Geeks face a lot of pressure to stay on the cutting edge of technology. A lot of times, that means packing their lives with gadgets that average consumers aren’t ready for. Those poor, tech-deprived people!
Whether you’re shopping for yourself or a geeky friend, you should consider adding these five gadgets to your shopping cart. They’re not only useful, they’re also really cool.
Gaming Keyboards
Trying to use a standard QWERTY keyboard for gaming is, at best, an unsatisfying experience. More often than not, it’s downright frustrating. Here your character is getting beaten to death by trolls while you’re trying to remember which key combination pulls your Elvin Bow from the Bag of Holding. It’s sad, really.
Buying a keyboard specifically made for gaming will immediately improve your skills. Some gaming keyboards have extra buttons so you don’t have to memorize as many keyboard combinations. Instead, you can assign a specific task to each button. While other players are trying to remember their macros, you just hit the G3 button and destroy them all.
Smartpens
Typing on a keyboard is fine for most occasions. Sometimes, though, you need to record your ideas with good old pen and paper. That not only harms your geek cred, but makes it difficult to separate ideas that are actually worth saving from those that you wouldn’t show your own mother.
That’s where smartpens come in. You can record your thoughts on paper while storing them electronically. That makes it easier for you to:
- Refine sketches and fan fiction when you have time
- Make your writing searchable so you can find the bits you want quickly
- Add tags to your class and work notes
Many smartpens come with built-in audio recorders, so you can synch up what someone says with the notes you take. It’s the perfect way to get ahead in school or your career without looking like a dweeb.
Noise-cancelling Headphones
The world’s a noisy place full of car horns, barking dogs, and nagging bosses. How’s a person supposed to enjoy the new Final Fantasy soundtrack with all that audio clutter around?
Noise-cancelling headphones use digital technology to counter the things you don’t want to hear. Sony’s noise-cancelling earbuds, for instance, use a combination of microphones and algorithms to detect and block outside noises from your ears. That means you can listen to your favorite tracks without distraction.
Solar Backpacks
Geeks need constant access to electricity to keep their gadgets charged. Why else do you think they spend so much time indoors? They just want to stay near electrical outlets.
Solar backpacks can change that by giving geeks a way to power their devices on the go. Several companies make solar backpacks, so you will want to explore a few options before buying one. Things to consider include:
- The volume the backpack can hold
- How much electricity the solar panels can produce for the gadgets you’ll be charging
- The cost of the backpack, considering how much you’ll use the solar power option
You’ll find designs that cost anywhere from $100 to $400. A higher price, however, doesn’t always mean it’s the best product for your needs.
Digital Projectors
All your friends are talking about how much they love their 4K TVs. There’s no denying that those are top-of-the-line screens, but do you really want to confine yourself to a world where you can only watch your favorite movies and shows on television sets? Seriously, what year is this?
Forget about TVs and move on to digital projectors to show your smartphone or laptop screen on large surfaces. The best options offer truly impressive resolution and they cost a fraction of what your pals paid for their 4K TVs. Recent improvements in projector technology also make it possible to watch movies during the day without blacking out the windows. Plus, many of them are small enough that you can take them wherever you go.
Staying current with today’s technology isn’t an easy accomplishment. By adding these five gadgets to your life, though, you can stay ahead of the curve. You’ll have things that are much cooler than what the average person owns. You’ll also be the envy of your friends who didn’t even know how deprived they were until you showed up with the latest trend.