The company kickstarted its IP65 ambitions with AC240’s smaller sibling, the AC60, which boasts a 600W output. A full year later after the AC60 announcement, BLUETTI is bringing that dustproof and weatherproof ruggedness to customers seeking a power station that can last days under rough outdoor conditions.

We’d like to thank BLUETTI for sponsoring this post. The company has been a long-term sponsor of the blog which helps us keep things running, and we are grateful for their support. Please read on for a special discount for TechGadget readers.

IP65 – Dust Tight Protection with a Splash of Water Resistance

BLUETTI’s vast array of power stations are geared for outdoor usage as long as you keep them dry. This means rushing to keep the batteries underneath a roof or tent when sudden rainfall occurs. The BLUETTI AC240 eliminates the need for those extra steps thanks to its refined and patented design that adds additional sealing to its electronic compartments along with double-layer protected ports, independent air ducts, and a special drainage system. Thanks to these improvements, the AC240 has earned an IP65 dust and water-resistant rating.

Although the new design doesn’t fully prevent water from entering the power station, the AC240 does utilize internal exhaust fans to expel the water while the built-in heat dissipation system handles the rest by evaporating any remaining moisture. This makes the BLUETTI AC240 a suitable companion for open sea sailing expeditions.

Powerful, Yet Still Compact

Weighing about 72 lbs or 33 kg, the added weatherproofing makes the BLUETTI AC240 weigh a bit more than other BLUETTI products with similar power output. However, the AC240 retains the same microwave-like compact form factor of its siblings allowing easy transport to and from a car, boat, or RV.

The power station’s 2,400-watt output is enough to energize refrigerators, window-type air conditioners, coffee makers, heaters, microwaves, and other appliances. More demanding appliances such as space heaters and hair dryers can also take advantage of the AC240’s Power Lifting mode which raises the power output ceiling to 3,600W.

The BLUETTI AC240 offers two (2) standard AC outlets for plugging these appliances. For smartphones and other small gadgets, the AC240 provides two (2) 18W USB-A ports as well as two (2) 100W USB-C for charging laptops and drones. Other available output options include an RV port, a cigarette lighter outlet, and a NEMA TT-30 port.

The AC240’s internal 1,536Wh LFP battery can sufficiently power a small refrigerator for a day or several smaller appliances for several days. Once fully drained, the AC adapter can recharge the battery from 0% to 80% in 45 minutes using Turbo mode. Up to 1,200W of input from solar panels is supported too as a clean energy alternative.

Stack Up the Power

When the adventure calls for more energy storage, BLUETTI’s B210 expansion battery can add 2,150Wh of power doubling the power station’s overall runtime. The AC240 supports up to four (4) B210 batteries for an effective maximum capacity of 10,136Wh. The B210 batteries have their own trio of DC outputs making them serve as independent water-resistant power banks.

BLUETTI is also introducing a new parallel connection technology with the AC240 being the first to support. This technology enables you to link two AC240 units using a special BLUETTI Parallel Box P480 sold separately to double the total output to 4,800W while retaining the voltage. This breakthrough technology means you can safely invest in a AC240 to save money and later buy a second one when your house expands and you wish to provide backup power to all your appliances.

This simple setup supports parallel connection to the grid too with a slightly reduced output of 4,000W. Because the BLUETTI AC240 offers full UPS functionality, the power station can reliably detect power outages and immediately switch to battery power within a swift, 15-millisecond period.

AI Brains and Brawn

Like other BLUETTI power stations, the AC240 uses a lithium iron phosphate battery which can retain around 80% of its capacity after 3,500 charge cycles. Combined with BLUETTI’s AI battery management technology called BLUETOPUS AI BMS, the AC240 can maximize its efficiency based on usage to achieve the best possible lifespan without sacrificing performance.

If you wish to fine tune these settings, you may use the official BLUETTI app which lets you tweak the various power settings, UPS profiles, and charging speeds. BLUETTI is backing the AC240 with a lengthy 6-year warranty to give its customers that full peace of mind in owning a truly reliable backup power solution.

Pricing and Availability: special discount!

