Top 6 gadgets to buy this Christmas

The Festive Season is here... and while Santa is gearing up to drop off the regular toys, consumers will be preparing to do a little last minute shopping in order to get hold of the latest tech and gadgets.

In order to assist consumers, whether you are a gamer, a fitness fanatic or just someone who may misplace their keys or valuable items, the IT News Africa editorial team has selected the top 6 gadgets to buy this Christmas.

These gadgets have been selected by Darryl Linington, Dean Workman, and Fundisiwe Maseko. Be sure to check out our top-rated gadget of the year here.

From the team at IT News Africa, we would like to wish our readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Fitbit Ionic
The latest fitness tracker from Fitbit is a true gem to buy this Christmas. Not only does it provide dynamic and personal coaching, but it also has built-in GPS capabilities. Included in the features is a heart rate monitor as well as enough storage for over 300 songs to help you stay motivated.

The included battery lets the Fitbit Ionic fitness watch run for more than four days on each charge. If that was not enough, the Fitbit Ionic is also waterproof. As stated by the manufacturer, the Fitbit Ionic has been built to be water-resistant and also comes with enhanced swim tracking capabilities. Just start Swim Mode to record your laps, stroke style, calories burned and more.

Apart from swim tracking, you can also monitor various different exercise routines, including: Running, Biking, Treadmill, Weights, and more.

Tile Tracker
The Tile Tracker is a great gift to pick up this Christmas. The little Bluetooth tracker, paired with the Tile app, makes it easy to find everything that matters.

Attach it to your car keys, handbag, tablet, smartphone, or even your wallet in order to never misplace or lose these precious items again.

From the versatile Mate to the wallet-ready Slim to the stylish and powerful Pro Series, there’s a Tile for everyone.While tracking is done via the mobile application, consumers even have the ability to find their phone, if misplaced. All you have to do is double press your Tile's tracking button to make it ring, even if it's on silent.

Xbox One X
When it comes to giving the perfect gift at Christmas time you can't go wrong with what has largely being described as the most powerful gaming console on the market, the Xbox One X. The console will be landing in stores in time for Christmas and offers gamers all the loved Xbox One features and of course offers it all in beautiful 4K, meaning you will be able to enjoy your exclusive Xbox titles like Gears of War and Forza in all their glory. The console measures 30 x 24 x 6 cm (11.8 x 9.5 x 2.4 inches), which technically makes it the smallest Xbox console yet.

Specs:

• CPU: x86-64 2.3GHz 8-core AMD custom CPU
• GPU: 6 TFLOPS, AMD Radeon-based graphics clocked at 1172MHz with 40 compute units
• Memory: 12GB GDDR5
• Storage size: 1TB HDD
• External dimensions: 30x24x6 cm/11.8x9.4x2.3 in
• Weight: 8.4 lbs/3.8 kg
• Optical drive: 4K UHD Blu-ray
• Input/Output: Power, HDMI 2.0b out, HDMI 1.4b in, three USB 3.0 ports, IR out, S/PDIF, gigabit Ethernet
• Networking: IEEE 802.11ac dual band (5GHz and 2.4Ghz), 2x2 wireless Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct
• Power consumption: 245W

PlayStation 4 Pro
So you might not be an Xbox fan, no worries an alternative for gamers is the equally impressive PlayStation 4 Pro. Just as with the Xbox One X the Pro doesn't represent a new generation of console rather a mid-generational upgrade allowing users to enjoy their PlayStation exclusives such as the upcoming God of War and the already released Horizon Zero Dawn all in glorious 4K.

Specs: 

• CPU: x86-64 AMD "Jaguar," 8 cores clocked at 2.1GHz
• GPU: 4.2 TFLOPS, AMD Radeon-based graphics clocked at 911MHz with 36 compute units
• Memory: GDDR5 8GB + 1GB DRAM
• Storage size: 1TB (most likely 5,400rpm)
• External dimensions: Approx. 295x55x327 mm/11.6x2.1x12.8 in (width x height x length) (excludes largest projection)
• Weight: Approx. 3.3 kg/2.2 pounds
• Optical Drive: Blu-ray × 6 CAV, DVD × 8 CAV
• Input/Output: Super-Speed USB (USB 3.1 Gen.1) port × 3, AUX port × 1
• Networking: Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)×1, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 (LE)
• Power consumption: Max. 310W

HP Sprocket
The HP Sprocket wireless printer is portable and fits perfectly into your handbag making it easy to take it anywhere with you to print all those selfies from your smartphone this festive season.

The printer connects to Android and Apple smartphone the printer is also easily rechargeable through a Micro USB and can connect to your phone through Bluetooth. Users need to download the free sprocket app which is available for both the App Store and Google Play. The app can pull photos from your camera roll, Instagram, Flickr, or Facebook account. The app also edits your shots with effects like graphics, borders, text and filters before you print. This adds a personal touch to your images.

The printer requires Zink/HP photo paper to work which is available at an additional cost and the Zink/HP printing paper comes in the box you will get 20 sheets. The printing paper comes a Smartsheet, which is a blue paper with some barcodes on it and this paper passes through the printer automatically before the first print job. With the holiday season coming up, this could be a great Christmas gift.

Sony Xperia Touch
This Sony portable projector turns surfaces into a touchscreen display. It runs on Android and has Wi-Fi connection with a smart speaker which responds to voice commands via Google Assistant. The Xperia Touch is connected to the world of Google Play. It uses a combination of infrared light and a built-in camera to detect and interpret motion at a 60 fps rate, With a resolution of 1366 x 768, the Xperia Touch projects a minimum of 80-inches.

The Xperia Touch is a great gift and has a 13-megapixel camera... it also allows you to watch videos and play games without the need for a dedicated TV/console setup. The device has also an Android smart device with a Snapdragon 650 chipset inside.

Edited By: Darryl Linington
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