Hottest 100 Christmas gadget guide
Christmas is not just a time for giving, but a time for gadgets. This is a compilation of the best technology from 2014 for you to wrap up for others, or yourself.
Top List
Don't miss out on the headlines from Top List. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Christmas is a not just a time for giving, but a time for gadgets. The Hottest 100 Christmas gadget guide compiles the best technology of 2014 for you to wrap up for others, or yourself. In the third chapter, Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson and Rod Chester keep pace with the latest fitness-tracking gadgets and health devices to keep you on track over the silly season.
FITNESS TRACKERS
Jawbone Up Move
Jawbone’s new entry-level activity tracker is likely to be a big seller this Christmas because of the features it offers for a budget price. Made from anodised aluminium, the Up Move can be worn in a clip or on a wrist strap, with a wide range of colours available to personalise it. With an LED display to show you daily progress, it counts activity and calories burnt, and monitors sleep. It has a battery that lasts six months, and Bluetooth connectivity to connect wirelessly to an Apple or Google smartphone.
Jawbone
$69
jawbone.com
- Pros
- — Splash-proof
- — Tracks activity and sleep
- — LED display to show progress
- Cons
- — Can’t be submerged in water
- — Need to wear wrist strap for optimum results sleeping
- — Need to pair with phone for detailed report
Samsung Gear Fit
Part smartwatch, part fitness tracker, this wrist-bound gadget can fill both roles. The Gear Fit connects to Samsung phones to deliver incoming call notifications, SMS messages, and all manner of app alerts, while also tracking the wearer’s steps and reporting on their sleep quality. The watch also features a heart-rate monitor in the back, and its slim form is easy to wear.
Samsung
$149
samsung.com/au
- Pros
- — Accurately tracks steps and sleep
- — Delivers all phone notifications
- — Crisp, 1.84-inch, Super AMOLED screen
- Cons
- — Messages are displayed across the wrist
- — Only connects to selected Samsung smartphones
- — Does not feature microphone for commands
Fitbit Charge
Fitbit is back, and just in time for Christmas. The Charge is a lot like the Fitbit Force, though without the allergy concerns that saw it recalled. It tracks a wearer’s steps, incline, calories burned, and sleep, and shows the information on a small but bright OLED display. Unlike previous models, this also connects to smartphones and delivers incoming call alerts on its screen. It will also work for seven days between charges.
Fitbit
$149.95
fitbit.com/au
- Pros
- — Accurately tracks steps and staircases climbed
- — Offers sleep-tracking
- — Delivers call alerts to its screen for the first time
- Cons
- — Small screen limits detail
- — Clasp is tricky to secure
- — Very similar to old model
Garmin Vivosmart
Garmin’s push into the activity tracker sector takes a significant step forward with this smartband that displays notifications. It has a 5 ATM waterproof rating (good for showering and swimming in a pool), monitors your activity and prompts you to move when you’re inactive. Pair it with your smartphone and you can get alerts for incoming calls, text messages, calendar reminders, and emails. The OLED display lets you track your activity and calorie burn throughout the day and the Garmin app gives you more detail. It has a seven-day battery life and can be paired with an optional heart-rate monitor.
Garmin
$199
garmin.com/au
- Pros
- — Seven-day battery life and waterproof body
- — Smart notifications great during exercise
- — Can be paired with a heart-rate monitor
- Cons
- — Not compatible with all smartphones
- — Notifications aren’t actionable
- — Proprietary charger
Withings Pulse O2
This activity tracker does more than just count your steps. As the “02” in its name suggests, if you press a finger to the back of the tracker it will measure your blood oxygen level along with heart rate. It comes with a band or clip so you can wear it on a belt or like a watch. It tracks steps, elevation and sleep, although the screen is difficult to read in bright sunlight.
Withings
$159
store.apple.com/au
- Pros
- — Tracks sleep and elevation
- — Checks heart rate and blood oxygen
- — Two options for wear
- Cons
- — Have to remove from wrist to check heart rate
- — Difficult to see screen in sunlight
- — Not waterproof
HEALTH AND LEISURE
Jabra Sport Pulse
Checking your heart rate during exercise can be important but uncomfortable. This wireless headset makes it easier by featuring a pulse sensor in the earbuds themselves. The Jabra Sport Pulse also captures the wearer’s steps and pace details, feeding information back to an accompanying phone app. They can also be used to control music and deliver phone calls.
Jabra
$249
jabra.com.au
- Pros
- — Unobtrusive way to monitor heart rate
- — Training tips delivered to your ears
- — Wireless headphones deliver good sound quality
- Cons
- — Earbud design does not allow outside noise when running
- — App not compatible with all phones
- — Only five hours music playback per charge
Withings Wireless Blood Pressure Monitor
This app-controlled device isn’t just a bit of fun, it could help save your life. Open up the Withings app on your paired smartphone or tablet, strap this to your arm, and hit the button on the top of the band. It’s that easy and it has been approved for medical use in Australia. The app will keep a record of your systolic and diastolic blood pressure and heart rate. It uses a green dot and red dot system to tell you if you are within normal range and has the option of emailing results to your medical professional.
Withings
$189.95
store.apple.com/au
- Pros
- — Approved for medical use
- — Graph tracks your health over time
- — Simple to use
- Cons
- — A bit noisy
- — Bulkier than some blood-pressure monitors
- — Locks you into Withings app
TomTom Golfer
This watch won’t fix your swing but it can help you get from the tee to the hole. With a simple navigation system, it shows you the distance to the front, centre and back of the green, the locations of the hazards, and it helps you keep track of your score. It is preloaded with 34,000 international golf courses and pairs with a smartphone so you can keep it up to date. Don’t worry if it rains while you’re on the course — the watch is waterproof to 50m.
TomTom
$299
tomtom.com/en_au
- Pros
- — Clear and simple interface
- — Doubles as a scorecard
- — Tracks the calories you burn while playing
- Cons
- — Only 10-hour battery life
- — Expensive
- — Limited colour choice
Sony SmartBand SWR-10
Sony has created more than just a step counter in this device. The SmartBand wirelessly connects to your Google Android smartphone to log everything you do with it — from checking Facebook to taking photos — in addition to logging your steps from its position on your wrist and estimating the calories you burn. It creates a comprehensive picture of your day as a result, for better or worse.
Sony
$99
sony.com.au
- Pros
- — Step tracker with added smarts
- — Waterproof, small, comfortable gadget
- — Creates an accurate picture of your habits
- Cons
- — Lacks an exterior display
- — Only works with Google Android phones
- — Requires three apps to work
Scosche Rhythm+
It wasn’t that long ago that wearing a chest strap was your only choice for monitoring your heart rate during exercise. This monitor uses an optical sensor and instead of wearing it on your chest, or on your wrist that is common with optical sensor heart monitors, you wear the band on your arm either just below or just above your elbow. It is ANT+ and Bluetooth compatible so you can pair it to a range of popular fitness apps and running watches.
Scosche
$129
scosche.net.au
- Pros
- — Comfortable
- — Accurate
- — Works with apps and other devices
- Cons
- — Some might find positioning awkward
- — No display to show heart rate in real time
- — Proprietary charging cable
Hottest 100 Christmas gadget guide
CHRISTMAS is not just a time for giving, but a time for gadgets. We've compiled the best technology from 2014 for you to wrap up for others, or yourself. Part 1: Cameras
Hottest 100 Christmas gadget guide
Christmas is not just a time for giving, but a time for gadgets. This is a compilation of the best technology from 2014 for you to wrap up for others, or yourself.