TOP 10 Geek Electronic Gifts for 2020

The REAL-EL X-730 is a powerful portable Bluetooth speaker made in the image and likeness of "boomboxes", that is, cassette stereo recorders that evoke pleasant nostalgia for the 1980s. Designed primarily for wireless operation, for example, during workouts in the gym or on a picnic in nature. But in the case of stationary home or office use, it can also be connected to signal sources via a 3.5 mm MiniJack cable.

And the REAL-EL X-730 is capable of independently playing audio files from a USB flash drive and a microSD memory card, all widely used formats are supported: MP3, WAV and FLAC. In addition, an FM radio with excellent reception quality is implemented — even more than ten local stations catch it outside the city. All these functions are controlled by vintage physical buttons, wheels and a toggle switch on the speaker body.

Also, a small liquid crystal display is mounted in the REAL-EL X-730 to display the numbers of tracks played from connected media, the frequency of radio stations and other service information. Indoors, the text is clearly visible, but outside on a sunny day, the screen glares noticeably. But the sound quality of the built-in two-way speakers pleases: there is a high-frequency 35 mm radiator on the front panel, and a 100 mm radiator on the end, responsible for medium and high frequencies. Due to this, the total sound power is as much as 20 watts.

The REAL-EL X-730 weighs not much, not little, 2 kg, which, however, is easily explained by a durable, though not absolutely shockproof case, as well as a capacious 2600 mAh battery. A leather strap is provided to simplify carrying. A nice bonus is the karaoke mode and RGB backlight, which serves as a disco light music. There are other portable speakers in the range of REAL-EL: a slightly more affordable 15-watt REAL-EL X-720 and vice versa, the top 60-watt REAL-EL X-770 Price from 5 554 up to 9 169 ₴.

Apacer AC731 is a comprehensively protected external hard drive with a volume of 1 or 2 TB. Moreover, we are talking about both physical and software protection. It is connected to a desktop PC or laptop via a cable with USB Type A connectors (classic full-size USB) at both ends, which has passed a laboratory test for ten thousand connections and disconnections. The rotation speed of the internal 2.5-inch HDD is 5400 rpm, which at the current density of magnetic plates results in 135 Mbps of sequential reading and writing.

During non-use, the Apacer AC731 USB port is hermetically sealed with a rubber plug. This makes the disk completely dust- and moisture-proof according to the highest international standard for electronic devices IP68. This standard means that the device can withstand not only the ingress of water droplets, for example, in the rain, but also complete immersion in water at a metre depth lasting at least an hour.

In turn, the durable body of the Apacer AC731 with a tactile pleasant texture imitating leather, paired with an internal shock-absorbing suspension protects against shaking when wearing, vibration when driving in transport and bumps in case of accidental falls. According to the American military standard MIL-STD-810G 516.6 Procedure IV, the disk can withstand a fall in the off state from a height of up to four feet, which is equal to 1 metre 22 centimeters.

A little confused except that the glossy decor elements of the Apacer AC731 case. Of course, they do not harm data security, but over time they can spoil the elegant appearance of the drive with small scratches. Software protection is provided by the proprietary Apacer Data Manager application, which is responsible for reliable encryption and automatic data backup. Other protected HDD Apacer — { are also available for sale!!! block='price' idgood='1462606' !!!} with shock absorbing frame and Apacer AC730 AP2TBAC730S-1 2 TB in an all-metal case.

The Pixel Max backpack with a built-in colour LED screen (64x64 pixels) can rightfully be called the latest fashion both among young people who are fans of all kinds of smart gadgets, and among connoisseurs of stylish clothes and accessories. It is not for nothing that he is nominated for numerous international awards in the field of technological design. Using the mobile app for iOS and Android, you can display any text, static image or even animation on the backpack display.

The Pixel Max screen is capable of reproducing up to 16.5 million colours and is elegantly sewn into the fabric, so that it is almost invisible when turned off. It is powered by power bank, which needs to be purchased separately. According to the manufacturer, one charge of a 10,000 mAh battery, depending on the brightness of the picture and the intensity of the animation, lasts up to 30 hours of display operation. There is no need to worry about durability, because, unlike liquid crystal, LED screens are not afraid of bumps and even bending.

