» gif t g uid e 2016

For The
Tech Lover

A roundup of high-tech gifts
for Chanukah 2016.

GrillBot: This was one of my favorite award-winners at
the CES tech trade show and I was thrilled the 2.0 version
has been released. GrillBot has become such a popu-
lar consumer electronics product for one main rea-
son: No one enjoys cleaning a BBQ grill. This
fully automated device makes grill-cleaning
possible with the simple push of a button. The
replaceable wire brushes pop off for easy clean-
ing and are dishwasher safe. It runs on a recharge-
able lithium ion battery, and the LCD alarm and timer
let you set the GrillBot, walk away and return to a fully
cleaned grill. Amazing! $129.95. Grillbot.com.

W

ith the 2016 Chanukah shop-
ping season in high gear, the
good news for those of us
shopping for personal consumer electron-
ics and tech gadgets for
friends and family this
holiday season is that
there are some real bar-
gains to be had.
Tech innovation has
improved dramatically
over the last year and,
because of competition,
Rabbi Jason
prices are coming down.
Miller
Always remember
to check online for the
lowest current prices on these items as
most will be discounted as we get closer to
Chanukah. Remember, Chanukah begins
on the evening of
Dec. 24 this year.

GoPro HERO5 Black: GoPro has been in
the news a lot lately because of its falling
stock price, but don’t count this company
out yet because its cameras are still the
best. HERO5 Black is the most powerful,
easy-to-use GoPro with a 2-inch touch
display, simplified controls and video reso-
lutions up to 4K at 30 frames/second. You
simply won’t find a better holiday gift for
your active friends who would love profes-
sional-quality video of their outdoor expe-
riences. This GoPro is waterproof without
a housing to 33 feet and boasts advanced
wind and noise reduction. $399.99. Gopro.
com.

36 December 22 • 2016

Microsoft Surface Pro 4: I’m currently putting this
gift guide together using this awesome two-in-one.
It’s super lightweight at only 2.4 lbs. and extremely
thin making it the best alternative to a laptop. The
Surface Pro 4 is the perfect holiday gift for a loved
one looking for a device for work or play — espe-
cially for the student who doesn’t want to schlep
around a heavy computer laptop. Powered by an
Intel Core processor, it has nine hours of battery
life. Paired with the $60 Surface Pen, you can use
it for detailed sketches and handwritten notes.
$899. Microsoft.com.

Parrot Swing Drone: I often hear people say
they’d love to buy a drone, but the cost is a barrier.
Apparently, Parrot heard this too and responded
with a couple of affordable new mini-drones just
as impressive as the more expensive models. The
Mambo and Swing are Parrot’s two new mini-
drones that will be great starter drones this holi-
day season. I had a chance to test out the Swing
and found it to be easy to fly and very stable. It
combines the best of a quadcopter with the power
of a plane. Swing is the only plane with autopilot
and a vertical take-off and landing mode. With
the Parrot Flypad controller, it’s simple to fly with
ultra-precise control. $139.99. Parrot.com.

TomTom Adventurer Sports Watch: I don’t
understand why more people don’t include
TomTom when they talk about fitness trackers. The
Adventurer has modes for hiking, biking, snow-
boarding, swimming, skiing or running all with
GPS, compass and barometer tracking. The built-in
heart rate monitor is more accurate than competing
sports watches. An integrated music player even
holds up to 500 songs (3GB) to let you work out or
hike to your favorite tunes. $349.99. Tomtom.com.

ASUS ZenPad Z8: ASUS has
been my computer maker of
choice for the past six years
so I wasn’t surprised I fell in
love with the ASUS ZenPad
Z8. Exclusively from Verizon,
this trusty little tablet boasts
a 7.9-inch 2K IPS display with
enhanced sharpness, contrast
and color. It’s ergonomically
designed for comfort, and its
speed will impress you. This
makes an ideal gift for anyone
from students to grandma. I keep
this in the glove box of my car
so I’m never without a tablet at
a meeting. $99.99 with two-year
Verizon contract. Verizonwireless.
com/tablets/asus-zenpad-z8.

Brinno TLC120 Timelapse
Camera: This wi-fi and Bluetooth-
enabled time-lapse camera is com-
pact and weather resistant/water-
proof. It creates HDR time-lapse
productions easily in any environ-
ment. With Bluetooth app control
and wi-fi transfer, capturing and
sharing time-lapse videos has never
been simpler. The new Brinno
App (Apple or Android) makes it
stress-free to frame the scene, set
the capture interval, playback rate,
white balance, exposure value,
custom colors and timer as well
convert from AVI to MP4 videos
and share them via social networks .
$299. Brinno.com.