You can purchase the BLUETTI AC240 directly from BLUETTI’s official website and BLUETTI Amazon store for a starting price of $1799. As a bonus to all you TechGadgetsCanada readers, you can score an extra $50 discount with the promo code PR240 if you buy from April 2 to April 29. BLUETTI will launch a slightly bigger variant of the AC240 called the AC240P alongside matching B210P batteries that week as well.

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Pushing Power Boundaries with New Weatherproof BLUETTI AC240 Portable Power Station appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

We’d like to say a special thank you to BougeRV for sponsoring this blog. While the company is supporting us with this sponsored blog, it has not told us what we have to say or cannot say about its product so you can consider these thoughts our after we did our own research.

ASPEN 30 PRO 34QT Dual-System IceDrive Fridge with Wheels

There’s nothing better than spending time outdoors as soon as the weather warms. Picnicking in the grass as the leaves begin to emerge, camping while the days are warm and the nights still a bit cool, or even planning your tailgating party. Whichever way you embrace the outdoors, there’s a good reason to consider adding some powered food storage to your adventure gear.

A portable off-grid fridge can be used to store food and beverages, keeping them fresh and chilled. It can keep meat or salads safe ahead of a beachfront barbecue, and when you’re enjoying the scenery of an epic cross-country road trip, having a portable refrigerator can mean fewer stops for pricey snacks and drinks. Bottom line: a portable refrigerator is going to come in handy in more situations than you think.

ASPEN 30 PRO is a portable refrigerator first and backup power station second making it a fantastic companion to any camping trip. The company has developed other refrigerators in the past, but exclusive to the ASPEN family is its IceDrive technology. This technology makes the fridge capable of bringing the temperature down to 0°F in just 30 minutes and can optionally push temperatures even lower to -9°F, which means your portable fridge is now a freezer!

This might sound like marketing talk, but the presence of an icebox is a huge statement. You can actually put ice cream in this box and won’t have to worry about your frozen treats melting.

Zone control for different levels of chill

With 34 quarts (32 liters) of capacity, you can also store more than a dozen cans of beverages and a couple of days’ worth of food. The fridge’s interior features a big and small removable basket for sorting items and perishables. These compartments have their own individual zones where you can control the temperature separately. For instance, you can have both zones serve as freezer roles if needed or save on energy and keep both zones as standard fridge functions—or one of each!

Small, portable with wheeled design

As the smallest portable fridge in the ASPEN lineup, the cooler weighs just under 42 pounds making it travel-friendly for smaller vehicles as well. The pair of wheels on the rear of the cooler allows easy transport when loading to and from the vehicle. You can even use the fridge at night thanks to the LED light functionality.

Not just cool, it powers YOU

Plus, ASPEN 30 PRO features a full-size USB port allowing your smartphones, tablets, and smaller powerbanks to tap into the fridge’s power. The refrigerator comes with a pair of DC power cords for car charging and a standard AC power adapter for a full top-up at home.

Multiple ways to power your fridge

Thanks to the embedded ECO electronic control module, the fridge can monitor the car’s battery voltage automatically. By default, this setting is switched to “High” but you can also configure it to “Medium” or “Low” if you prefer the fridge using more of its internal battery. Using AC power or your vehicle to keep the fridge powered aren’t your only options either as it comes with solar charging support.

ROVER2000 Semi-Solid State Portable Power Station

While on any outdoor adventure we’ve all faced an emergency power situation. At its simplest, it’s a pain to run out of juice and have no opportunity to quickly charge your phone. At its worst, you may need to boost your car, or even power an important device or tool for your job, and not having access to reliable power can cost you time.

That’s where BougeRV’s ROVER2000 Portable Power Station comes in.

Its key differentiator in the big market of portable power stations is its use of “Semi-Solid Battery Technology” which provides higher energy density and better safety than traditional lithium-ion batteries. BougeRV rates the cycle life of the 2008Wh battery at 3,000 cycles so lifespan isn’t sacrificed at all.

On the connectivity side, the ROVER2000 offers plenty of ports including five AC outputs, three 18W USB-A 3.0 ports, and a three USB-C 100W port capable of charging most laptops. It also features a DC 5525 output port along with a standard cigarette output port. Finally, you can connect up to three daisy-chained extra batteries to the power station’s battery port to further extend the runtime.

