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Tech gifts can be the perfect presents for your loved ones. But not all tech gifts are sure to please. Some tech gifts can be relationship-ending disasters, resulting in anger, disappointment, tears and accusations.
While there are plenty of tech gifts sure to bring delight to the eyes of many, these tech gifts do the exact opposite. Just because a gift is a tech gift, doesn’t make it a great gift…
Find plenty of great tech gift ideas at => 11 Awesome Holiday Tech Gifts for 2018!
If you want to stay away from trouble, avoid these tech gifts at all costs:
Smart Scale
A smart scale may sounds like a great idea. You can see your weight progress, view your body composition, track your weight on an app and even get a daily weather report.
Buying a scale as a present generally sends the wrong message and giving a smart scale doesn’t make that message any better. But there are pitfalls with giving a smart scale that reach far beyond giving a regular scale.
With a smart scale you may have one account per scale, with multiple users. So everyone who uses the scale logs into the same account to set up their user profile. This means everyone in the household may see and track the weight of everyone else who uses that scale.
With everyone using the same account, it’s very easy to confuse the scale into thinking you’re someone else. “Congratulations on losing 20 pounds in a day!”
Oops.
And if a woman in your household is pregnant, a smart scale may not be her best ally in keeping a healthy weight.
Hey tech developers: It’d be really nice if you put a “pregnancy mode” in your weight/training/workout etc. apps. I’m getting really tired of my smart scale and exercise apps yelling at me for weight gain/decreased activity.
— Swapna Krishna is on maternity leave (@skrishna) August 30, 2018
Our household tried the Withings / Nokia | Body+ – Smart Body Composition Wi-Fi Digital Scale, but it did not go well. Now my husband continues to use it with great success but everyone else in the family stays away from it.
FitBit or Other Fitness Tracker
Fitness trackers can be a life-changing source of inspiration, getting people to exercise more. Getting up off that couch can be much easier with a fitness tracker that helps you set goals and encourages you to become more active.
But giving someone a fitness tracker such as a FitBit, even with the best of intentions, may be taken as an insult. If your subtle message is “get up and move,” then giving someone a fitness tracker may be heard as screaming.
One way around this problem is to give your loved one an Apple Watch (if they have an iPhone). The Apple Watch does so much more than track your fitness, such as send and receive text messages and phone calls, play music and podcasts, tell you the weather, access Siri and plenty of other tasks. The Breathe app on the Watch can help you relax, reminding you to take deep breaths and focus throughout the day.
Don’t miss => 13 Reasons Why the Apple Watch May Be Your Best Fitness Tracker
The Apple Watch also can be an amazing fitness tracker. It can encourage you to get up and move every hour, burn a certain amount of calories each day and achieve 30 minutes of exercise daily. The Watch can monitor your heart rate during a workout and over time.
Learn more at => 7 Ways to Monitor Your Heart Rate Using Apple Watch
The Apple Watch Series 4 will be getting an echocardiogram feature that can monitor your heart rhythm then share the results with your doctor.
So by giving someone an Apple Watch, you may be giving them not only a fitness tracker, but much more to help them achieve better health.
Roomba
Getting someone a vacuum cleaner as a gift is rarely a relationship-enhancing move. Getting someone a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner is only slightly better.
A Roomba can certainly make life easier by vacuuming the house automatically while you sleep. The Roomba sucks up dirt on both hardwood floors and carpets. It can cross a household chore off the list as the robot does the work for you.
Roomba can pair with Alexa so you can control it with your voice. The accompanying app can track its cleaning and send a notification when it’s finished its job.
Roombas are fantastic devices, but giving one may be easily misinterpreted by the receiver.
If you still think getting a Roomba as a gift is a good idea, check out the iRobot Roomba 690 Robot Vacuum with Wi-Fi Connectivity, Works with Alexa which is available from Amazon.
Kickstarter or Indiegogo Projects
Kickstarter and Indiegogo are crowdfunding sites that are filled with fun and fascinating projects that inventors are seeking to transform from idea into reality. You may find a project that’s the perfect present for your loved one, with a predicted shipping date well before the date you need it.
But be careful. Many of these projects don’t deliver on time. In fact, some don’t deliver at all. That perfect present may turn into a test of patience. A Wharton Crowdfunding Study from 2015 found that 75% of crowdfunding projects delivered late, though less than 1% of the projects appeared to be fraudulent.
