Receive some cash for Christmas? Not sure what to spend it on? Here are some ideas.
Find yourself with some extra cash after Christmas? While Christmas sales are still going on, we have 4 recommendations on gadgets we tried and love; we think you’ll love them too!
Lenovo Smart Clock Essential
We have recommended the Lenovo Smart Clock in the past. I use mine every day and love it! But just in time for Christmas, Lenovo came out with a less frills version called the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential. It has the same great shape and many similar features of the original like a large face display, a small footprint, Google Assistant, smart alarm, playing your Spotify or Pandora songs, etc. but at a lower price. It also has a USB charging port in the pack to keep your phone charged.
For me, the BEST feature of any Lenovo Smart Clock is the ability to use your voice to set or turn off your alarm clock. And that you can set it only for Monday through Friday and it won’t ring on Saturday! My old clocks did that if I didn’t remember to turn them off.
Ask Google any question, set timers, add reminders, turn up or turn down the volume, check the weather, just like you would with any Google Assistant. Its nightlight gives a little light at night if needed. You can even link it to any other Google Assistants you might have in the room for stereo! Or control any smart home devices hooked up through the Google Home app.
I got a couple of the Lenovo Smart Clock Essentials for my kids for Christmas. I love not needing to go in on Saturdays and turn off my daughter’s alarm she used to sleep through! My kids set them up right away and are enjoying them.
The Lenovo Smart Clock Essential sells for $24.99 plus shipping at the Lenovo website. This includes a current $25 discount.
BlendJet 2 Personal Blender
Smart Tab M8 with Google Assistant
We love the flexibility of the Lenovo Smart Tab M8 with the Google Assistant 8″ tablet. It’s a true family tablet, offering profiles for every family member. It includes a special kid’s mode with kid-specific content and parental controls so you can keep tabs on their usage and what they see.
The charging dock is particularly useful. It’s a perfect angle to watch a movie or quickly check email while it charges. But since Google Assistant is built-in, you can also opt-in for the screen to show pictures from your Google Photos account when not in use. This means, your tablet turns into a digital picture frame, reminding you of great family memories throughout the year.
In addition, you can ask Google Assistant anything like to add things to your shopping list, set a timer, pull up a certain recipe, directions and how long it takes to get to a friend’s house, what the bank hours are, the latest news, etc. Or ask Google to turn off connected lights or a floor heater.
Don’t forget the movies! With it’s dual Dolby Atmos®-tuned speakers, movies and videos sound fantastic! Or if reading is your style, download Kindle Reader and read away. The Smart Tab M8 has a TÜV-certified display to cuts eyestrain by reducing harmful blue light. Other features include the latest Bluetooth 5.0 standard and a MicroSD slot.
The Lenovo Smart Tab M8 is on sale now at Lenovo for $89.99, a $10 discount and free shipping.
Type C Adapter USB 3.0 Hub
More and more laptops, phones, and tablets are using the Type C USB ports. It’s the newest standard in USB. It features a rounded rectangular shape that makes it easier for us to plug USB-C cords into, without needing to worry which side needs to be up to plug in.
But many of the latest laptops only have one type C USB port. Well, maybe two. But one is needed to keep your laptop charging sometimes, which leaves you one open USB-C. You likely have many other USB accessories that use USB micro, these will no longer work with your newer devices.
HOWEVER, you can use them again with a USB- Hub, like this 8-in-1 4K Type C Adapter USB 3.0 Hub. Just plug in the USB-C Hub into your laptop and you can add USB thumb drives, SD cards, a cordless mouse, keyboard, speakers, and more. This USB Hub even includes an ethernet plug, which is so helpful to ensure you have the strongest Internet available.
This USB Type C Hub can be used for both Mac and laptops and tablets using USB-C. If you need an Ethernet cable, here’s one I purchased recently, it’s a bit long at 50 feet, but you can get smaller ones. I got a long one to travel across a couple of rooms!
Although there are many USB 3.0 Hubs available, this is the one I purchased for my son this Christmas. It’s available for $24.99 plus shipping.
Depending upon your needs, any of these 4 gifts would be great candidates to spend your Christmas cash on. We wish you all the best of health, hope, and prosperity for the new year. 2021 is going to be a much better year for us all!
* I was given some of these products to review for our Christmas cash article. Others I purchased. All 4 gadgets were reviewed and appreciated before recommending.
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