BougeRV designed the ROVER2000 with big appliances in mind as its 2,200W total power spec and 4,000W surge can handle electric fryers, 120W refrigerators and coffee makers. It can even power a 50-inch TV for nearly the entire day. The power delivers a clean, pure sine wave output allowing you to use it like a UPS in case of a sudden blackout.

With BougeRV’s separately sold 200W 12V 9BB portable solar panel, you can turn the ROVER2000 into a clean energy generator which is most ideal for those long RV roadtrips. The entire generator weighs about 47 pounds which is just a bit heavier than the ASPEN 30 PRO and it has two handles on the sides for easy carrying.

Get ready for summer with BougeRV

BougeRV (Bouger means “to move” in French), a company founded by outdoor enthusiasts, offers some reliable portable power solutions that cannot only keep your campsite running smoothly, but it can help you eat better as well.

The innovations BougeRV brings to the table are definitely something worth considering. The ROVER2000 comes with a 5-year warranty while the ASPEN 30 PRO comes with a 2-year warranty so you can expect these products to last numerous trips. The ASPEN 30 PRO is available on the BougeRV website for $459.99 while the ROVER2000 retails at $1,899.99

If you want to try some of the top camping and outdoor cooling and power gear, visit BougeRV’s website and use Promo Code AFF18 to get 18% off your order.**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I may also earn from qualifying purchases made on Amazon.

The post Get Ready for Camping & RV Season With BougeRV appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Stand mixers are all made to do the same things – mix, knead, and whip. So why do prices range from a modest dinner out to something that resembles a car payment? The Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer is clearly made for those who need the right kitchen tool but with a more modest budget. In this review I’ll tackle the key question of whether or not cheap can still equal good. I’ll put this mixer through the test here in my home by taking it through a variety of mixing and baking tasks—you’ll see why I don’t think the bowl or accessories are properly sized and how the mixer will shake and shimmy like Bruno Mars. Are these major problems or just part of the show? I’ll lay out the pros and cons and let you know if I think I could recommend it for you.

What’s in the box?

In the box you’ll get the main mixer unit itself. Prepare yourself for the fact it is made mostly of plastic. While it has retro good looks, the lightweight of the body does have me wondering about its longevity. Since it doesn’t have the benefit of weight to hold it in place, four suction cups on the bottom will help anchor it during heavy mixing tasks. This model is a tilt head stand mixer and the tilt action is released using a button on the front. The only other control is a speed dial offering 7 speeds.

Another surprise is the mixing bowl. This 4 quart bowl is made of lightweight aluminum, and has a plastic base which locks into the mixer. This is another item of concern for me in terms of how long this mixed material will last in the long run.

Attachments

The Hamilton Beach mixer comes with a set of all the basic mixer attachments.

• Dough hook
• Whisk
• Flat beater
• 4 Quart bowl
• Splash guard
• Motor

The motor is where most stand mixers are made or broken. They must be powerful enough to hold up against even the thickest cookie dough without burning out or overheating.
The Hamilton Beach comes with a 7-speed 300W motor. You may be surprised to learn that that is the same power as you’d find in a KitchenAid classic mixer. While a KitchenAid classic will give you three more speeds for a total of 10, the overall power of the motor is largely the same.

Build Quality

So, how does the Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer undercut its competition with its price? Well, its plastic body screams budget-friendly.

The plastic body makes it lightweight and easy to handle so you can easily take it into and out of the cupboard. However, because it’s so lightweight, it does need a little help from the suction cup legs to keep it stable on your countertop.

What’s most concerning is that the plastic body tends to shake when kneading stiffer doughs. It’s a testament to how powerful the motor is but it doesn’t inspire confidence in its durability, especially if you plan to use this for long mixing sessions.

The attachments, on the other hand, are mostly metal except for the base of the whisk tool. While they’re a little lighter than the ones that come from more expensive stand mixers, they do feel somewhat durable.

