I love having one case for all my charging cables, power bank, SD cards, micro-SD cards and accessories. Things like USB type C to type A adapters fit perfectly in the little zipper compartments inside. This case features a multi-layer design. You have 3 layers to work with here when storing your items. The first layer has 3 big compartments for storing things like charging bricks, mice, and external hard drives. The second layer is great for storing up to 12 charging cords with 2 outer slots that comfortably can store credit card sized power banks. The third layer has enough room in the upper zipper compartment for an iPad. Under that we find 3 larger slots with elastic bands. I use these for things like USB type C dongles. These can be large, and in my case some of them have over 12 inputs/outputs. That makes them about the size of my hand. This area does a great job of organizing the larger devices.
The case does not feel bulky at all. It's thin considering what it is housing and I feel great knowing everything is in one place. The only room for improvement I may add, is allowing for the elastic bands to be moved around. Maybe some kind of hooking mechanism would allow you to conform the elastic to whichever size you may need. Other than that, we have almost the perfect case here.
Final Thoughts. I love this carry all power case. It does what I need. Organization is the key factor here and it performs well. This is one of the highest rated cases of its kind for the price. Low price point doesn't necessarily mean low quality. In this case we have found a gem. It is at a great price for what is offered, and I highly recommend this to all my tech friends and colleagues. Get yours here
Thank you for reading this article. Make sure you are subscribed to the blog to receive the latest and greatest tech reviews. Don't forget to share this information with your friends so they can find some great items this holiday season!