Why don’t we buy tech gifts for mothers? My long-suffering business partner, Sally Hudson, asked me earlier this week. Indeed, ahead of Mother’s Day, anxious husbands and kids are looking for something wonderful ahead of the big day. It’s on Sunday, 12 May, if you’re yet to pick up a gift.
Sonos Move 2 – R12,900
The upgraded Bluetooth-enabled Move 2 is a gift in and of itself – doubly so if you are already using Sonos’ streaming speakers. It works as part of the system but is also a standalone Bluetooth speaker. Sonos’ automatic Trueplay analyses the speaker’s environment and adjusts its sound accordingly. Weighing only 3kg, it’s the same size and weight as its predecessor (at 241x160x127mm) which is impressive, considering the internal 44Wh battery offers double the playback time, now up to 24 hours.
Read More: Sonos wants to Move you for longer
Anker Soundcore Space One – R2,000
These surprisingly good headphones will impress you with their sound, as much as their price. For just R2,000 you are getting excellent value for money and quality. The only kind of ANC I am a big fan of is active noise-cancelling, and these budget cans do it very well. The New York Times’ Wirecutter rated the Space Ones as their budget pick in its recent best noise-cancelling headphones feature. “In our tests, the active noise cancellation was nearly as effective as that of the Bose 700, and the level is adjustable,” gushed the renowned review website. It’s hard to disagree. You get a very decent 35 hours with ANC on according to our tests, and 55 with it turned off, and the USB-C port allows you to get four hours off just five minutes of charging.
Jabra Elite 8 – R3,500
Danish audio experts Jabra has always made excellent earbuds – and were arguably the first makers to crack this category. The latest Jabra Elite 8 is designed for active people and, well, activities. But with good active noise cancellation, they are great for walking through airports or on flights. They have excellent audio quality, a snug fit, and are a good price for the value that you get.
Peak Design Wash Pouch – R2,480
Peak Design’s Wash Pouch is a smart way of packing all your toiletries for travelling. It has a long waterproof pouch for your toothbrush, sealed magnetically. The other zippered pouches are well thought out. It has a convenient hook for hanging the whole bag. Size-wise, it has a 2.5L capacity.
Thule Subterra Power Shuttle Mini – R800
A gear bag has become as much of a geek essential as, well, all the gear in it. The de facto standard, certainly at Stuff Towers, is Thule’s medium Subterra Power Shuttle (R1,100). No pouch has matched its combination of pockets, zips, and elasticised cable holders. I have several, including one for the Zoom H1n recorders we use for video shoots.
Xiaomi Mi 50W Power Bank 20,000mAh Power Bank – R1,700
“Never leave home without a power bank” is a new mantra for any traveller. Thankfully a new range of these must-haves feature significantly faster charging capabilities by having higher wattage. It may increase the price of the power bank itself (as you’ll notice) but it makes them increasingly more useful. The Xiaomi Mi 50W 20,000mAh unit can charge a pro-level laptop (usually 65W) with ease through the Type-C port. It also has an old-fashioned square-shaped USB-A port (some people still use these) and a slick steel exterior.
Brother PT-D210 Label Printer – R1,300
I am often the butt of jokes because of my newfound love of a label printer. It started with my spice drawer – long before the makers of identical spice bottles thought to include this themselves – and has evolved into one of my travel essentials. I have the earlier version of this PT-D210 label printer and am a huge fan. I print a compact, two-line label with my Gmail address and phone number and stick them on just about everything.