In addition, the Pixel Max display, like the backpack as a whole, is protected from rain and moisture so that its contents are kept dry and safe. The internal volume is not much, not little, 20 liters. A padded compartment is provided for the laptop and tablet. And for documents, money, keys and other particularly valuable items, a secret pocket is made, tightly fitting to the owner's back, in order to avoid theft in public transport or other crowded place.

There are five Pixel Max colours to choose from: black, light grey, blue, burgundy and dark green. In addition, there are other models of backpacks with LED screens in the range of the Pixel brand: a more affordable 16-liter Pixel Plus and bright, with a rigid body Pixel One , aimed primarily at children and young girls.

The AirOn ProCam 8 is a miniature and lightweight (only 91 grams), but firmly assembled action camera based on a high—performance Novatek NT96660 processor and a good-quality Sony Exmor 12 MP photosensor. It is equipped with two screens: the main rear touch LTPS with a diagonal of 2" and HD resolution, and an additional front monochrome OLED for displaying service information during shooting in selfie mode.

The AirOn ProCam 8 supports video recording with a resolution from VGA (640x480 pixels) at an increased frequency of 240 frames per second (Slow Motion mode) up to 4K at 50 FPS (however the "square-instagrammed" 2880x2160 instead of the widescreen 3840x2160). In particular, the state-of-the-art H.265 video codec with an extended WDR colour range is supported, which has high image quality with a small file size (more hours of recording can be placed on a memory card with a volume of up to 128 GB).

A sealed transparent case for underwater filming at a depth of up to 40 metres is supplied with the AirOn ProCam 8. With its help, you can capture the wonderful world of marine flora and fauna both in video and photo format — with software interpolation up to 60 MP and correction of the "fish eye" effect (the bulge of the picture due to the ultra-wide viewing angle of the object of seven lenses).

The AirOn ProCam 8 will appeal not only to extreme, but also to ordinary tourists: by installing it on a monopod or a bicycle handlebar, you can shoot informative vlogs about traveling around the cities of your native country or abroad. This action camera is equipped with Wi-Fi modules for syncing with a smartphone (YKJ app for iOS and Android), a miniHDMI port for streaming video to a TV or projector, and a modern reliable USB Type-C USB Type-C connector with the ability to connect an external microphone. A replaceable 1350 mAh battery allows you to record up to 70 minutes of video without recharging. There are also more affordable action cameras in the assortment of AirOn, which also shoot in 4K: AirOn ProCam 4K Plus and AirOn ProCam 7 Price from 4 199 up to 6 999 ₴.

AOC AGON AG272FCX6 is a curved monitor with a screen size of 27", a bright and contrasting MVA matrix, a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels and a focus on gamers. It stands out favorably with an increased 165 Hz refresh rate and a reduced response time from a hardware GtG of 4 ms to a software MPRT of 1 ms. The hardware response time of GtG 1 ms can boast only monitors based on a relatively dim TN matrix, like AOC G2590PX 25 " .

In addition, Flicker-Free technology eliminates the flickering of the backlight and reduces eye fatigue. FreeSync synchronizes the refresh rate of the screen with FPS in games and levels image breaks. Shadow Control highlights dark areas of the map to better see opponents. And Low Blue Light reduces the intensity of blue in the evening to make it easier to fall asleep. You can manage all these settings using the QuickSwitch remote control.

On three sides of the AGON AG272FCX6 screen, there are very narrow, almost imperceptible frames, which, coupled with the curvature of the 1800R screen, creates the effect of complete immersion in a game or movie. The LED illumination of the lower frame and the back wall of the monitor adds even more atmosphere. The leg is adjustable in height and equipped with a convenient handle for carrying the monitor, in case you have to move to another workplace. A pull-out hook for headphones is also provided.

AOC AGON AG272FCX6 has four video outputs: Display Port version 1.2, a couple of HDMI 2.0 and analogue VGA. The latter, however, does not support a refresh rate of 165 Hz. In addition, there is a dual-port USB 3.0 hub and stereo speakers with a total power of 6 watts. The only disadvantage of AGON AG272FCX6 is the relatively low pixel density — only 82 dots per inch. Those who want to get a better picture should take a closer look at the also 27-inch AOC AGON AG273QCX 27 " with QuadHD resolution (109 PPI).