Mixing tests

I put this mixer through a variety of tests in my kitchen. I started out making cake batter. Right away I found a significant frustration when trying to cream butter and sugar: The mixer seems to not adequately reach the bottom or sides of the bowl.

When using the whisk attachment to cream butter and sugar it succeeded more in compacting the mixture against the bottom and sides of the bowl instead of incorporating it. This meant I had to stop multiple times to scrape up the sides and bottom to try and get it to mix properly. This meant I ended up taking about three or four times as long to perform this simple creaming task.

Even when adding eggs and the mixture became looser and more malleable, the whisk attachment was still not able to properly incorporate the ingredients. In fact a large clump of batter stuck in the bottom of the whisk and had to be scraped out each time.

While my cake batter did finally come together, I left this task feeling like it would have just been easier to mix it by hand. Not very confidence-inspiring.

Next I used it to make the icing.

Beating egg whites

Making an Italian style buttercream it actually handled the task reasonably well. I was not convinced it would be able to whip the egg whites properly as part of the first step of this icing recipe, so I was surprised to find it was actually quite effective and whip them into stiff peaks relatively quickly. Once I added the sugar syrup it created a beautiful fluffy icing.

Cookie batter

Next I opted for a classic chocolate chip cookie dough. I find this type of stiffer cookie dough to be an excellent challenge for any stand mixer.

I opted to use the batter beater for this task and found like before it took a long time to cream the butter and the sugar. After a while it really just looked like the mixer was pummelling the ingredients not blending them.

The other thing that became extremely evident is that the plastic body of the mixer doesn’t allow it to hold itself steady. The entire body of the mixer shakes and shifts and it actually looks like it’s about to tear itself apart.

Adding the flower to the cookie dough presented a major challenge for the Hamilton Beach stand mixer but surprisingly it was able to complete the task. It did however leave me concerned that over the long term challenging the mixer like this might prove career ending for your mixer.

Overall review

Overall, If you’re a baking newbie looking to dip a toe into the world of cookies, cakes, and bread, the Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer might be a good starter appliance. But for experts who frequently work with stiffer doughs, or need longer kneading times, it may leave you wanting for more.

Let’s go over the pros and the cons.

On the pro side the design is cute and it comes in several colors. It is quite lightweight which does make it easier to move in and out of storage. The tilt head allows you to get into the bowl a little easier and the fact it comes with three mixing attachments does give it some versatility.

On the downside, the mixers plastic construction not only concerns me for its longevity, but it also allows the mixer to shake and sway to the point where it’s actually concerning whether or not it’s going to break itself. The plastic portions on both the mixing bowl and the whisk are also worrying. I found that while it has seven speeds, there’s not so much difference between them and even from lowest speed to the very highest speed it’s hard to see an extremely large difference.

Where it counts, on tougher mixing tasks, it was able to complete the job, but I am concerned about how many times the machine can strain itself like that before it calls it quits.

So is this machine for you? I think if you keep the use to lighter mixing and baking tasks like whipping and mixing cake batter, you’ll probably enjoy this mixer. If you’re hoping for a workhorse that will take on more challenging tasks for you, I would say skip this one and consider some other options instead. If you’re looking to stay on budget, I can definitely recommend the KitchenIn stand mixer—it’s got a cool design metal construction and it looks funky too. Of course you could always save up and invest in the gold standard; a metal KitchenAid classic stand mixer. I’ve reviewed both of these devices and you can check those out here.

The Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer sells for about $119USD or $159CAD and you can get yours as I got mine from Amazon.

Also Read:

1. I tried GE Profile 7-Quart Smart Mixer with Auto Sense in my home: is this smart mixer REALLY worth $1,000?!
2. Amazon’s $50 Dash stand mixer review: what you absolutely need to know before you buy

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Hamilton Beach Stand Mixer hands-on review appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Let us take you through the process of pairing a Roku remote and show you how you can troubleshoot other problems that you might experience with your Roku remote or device. Let’s get started.

How to pair a Roku remote?

Pairing a Roku remote isn’t as difficult as one might think. Here is a breakdown for the quick pairing of the remote. 

• Switch on your Roku streaming device. Usually, the device just needs to be plugged in, so do the needful. 

