Mother's Day: 5 gifts for tech-savvy moms
From home monitoring, to driving to gardening, technology is making life easier for moms
It can be difficult to find that perfect gift for Mother’s Day, but there has never been a better time to shop for tech-savvy moms.
Here are some hot tech-inspired gift ideas:
Wearable tech
Wearable technology is considered the next wave of smart-product innovation. There are several options for moms looking to ditch their phones in favour of a sleek and fashion-forward piece of smart tech, but manufacturer Misfit Wearables is among the highest-rated online. Misfit Wearables has designed jewelry that can be used as a fitness tracker and sleep monitor.
About the size of a quarter, the Misfit Shine is made from aircraft-grade aluminum and can sync wirelessly to any iPhone and Android loaded with the accompanying app, available in the iTunes store. The Shine can be worn like a watch or as a necklace, and is waterproof up to 50 metres.
Prices range for Misfit’s various products, but the Shine goes for around $50 online.
Carpool help
For mothers who spend a lot of time in their vehicles, the Cobra JumPack offers a perfect backup plan for days when nothing seems to be going their way.
A battery pack about the size of an iPhone, the Cobra JumPack can jump start a car and charge electronic devices, including phones, tablets and digital cameras, on a single charge. Unveiled at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show, the multi-use battery pack comes with jumper cables and a built-in strobe LED light for roadside emergencies, and the capacity to be charged in a home outlet or on the go.
Prices online start at $165.
Greenthumbs of the future
The Parrot Flower Power might be perfect for the greenthumbed mom in your life. The Bluetooth-enabled, wireless device can give gardeners real-time updates to ensure she has the most beautiful garden on the block. The gadget monitors water levels, soil moisture, fertilizer levels, light and temperature, and will send an alert to an iPhone or Android equipped with the accompanying app when plants need more water or food.
The Parrot is available at Best Buy for $50.
Keeping track of life at home
Designed and marketed as an all-in-one home security system for the digital age, the Piper home monitoring device might be the perfect gift for new moms with a do-it-yourself spirit.
The Piper monitor comes with a built-in 180-degree camera, motion detector with a 10-metre range, two-way audio capabilities, environmental sensors and a siren, in a sleek wireless package. All the data is stored on a free iPhone or Android app and is transmitted on your home Wi-Fi network. The app sends real-time updates on whatever is going on in your home.
Retail prices start in the $230 range.
For moms with a habit of misplacing their car keys, or really anything else for that matter, there is the hipKey object-tracking gadget. The compact wireless device simply clips onto whatever moms need to keep track of – including kids in the "Child Mode" setting – and an accompanying smartphone app can be used to set off an alarm in the hipKey.
Prices for hipKey in the Apple Store start at $59.95.
Home gourmet
For culinary-minded moms looking for that juicy sheen of a medium-rare steak, the iGrill Mini meat thermometer is the perfect find. At just five centimetres in diameter, this magnetically mounted wireless grill monitor will help take summer BBQs to another level.
A Bluetooth range of 46 metres, a 150-hour battery life and an accompanying app lets users track their cooking progress with real-time data from nearly around the house. As an added bonus, the app – available for iPhone and Android – allows users to post photos of their culinary creations to Facebook.
The iGrill Mini is available at Lowe’s or online for $39.99.