Orico ANS6-SV is an elegant—looking laptop docking station, made with a clear eye on Apple MacBook owners, but at the same time compatible with Windows ultrabooks with a full-featured USB Type C port. Full functionality means the transfer of not only information via USB protocol, but also video, audio and Ethernet networks.

The body of the Orico ANS6-SV is made of unpainted aluminium, and the bottom is rubberized to avoid sliding on the table. On top of the dock there is a width-adjustable slot with soft silicone pads for installing the laptop in an upright position so that it takes up a minimum of space on the table. This scheme involves using a laptop at home or in the office as a desktop PC with an external monitor, keyboard and mouse connected.

For the above mentioned task, the Orico ANS6-SV has a large set of ports on the side: HDMI version 2.0 with the ability to output video with a resolution up to 4K, a gigabit Ethernet socket, two 3.5mm audio sockets (for headphones and microphone, respectively), three full-size Type-A USB 3.0 and a couple of miniature rotary USB Type-C. The last two ports are used to connect to a laptop and a native laptop charger with support for the USB Power Delivery fast charging standard.

However, an alternative, more versatile charging option is also available — a 12-volt power supply that comes with the Orico ANS6-SV. Perhaps, only one more video output is not enough for complete happiness, because many professional photographers or video editors like to work behind two large monitors at once. However, most laptops, in addition to USB Type-C, have their own HDMI or Display Port video output. And if you need a classic inexpensive USB hub, then take a closer look at Orico M3H4-SV and Orico A3H7 , also in a metal case.

Tecno Camon 12 is the most popular 150-dollar smartphone in east european retail. In terms of the totality of characteristics, it bypasses even such seemingly invincible state employees as Redmi 8 and Huawei Y7 2019, not to mention Samsung Galaxy A10s. In addition, traditionally for Tecno smartphones, it is fully equipped with accessories: a protective film on the screen, a silicone case and a stereo headset.

The diagonal and resolution of the Camon 12 IPS display are 6.52" and 1600x720 pixels, which results in an aspect ratio of 20:9 and an image density of 269 PPI. It is controlled by Tecno Camon 12 operating system Android 9 Pie with HiOS 5.5 shell and MediaTek Helio P22 processor (MT6762). This is an energy-efficient 12-nanometer single-chip system consisting of eight ARM Cortex A53 cores and a PowerVR GE8320 graphics accelerator.

The low energy efficiency of the processor in a compartment with a large 4000 mAh battery capacity allows you to use the Camon 12 without recharging for a day and a half or two. 4 GB of RAM is pre-installed, and 64 GB of permanent flash memory. The tray for the microSD card and two "Sim cards" is separate. Thanks to this, you will not have to sacrifice any storage space for photos and videos, nor favorable tariffs for phone calls and 4G Internet.

The main feature of the Tecno Camon 12 is a triple camera: the main module at 16 MP, the second wide-angle at 8 MP and finally the third 2-MP for measuring the depth of the frame. The front-facing selfie camera did not disappoint either — also at 16 MP. You can scold the Camon 12 except for the lack of support for the latest high-speed Wi-Fi standard 802.11ac, it still, alas, has not reached smartphones of this price category. Finally, we note that other interesting new smartphones have appeared in the Tecno assortment: an even more affordable three-chamber Tecno Spark 4 32 GB / 2 GB and long-playing Tecno Pouvoir 3 Air 16 GB / 1 GB with a battery as much as 5000 mAh.

Transcend MTE220S is a universal M.2 NVMe solid—state drive that is equally well suited for both full-size desktop PCs and compact nettops, monoblocks and laptops. The optimal ratio of solid speed characteristics and moderate heating allows this SSD to do without a cooling radiator and, as a result, fit even in the thinnest ultrabooks.

Naturally, provided that the laptop or PC has an M.2 2280 slot with support for NVMe drives. After all, this is the only way it is guaranteed that in addition to the usual M.2 SATA SSDs with speeds up to 560 Mbps, razem also supports high-speed PCI-E SSDs. So, Transcend MTE220S has four PCI-E 3.0 lines, which results in a serial read speed of 3500 Mbps (almost the maximum of the interface bandwidth) and a serial write speed of 2100 Mbps.