• Check the remote for batteries. If the remote does not have batteries, insert a fresh pair, but don’t close the battery cover. Leave it open because this is where Roku has decided to put the notification LED and the pairing button for some reason. We admit it’s not the most intuitive placement. 

• On the bottom of the compartment, just below the batteries, locate the notification LED and the pairing button. 

• With the Roku device on display, press and hold this button down for several seconds. This should prompt the device to display ‘Pairing remote.’ 

• After a couple of seconds, the remote will have paired with the Roku device, and is ready to be used. 

However, Roku remotes use Bluetooth technology, which, despite its cutting-edge configuration, has some lag and often comes up short in connecting almost seamlessly. Should you experience some issues with your attempt to connect the Roku remote to the device, the process itself can be switched, meaning that you can use the Roku device to connect to the remote. Let us take you through the process of doing that. 

Pairing a Roku device to the remote 

If you want to use your Roku device to connect to the remote, you can do so as well. Here’s how:

• Start by turning on your device and waiting for the home screen to load up. 

• Once at the home screen, select Settings. 

• In Settings, navigate to Remotes and devices. 

• Within Remotes and devices, look for the option Set up a new device and choose Remote. 

• Once the device is in pairing mode, slide down the cover from the remote and press the Pair button on the back of the Roku remote for a couple of seconds as the light starts blinking. 

• After the passage of a couple of seconds, the remote will have paired with the device, ready to be used. 

Let’s look at some other scenarios for pairing and understand how a remote without a pairing button, as some Roku remotes come, can be connected to the device. 

Connecting a Roku remote without a pairing button

Some Roku models, including some within the previous generations, do not have a pairing button, not even in the unusual space on the back of the remote, under the battery cover. These remotes usually have IR or infrared blasters to transmit instructions or connect directly to the device itself. In case you have such a remote, you can still connect it to your Roku device. Let’s look at how. 

• Start by locating the Home button on the Roku remote (denoted by a house-like structure) and the Back button (denoted by a backward arrow).

• Press these two buttons simultaneously.

• A light on the top of the remote will start blinking. This is your clue that the Roku remote is now in Pairing mode. 

• A popup will be displayed on the TV, alerting you that the remote is being paired. Once completed, the remote will be ready for use with the device. 

If your Roku remote still does not connect or refuses to pair, it might be time to reset it. Given the operation of the remote, here is a quick guide on how you can reset your Roku remote. 

How to reset your Roku remote 

In order to reset your Roku remote, here are the steps that need to be followed. 

• Start by taking out the batteries from your Roku remote. 
• Turn on your Roku device and get it to the home screen. 
• Once on the home screen, put your batteries in the remote and press and hold the pairing button on the back of the remote. 
• The notification LED on the remote will start blinking green and will progressively flash faster. 
• Once the blinks flash rapidly, release the button. 
• This causes the remote to restart and automatically connect to the Roku device. 

Should you still experience issues connecting to the Roku device after the remote has been reset, you can generally continue pairing it using the first method enumerated beforehand.

The bottom line

Roku is a popular service worldwide, and North America, including USA and Canada, comes in as some of the biggest consumers for Roku devices. Giving you access to a host of streaming services and subscriptions to view content, Roku is undoubtedly handy and beats other devices in terms of content and convenience. However, it’s normal for Bluetooth-powered devices to start acting out sometimes, but there’s nothing a quick hack won’t fix. Simply follow the above-mentioned steps, and you will be back on track for movie night in no time at all. 

Tech Gadgets Canada: your place for honest, relatable reviews!

For reviews that not only make sense but give you an honest overview of what devices and appliances you need for your home, Tech Gadgets Canada (TGC) is here! Follow TGC along, as our reviews give you all that you need, from coffeemakers and vacuum cleaners to the latest Apple and Samsung devices. Whether they are a big waste of money (like the Apple Vision Pro) or the handiest little devices you can get for your home, TGC is always here for your tech fix. 

The post How To Pair Roku Remote appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

When cold weather happens, we’ll do anything to warm up. Space heaters provide direct and immediate warmth, making them really popular. I scoured Amazon for three of the top-selling space heaters to see what each is like to use, and if they’re worth the money.

