I was a guest at a Techlicious and Consumer Technology Association event In Seattle to lunch and learn about tech gift ideas for the holidays and as always the ideas and opinions in this blog are my own.
I’m not always the earliest adopter of tech. Sometimes I get a little overwhelmed and feel like robots are taking over my life because my hubby IS the one who has to have ALL THE TECHNOLOGY once he hears about it and gadgets like Tiles and Nests and Echos are always showing up on my doorstep. Of course I was thrilled when I was invited to Techlicious Seattle event by the Consumer Technology Association because this time I would be the one in the family to know about tech trends first and I would get some ideas for my holiday shopping because Christmas is JUST AROUND THE CORNER!
I was glad to see some lovely blogging friends there too. I played a new game called Gameball from Play Impossible with Kim from Stuffed Suitcase and she totally annihilated me and now I need to get one so I can practice for a rematch. (I was totally okay with it-Kim also told me about an awesome for travel credit card that I will be signing up for soon. She’s amazing and I love her blog.) I also caught up with Jen from HelloRigby and Portia from Obsessed By Portia over lunch-I adore these girls are and they always have impeccable style. I’m hoping that they post wish lists for the holidays because I’m sure they’ll have great gift ideas too! I was also really lucky to sit beside Tiffany from I Am Style-ish. She is such a lovely soul and I’m so glad I got to meet her and her blog is full of amazing style tips too! I love that Seattle has such a warm blogging community and we definitely feel the “community over competition” vibe in our city.
Lunch was catered by Tom Douglas’ Lola and it was so yummy I’ve been back twice with my family since the event. (It may have something to do with their smashed garlic potatoes…)
One tech device I learned about over lunch was the Fitbit Ionic. As an Apple Watch owner I was so envious to hear that the charge on the Fitbit Flex would last five days. FIVE!!! I have to plug in my watch daily and that has been one of my pain points.
I also liked seeing a beautiful golden bangle that could house a Fitbit Flex. I am a big fan of keeping track of my steps every day but it would be nice to have something stylish to wear for evening events so this is perfect. I was really excited to hear that a Fitness Activity Tracker was one of the top 10 tech items people wanted this year though-yay for fitness!
I also learned about a robot vacuum mop. Yes, this exists in real life. I am okay with this kind of robot in my house and when I took a survey EVERYONE else said they want one too. I can’t wait till robots learn how to make dinner.
The Amazon Echo Plus was at lunch too. Our house and cabin are full of Echos so to say we are fans is an understatement. They turn on lights. They turn on our music. We always know the weather. They play the animal game. (If you have one and you haven’t played the animal game-just say “Alexa, play the animal game.” She wins so many times it’s creepy, even when we’ve had “bald eagle” or “orca” as our animal.)
I am totally tempted by the Canon Powershot G9 Mark II camera with an optic zoom lens. I just saw it in silver online and it is such a cool retro-looking camera and the one we saw at the event looked like it was small and easy to use which is the only way I would ever use a camera nowadays. As someone who takes photos solely by phone I sometimes wish I could get a little closer and when I see cameras like this I get a little envious-I took an eagle picture this weekend that would have been a million times cooler if I had a zoom lens.
And I was so thankful to go home with some Aftershokz Trekz Titanium earphones from the event. I didn’t know I needed them but they let you hear outside noise through your music which is really cool because I haven’t run with music or audible books very much for fear of not hearing a car and getting hit. These earphones have technology that somehow lets you hear the music through your YOUR CHEEKBONES, or something techy/health like that (if you’re curious about it, click and read more because I’m not even going to try and explain it.) All I know is how it feels on me and they are awesome and if anything helps me get out and run, I’m totally sold.
Are you looking for any tech for gifts for the holidays? I’d love to hear what you’re shopping for!
(PS. As stated above I was a guest at this event and the opinions are my own. I also received a pair of Aftershokz TrexZ Titanium earphones.)
(PPS. Do you have any favorite Alexa skills? I also love her jokes…..)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)
Great to see you there!