But due to the use of 3D TLC flash memory, the sequential write speed of Transcend MTE220S, like the vast majority of other modern SSDs, is unstable. When recording very large volumes of data at a time, the speed is reduced threefold — up to 700 Mbps. After that, the drive needs a short rest time to restore the initial high speed.

The indicators of IOPS (the number of I–O operations per second) for the smallest 4K blocks in Transcend MTE220S are a decent 210K for reading and 310K for writing. Such a high result is achieved thanks to the Silicon Motion SM2262EN dual-core controller and an external 512 MB buffer RAM chip. Whereas many competing SSDs have either a small 32 MB cache integrated into the controller, or use it as part of the system-wide PC RAM. We also advise you to pay attention to other Transcend SSD models: an even more affordable internal Transcend SSD110S TS512GMTE110S 512 GB Price from 2 819 up to 2 854 ₴ and external Transcend ESD350C TS240GESD350C 240 GB with USB 3.1 Gen 2 connections.

Skyworth 43Q3 AI is a smart TV with a screen size of 43" and the official Android TV operating system. Formality implies stable and fast operation, regular updates, access to the Google Play app store, support for Miracast wireless display technologies and Google Assistant voice assistant in Russian, Ukrainian and other 86 languages.

Special attention should be paid to the complete remote control, which works both via infrared communication and Bluetooth. It also has a microphone built into it and it is with its help that you can control the TV and other devices of the smart home ecosystem using your voice. That is, it's not just voice search, but full-fledged voice control.

Skyworth 43Q3 AI is built on the basis of an IPS matrix with a resolution of 3840x2160 pixels, a brightness of 420 cd/m2 and support for HDR10. The default colour scheme is somewhat cold, but the software artificial intelligence will select the optimal colour rendering and noise reduction parameters for each specific image on the screen. This feature is especially useful for watching DVB-T2 terrestrial television or satellite TV.

The Skyworth 43Q3 AI reproduces all popular video formats, including Xvid, H.264 and H.265 codecs and AVI, MP4 and MKV containers, including multi-channel DTS audio. Given the presence of a built-in soundbar of four speakers with a total power of 25 watts, you can comfortably not only watch movies, but also listen to music. Gamers will absolutely appreciate the high frequency of vertical scanning of the screen of 100 Hz, low response time of 8 ms and support for HDR10 technology, which significantly improves the picture in many games on PlayStation 4. In addition to the 43-inch model, similar functionality is available Skyworth 49Q3 49 " and Skyworth 55Q3 55 " with diagonals of 49 and 55", respectively.

Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 is a flagship internal sound card with a PCI-E interface and an external adjustment module. It is based on the digital-to-analogue converter (DAC) ESS SABRE 9038 with support for Hi-Res audio playback 32 bit/ 384 kHz in PCM and DSD64 formats. The dynamic range of this sound card is an ultra—high 129 dB, and the coefficient of nonlinear distortion is, on the contrary, ultra-low -120 dB (0.0001%).

The sound on the headphones is output via a dual Xamp amplifier, separately on the left and right channels. Headphones are supported from miniature in-channel headphones with a resistance of 1 ohm to large overhead headphones of 600 ohms. In addition, each channel passes through three stages of amplification. The first stage filters low frequencies, the second amplifies the signal, and the third suppresses even harmonics. At the same time, the chips of operational amplifiers are made removable, which allows you to change the tone of the sound.

The Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 uses exclusively specialized Japanese Nichicon Fine Gold audio capacitors, which provides rich bass. Implemented a physical 5.1-channel sound for connecting a home theater and a virtual 7.1-channel Surround for games. In addition to it, other filters are available in the proprietary Sound Blaster Command application: Crystallizer and Bass for amplifying high and low frequencies, respectively, and CrystalVoice for clear sound recording.

On the external module Creative Sound Blaster AE-9, in addition to headphone outputs, buttons, controls and a screen for displaying the volume level, there are microphone inputs: 3.5mm MiniJack and XLR. This makes the sound card useful not only for music lovers, but also for streamers and podcasters. Also on the market is a slightly cheaper version of Creative Sound Blaster AE-9 PE , devoid of microphone inputs, and an even more affordable model Creative Sound Blaster AE-7 Price from 8 349 up to 11 434 ₴ with a simpler DAC — ESS SABRE 9018.