When it comes to many types of home appliances, spending more is usually better. For space heaters, however, I’d argue you don’t actually need to spend more than about $60US. While there might be a few rare exceptions depending on your specific needs, many space heaters cost more for fancy features and technologies that don’t contribute to any real-world benefits. Efficiency is one common example since the sole purpose of heaters is to convert electricity into heat and any “wasted” electricity comes in the form of heat anyway which helps the heater which your desired temperature. But don’t just pick a random budget heater as it might lack safety features and instead, go for any of these models that are TechGadget-certified to provide the best bang for your buck.

Best all-around Pick: GiveBest Portable Electric Space Heater with Thermostat

The GiveBest Portable Electric Heater (available on Amazon and Walmart) is a terrific budget pick that doesn’t sacrifice on the most important features – safety and performance.
The space heater’s design isn’t anything to write home about and is the noisiest heater in this list but for those with a small budget, this is the one to get, since the $60 regular price is quite often slashed by half.

Features & Specs

Being a portable space heater, the GiveBest heater isn’t very heavy weighing about 2.64 pounds. The heater offers two heating modes; Low and High – 750W and 1,500W as well as a fan-only mode allowing you to use it during the summer to stir the air around.
There are two dials on top of the machine one of which lets you choose your setting, and the other lets you adjust the level of heat. There’s a built-in carrying handle and a 6-foot-long cable. This space heater works best for rooms less than 200 square feet large.

Heat Throw distance

When it comes to how far this heater is going to push out warmth, it was actually the best of each of the heaters I tried; I could feel the air and the heat as far as about 2 feet away, and I found it was quite good at heating up my small office.

Safety

For safety features, the GiveBest portable space heater has a built-in thermal overload protector that automatically shuts off the heater upon overheating. It also has tip-over protection which will trigger a shutdown whenever accidentally knock it over. This heater was also the only one of the ones I tried that actually shut down when it was just beginning to tip over, not just when it had fully faceplanted. Putting the heater back upright after a trip-over also automatically switches the heater back on. If safety is one of your primary concerns then I would definitely recommend this one.

The GiveBest heater comes in Black and Silver variants along with an upgraded version which has a digital display and a timer feature if you’re willing to pay a little more.

Noise level

With a noise level of about 45-50 dB, this is the noisiest heater I tried. Even so, it’s not loud enough to be distracting, and I think it would be possible to sleep with this running.

Pros:

• Good heat throw distance
• Simple controls
• Carrying handle
• Outstanding safety features
• Long cord

Cons:

• Dull design
• Noisiest pick

Chic and Quiet Pick: Dreo Space Heaters for Indoor Use

If your primary need for a space heater is rock bottom noise levels, but also something that won’t offend your design sensibilities, the Dreo Space Heater for Indoor Use (available on Amazon and Walmart) has got your back.

Features & Specs

Dreo has a wide selection of space heaters, but the 10-inch $40 model works just fine and boasts the same 1,500-watt specification as the other space heaters in this list. This option doesn’t offer a whole bunch of bells or whistles or features, but what it does do it does reasonably well.

Dreo also has a sleeker and more compact cylindrical design while still having a handle for better portability. It also has a built-in screen showing the current temperature Other nice extra features you’ll get with the Dreo include a 12-hour auto-shutoff timer.

Noise Level

While this sets up a good case to just go for the GiveBest, the Dreo space heaters operate at a much lower noise level. (The GiveBest space heater’s noise level averages about 52 dB while the Dreo hovers slightly about 40 dB and can dip to the mid-30s if you reduce the heat setting.) Unless you are penny-pinching, the lower noise level of the Dreo is a nice little extra to enjoy even if you don’t think you need it.

Heat Settings

This Dreo heater offers three different quick-heat settings; essentially high medium and low, or swap modes and get a thermostat to dial in your temperature a little better (from 41-95 degrees F).

Settings are adjusted using the flat touch controls on the top of the device. The buttons on this one range from a timer, to temperature down and temperature up, as well as a mode button which allows you to swap between quick heat or the thermostat, as well as a setting that simply allows you to use the fan only. Finally a child lock setting means you can keep the kids from making any adjustments.