If you want to support inventors and find unique tech gifts, check out Indiegogo’s Holiday Gift page, filled with unique products that are in stock and shipping now.
Big Mouth Billy Bass Compatible with Alexa
If a Big Mouth Billy Bass weren’t annoying enough, now it can be used with Alexa to make it even more obnoxious. Pair this Big Mouth Billy Bass with a compatible Echo device and have Alexa’s words mouthed by this fish.
Ask Alexa a question and have Billy Bass move his lips as Alexa gives you the answer. Note that if you ask Alexa to play a song, Billy won’t be lip syncing the words but will dance along to the beat.
This video shows Big Mouth Billy Bass working with Alexa:
Still considering giving Big Mouth Billy Bass as a gift? Well, be sure to check out its reviews at Amazon before making your purchase: Big Mouth Billy Bass – Compatible with Alexa.
The ONLY Exception to This List
You have been warned — Buy these gifts at your peril.
There is a slight exception to this rule, but be careful if you rely upon this exception. There are no guarantees that this exception will work in reality, or in theory…
The exception is if your loved one actually asks you specifically for one of these gifts. If your loved one has their heart set on one of these gifts, then you might consider getting it.
For example, my husband was watching TV one night when he saw a commercial for a Roomba with Alexa. He told me how cool he thought it was, then was delighted when I got him one for his birthday soon after he saw the commercial.
But even with this exception, you may want to get that request in writing if you’re nervous about getting one of these forbidden gifts. Ask for a text message, email, or Facebook message with the request. Even better, ask for a link to the item.
Getting the request in writing (with a link) gives two benefits. First, you’ll be getting exactly the correct item, without worry about getting the wrong thing.
Second, if and when your loved one recoils in horror upon opening your tech gift, you’ll have evidence that the gift was indeed requested.
Even so, these tech gifts are dangerous territory. Only venture there if you dare.
Your Thoughts
Have you ever received one of these forbidden tech gifts? Have you ever given any of these? If so, what was the reaction?
Are there any tech gifts you think should be added to this list? Would you like to receive any of these tech gifts?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
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* Gift image (edited) courtesy of George Dolgikh via Pexels and Creative Commons
Hi Carolyn,
Sorry, I haven’t visited for a while but I have been busy. I think many tech gifts go unused and can be a bad choice. I have one relative who can’t stop doing odd jobs around the house, he paints things that don’t even need to be painted so I bought him a work light!
I’ve actually bought some low energy light bulbs that are useful. Most of them aren’t bright enough and some are actually given away to encourage us to use them. I bought some 13 watts LED lamps from Amazon and they’re great and of course use 13% of the electricity! Incandescent ones are illegal now but still sold in all the supermarkets.
I’m thinking about buying a full frame DSLR but I will wait until January and see if they reduce the price. I’m getting quite good at photography and we have a photography focused arts festival next year!
Hi Mike, Great to see you here again! Yes, many tech gifts are fantastic, but not all of them. It’s possible to go way wrong with a tech gift, as this list shows. Your examples are good ones. Useful and fun tech gifts are wonderful, but useless ones or ones that send the wrong message won’t be welcomed.
After reading this Blog I realised how even a FitBit or Other Fitness Tracker can hurt someone’s feelings an in a way. I Really appreciate your Efforts for writing this Blog.
Thanks for sharing.
Hi Radhika, Yes, you may love your FitBit or other fitness tracker, but that doesn’t mean you should give one to someone else. They may get the wrong idea and take great offense, even if your intentions were noble.
Best to get a tech gift that isn’t on this list, unless you like to live dangerously…
Hi Carolyn,
It is important to give a gift to people which they will like or appreciate. As different people think differently. Therefore their idea of a good gift may be different from what you think. Hence it is important to keep the requirement of the person whom you want to gift.
Thanks for sharing, have a great day. 🙂
Hi Sajid, Excellent point. We just don’t know what people will think when we give them a gift. Best to stay away from these gifts so people don’t get the wrong idea.
Smart Scale is a strict No No when it comes to gifting someone. It may send a very wrong signal and that person may be offended beyond control. I think mobile phones, speakers, earphones are safe option when it comes to tech gifts.
Thanks for sharing this post. Have a good one.
Hi Tarique, You’re right, giving a smart scale isn’t smart at all, unless someone has asked for it specifically. Don’t use tech gifts to send the wrong message! There are plenty of tech gifts you can get that will be much more welcomed than these.