Greg Gazin

Want to find a gift for the special dad or grad? Even better, how about one that can be shared with the entire family to keep everyone happy and help stretch the home budget?

Here are a few ideas that might just fit the bill.

Make dads and grads look good

Any dad or grad wants to be well-groomed. For them, the ultimate gadget is the Dyson Supersonic hair dryer. It incorporates some of the similar technologies Dyson is known for in their family of vacuums and an intelligent processor built right into the dryer head.

Hair can be dried in a hurry with precision and without that overpowering heat that causes hair damage, thanks to its digital V9 motor that spins at 110,000 rpm and Dyson’s Air Multiplier technology that streams an ultra-fast high-pressure jet of controlled air.

To protect the hair’s shine, the dryer regulates the heat, measuring the air temperature a whopping 50 times a second. The negative ion generator also charges the particles in the air to avoid that annoying static. And if your dad or grad has fine hair or a sensitive scalp, a gentle air attachment can further protect those sensitive areas by diffusing the air – allowing the hair to be still dried fast but through a gentler and cooler airflow.

The hair dryer is engineered to work for a variety of hair types.

Dyson-Hair-Dryer

The Dyson Supersonic hair dryer: Stylish design with stylish results

Samsung The-Frame

Samsung’s The Frame is a TV when it’s on, but shows art when it’s off

Iphone SE3

The iPhone SE: Iconic design, powerful processor

Dyson Supersonic hair dryer ranges in price from $549.99 to $599.99. It comes with five magnetic styling tools and in a variety of different colour combinations. You can find it at most major retailers, with exclusive limited-time offers available only through Dyson Canada.

TV is the New Art

If dad is thinking it’s time for a new TV, particularly with the Stanley Cup finals on right now, but mom doesn’t want a TV cluttering up the look of the living room, then Samsung’s The Frame will please her but is still perfect for any dad.

How so? Well, you can watch the game when it’s on and, as the name eludes, the TV becomes an incredible art display when it’s off.

It features a modern frame design with optional customizable bezels in various styles that use magnets so it’s easy to switch frames. Its slim-fit wall mount sits flush against the wall with a swivel bracket allowing you to set the angle for your TV. When there’s no one around, built-in sensors will turn off the display to save energy,

The family can choose from a library of over 1,400 pieces of artwork, including the Mona Lisa, from world-renowned artists and galleries from around the world.

With six sizes to choose from, ranging from 43 to 85-inch models, specifications and features may vary by size. The 43-Inch model, for example, is a 4K UHD QLED Smart TV featuring Quantum Dot Technology for bright, crisp colours. Its dual LED system uses backlighting for the best contrast. It also has a Quantum 4K sound processor to optimize sounds depending on your environment, and the SpaceFit feature can further adjust the sound depending on whether the TV is wall-mounted or on a table stand.

Prices start at $1399.99 (43-inch model). You can find them at major retailers like Best Buy, The Brick, or through Samsung.ca. And if the unit ever needs repairs, Samsung offers a handy door-to-door pick-up service.

High-Performance Lower-cost iPhone

This last item is more personal. Dad or your grad may be ready for a more powerful iPhone, but the $1,000 plus price tag is not in the budget. That might make the new 3rd generation iPhone SE might be the perfect gift.

Referred to unofficially as the iPhone SE 3 or iPhone SE (2022), it features Apple’s latest A15 Bionic processor – the same chip found in the iPhone 13 models but with the iconic design – the look, feel, size and compact form factor of its predecessor. They can even keep their existing case.

The newest model also runs on a 5G network for faster uploads and downloads, has better battery life – up to two more hours of video than before and maintains the same 4.7-inch Retina display.

Its built-in cameras are the same as before – the 12-megapixel ƒ/1.8 aperture wide camera and 7-megapixel ƒ/2.2 front-facing FaceTime HD camera, but offers many of the new advanced camera system features found on Apple’s top-line models. This includes Smart HDR 4 for optimized lighting and skin tones, Photographic Styles for more personal preferences, and Deep Fusion which uses AI to optimize image texture and details and reduce noise for better overall photo quality. The Portrait mode can now also recognize people.

iPhone SE is available in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB models in beautiful colours like midnight, starlight, and (PRODUCT)RED. Prices start at only $579.

Troy Media columnist Greg Gazin, also known as the Gadget Guy and Gadget Greg, is a syndicated veteran tech columnist, communication, leadership and technology speaker, facilitator, blogger, podcaster and author. Reach him @gadgetgreg or at GadgetGuy.ca. For interview requests, click here.


The opinions expressed by our columnists and contributors are theirs alone and do not inherently or expressly reflect the views of our publication.

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