Heat Throw distance

Perhaps it is due to the size, but this heater is really only able to throw out direct heat within about 8 to 10 inches of the front grill. Anything further away than that and you’re only getting ambient air feel. Even so it seemed easily able to heat up the area around me, in my small office.

Safety

This Dreo has the full stack of safety features from tip-over protection which not only turns the device off, but emits a series of beeps to warn you. Once the heater has tipped over it will automatically cycle itself off within about 30 seconds. The delay is a bit concerning but it does power down on time. The overheat protection kicks in when the heater’s internal temperature warms up to 122°F.

Pros:

• Compact: Great for under a desk
• Super quiet
• Appealing design
• Use quick settings or adjust thermostat
• Decent safety features

Cons:

• Small heat throw distance
• Delay in shut off when tipped

Feature-packed Pick: Lasko Oscillating Digital Ceramic Tower Heater

When it comes to features, the Lasko Oscillating Digital Ceramic Tower Heater towers (available on Amazon and Walmart) over the rest. The two big features of this 1,500-watt space heater are the included remote control and oscillation option which will help distribute the heat across a wider angle. Measuring 23 inches high, the Lasko tower heater is the largest in the list and also the heaviest at 7.29 pounds.

Features & Specs

It comes with a handle in the back though so you can bring it to another room, but the placement of the handle makes it almost impossible to grip securely without using another hand to steady it. I’d send this feature back to the designers.

The Lasko tower heater has six buttons on the top of the heater, which match the buttons on the remote control: There’s a shutoff timer, the oscillation button, power is in the centre, a heat mode option which lock the heater on high power, and finally the plus and minus buttons allow individual temperature adjustments.

If you want to run this heater at a specific temperature, you can choose your setting and then once the room temperature reaches 2° above that set temperature the heater will power off. When the room reaches 1° below that set temperature the heater will turn back on automatically, cycling on and off to maintain your set temperature. If you choose the heat mode button instead, the heater will stay in high heat mode and run continuously.

Heat Settings: Adjust temperature, not airflow

Worth noting is that there are no different fan speeds; there is only one setting for airflow, so the only thing you can adjust is temperature.

Because of that, the distance at which you will be able to feel the heat is quite short. I’d say within approximately 12 inches of the front of the heater you can feel the warmth substantially. Beyond that the heat and airflow dissipates quite rapidly. For that reason you may want to sit rather close to this heater to get a warm up. Or you can simply count on it to heat the overall room rather than relying on it for directional warmth.

Safety

Moving on to the safety features, the Lasko Tower Heater is possibly the most unsafe option of all three I tested. This heater does not shut off on its own if it tips over, and has no fabric detection. I’d be very concerned about running this in my home unless I was there with it.

Noise level

This heater is actually extremely quiet for the power it puts out. I think it would be extremely easy to sleep next to this and not be disturbed.

Pros:

• Quiet
• Heats up quickly
• Effective
• Adjustable thermostat/temperatures
• Oscillates

Cons:

• Heat dissipates further than 12 inches away
• Only one airflow level
• Tall
• Safety concerns/tipping
• Batteries for remote not included

Final Thoughts

All three heaters rely on a ceramic heating element which means they all heat up pretty quickly with great efficiency. While none of the heaters have any smart features or fancy wireless technologies to open up home assistant integration, they all provide decent overall performance for the money without sacrificing the all-important safety features. When it comes to which one I’m buying for my own use, I’d say all have their merits, but my top 3 in order are the GiveBest, which I’d say is best overall, then the Dreo, mainly for its design and simplicity, followed by the Lasko tower.

You can find each of these on Amazon and Walmart.

Also Read:

1. 4th gen Nest Thermostat review
2. Amazon Smart Thermostat: is this inexpensive gadget smart enough?

