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Justin’s 9to5Google Gift Guide — The best last minute items for the techie in your life

If you’re anything like me, you have noticed that the holidays are now upon us and you haven’t bought gifts for everyone just yet. Thankfully, there is still time to pick up or order some last minute gifts. Here are a couple of items that are still in stock and can be at your door in time for the big day…

Gift cards for the Google Play Store, Amazon, Netflix, and more |

If you’re in an extreme time crunch or just don’t know what to buy that special someone, you can never go wrong with a gift card to their favorite retailer. Below are several popular choices that you might like or you can peruse Amazon’s gift card center. If a business accepts gift cards, you will most likely be able to find it there.

Do take note when purchasing an item as some are physical cards that are mailed to you while others are digital codes which can be used online.

Purchase gift cards for Amazon, the Google Play StoreiTunesNetflix, and Starbucks.

Google Home Mini |

Some of the hottest items on the market this holiday season are smart speakers. If you know someone interested in starting up their smart home or who just want a speaker that can answer basic questions, consider picking up the Google Home Mini. Powered by the Google Assistant, the Home Mini is the size of a donut but does a lot for the currently discounted price of $30.

Purchase the Google Home Mini from Best Buy for $30.

Purchase the Google Home Mini from Target for $30.

Purchase the Google Home Mini from Walmart for $30.

Purchase the Google Home Mini from the Google Store for $30.

Wemo Mini Smart Plug |

The Wemo Mini Smart Plug converts your standard wall outlet into one that can be controlled by the Google Assistant and a mobile phone. During the holidays, you can easily use Assistant to turn on the outlet instead of having to struggle to plug in your lights every night. Also, there’s an “Away Mode” that randomly turns lights on and off when you are away from home.

Purchase the Wemo Mini Smart Plug from Amazon for $30.

Anker 60W 6-Port USB Wall Charger |

Chances are that whoever you’re buying gifts for this season probably has more than one device that they charge every night. Instead of having to plug each device’s power adaptor into individual outlets, Anker’s 6-port USB wall charger uses a single plug and creates a hub for charging up to six devices at a time.

While useful at home to organize your charging station, it’s also great while traveling. Instead of packing and carrying around a bunch of plastic chargers, this simple box is all you need (along with USB cables, of course) to keep everything charged.

Purchase the Anker 60W 6-Port USB Wall Charger from Amazon for $21.

Anker PowerCore 13000 C |

Now if you’re out and about and need to charge your device, the above wall charger won’t do you or someone you’re shopping for any good. Thankfully, Anker makes an entire line of portable battery packs to provide juice for smartphones and tablets while on the go. This particular battery, the PowerCore 1300o C, is capable of quickly juicing up any smartphone three to four times before needing to be recharged.

Purchase the Anker PowerCore 13000 C from Amazon for $34.

Anker PowerLine USB cables |

To complete the ensemble, Anker also sells USB cables that are certified to work and charge pretty much any device. These cables are available with USB-C, microUSB, and even Lightning connectors and some are also sold bundled for a low price. While there are probably cheaper cables available from Amazon, you at least know that these will work flawlessly and have a premium look and feel.

Purchase the Anker PowerLine USB-C to USB 3.0 Cable (3ft) three-pack from Amazon for $15.

Purchase the Anker PowerLine+ C to C 2.0 cable (6ft) from Amazon for $16.

Purchase the Anker PowerLine micro USB to USB-A cables (assorted lengths) six-pack from Amazon for $15.

Purchase the Anker PowerLine Lightning Cable (3ft) three-pack from Amazon for $22.

Jaybird Freedom 2 |

2017 has been the year that most smartphones have gotten rid of the 3.5mm headphone jack. If someone you’re shopping for has been looking for a way to listen to music without an adapter, these Jaybird Freedom 2 Bluetooth headphones are some of the best on the market. While they aren’t truly wireless and don’t feature Google Assistant built-in, the Freedom 2s sound great, can playback music for hours at a time, and fit snuggly in anyone’s ears.

Purchase the Jaybird Freedom 2 wireless Bluetooth headphones from Amazon for $100.

Moto X4 |

If you’re looking for a great but inexpensive smartphone, look no further than the Moto X4. The leading pick in our budget smartphone gift guide, the Moto X4 features a lightly skinned version of Nougat that is near stock Android. The handset is powered by the Snapdragon 630 octa-core processor paired with 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage (with expandable storage), and a 3,000 mAh battery.

While it isn’t as powerful as the Pixel 2 XL or other 2017 flagships, it’s good enough for anyone who wants a great Android smartphone without breaking the bank.

Purchase the Moto X4 with lockscreen offers and ads from Amazon for $280.

Samsung Chromebook Pro |

When it comes to laptops, Chromebooks have become more popular as they can now run Android applications and don’t necessarily stutter when multiple Chrome tabs are open. So if you’re looking to get someone a new laptop and all they need is a web browser, the Samsung Chromebook Pro is our top pick for Chromebooks available right now.

This 2-in-1 laptop features a 2400×1600 IPS touchscreen display and a built-in stylus to make it easy to draw and write down notes. Powering the Chromebook Pro is an Intel Core m3 processor and 4GB of RAM, more than enough to get anyone through a day of use.

Purchase the Samsung Chromebook Pro from Amazon for $536.

And if none of these fit your fancy, make sure to check out our Made for Google guide. Here, we have a running list of cases and accessories certified by Google to work with its products.


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Avatar for Justin Duino Justin Duino

I’m a writer for 9to5Google with a background in IT and Android development. Follow me on Twitter to read my ramblings about tech and email me at justin@jaduino.com. Tips are always welcome.