**A note about Affiliate Links: TechGadgetsCanada & TechGadgetsInternational is supported by our readers. Occasionally I will include affiliate links in my reviews. I do this partly for convenience of the reader (since I’ll almost always include a link to the company website or similar anyway) in case you want to read more or purchase, but I also may get a small commission from the click, which helps me keep the blog running. If you choose to use this link I thank you greatly for supporting the blog. There’s no obligation or cost to you for using these links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The post Top 3 space heaters on Amazon: Pros, cons & how to pick appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

The world’s largest consumer technology show is on now in Las Vegas! CES 2024 features thousands of brands spread across multiple locations including the Las Vegas Convention Centre, and multiple hotels. Running January 8-12 it’s an opportunity for brands to show off their newest products to both journalists and buyers. Many brands choose CES as the moment to unveil their latest developments, or to wow the world’s press with stunning innovations.

CES Day 2 Highlights

You’ve heard of the Las Vegas Sphere—this is it—on a smaller scale and inside CES 2024 .

More of a showpiece than a screen with practical applications, its just one of the new technologies on display here today. That’s the thing about CES… you’ll see plenty of concept ideas and some that seem like more trouble than they’re worth.

Like this cocktail making machine called Barsys. You funnel your booze or mixers into a glowing loop and wait…

The machine comes with a special ‘electromagnetic mixing glass’ which will stir the cocktail as it adds the different ingredients. Then you serve it up.

While the lightshow and the shape is cool, I’m not sure this– plus fiddling with an app to make a cocktail is faster, or easier enough to justify the $475US price. Let me know what you think…

Speaking of skeptical… there was a crowd gathered around this device. It’s not what you’re thinking, you perverts… It’s a hair dryer, of course! Interesting design though.

Pool cleaning robots are a thing!

Speaking of interesting… what’s bubbling up from the depths here? It’s not jaws… it’s an autonomous pool cleaning robot.

I saw so many pool cleaning robots. I didn’t realize this was a thing. They crawl around your pool, and even up the sides to suction dirt, sand and debris into an internal filter basket. These might be less popular in Canada, but I bet here in the southern USA they’re all the rage, so I might have to review one while I’m visiting.

New robot vacuum technology

From a robot vacuum for your pool to new technology in robot vacuums, Narwal had a pretty impressive demo for its new anti tangle technology.

Any fellow long-hairs out there know longer hair can really get wrapped around your robot vac’s brush, but this version features a floating roller that also suctions hair off one end of the roller and into the dustbin. Cool.

Smart lighting & smart home: Govee

I’m a huge fan of smart lighting and the Govee booth didn’t disappoint.

With all their new lights on display, as well as a lot of new smart home appliances too it was great to see everything in action.

The Rope Lights have been improved, making them more flexible, so you can more easily draw with light if you’re artistic that way.

Or you can combine several Govee lights in your TV or media room for a whole-room glow that can match your TV.

There was also cool outdoor light options too. I’ll be hoping to do more Govee reviews later this year since it’s one of my favourite smart home lighting brands.

In-home composting

There’s a tonne of smart home stuff here things you wouldn’t necessarily think you need, like a composter that can take food scraps and turn it into compost.

That all happens in this closed bin, right inside your kitchen. Cool idea I’d love to try out.

CES Day 1 highlights

From transparent TVs, to space-age coffee machines, smart toilets… yup… and robot window cleaners, CES 2024 kicked off with plenty of excitement…

It’s the biggest opportunity in the world to show off the newest and coolest consumer technology and big brands spare no expense trying to dazzle media and product buyers. Plus there’s plenty of YouTube celebrities in the crowd, like iJustine – fangirl moment!

LG transparent TV

If you’ve always hated the way a TV looks in your space; kind of big dark scree, then LG has a new tv –a transparent TV that literally disappears..

LG showed off its transparent TVs on a massive scale, but these are now designed to be used in an average home. With a clear glass screen that can turn to a solid display panel in the blink of an eye, you can place them in front of a wall unit for example, and still see your stuff… until you switch on the TV.

Also at LG the company showed off a concept car, a smart trailer you could pull with the car and a really cool but kinda weird pod coffee maker called Duobo… while it looks like an alien robot spider, LG says this is designed to use multiple Nespresso pods to create custom coffee blends. This seems like it would use more pods than necessary, but if you guys out there are mixing your Nespresso pods wanted at a time and think this would be better, let me know in the comments.

New robots from Ecovacs at CES 2024

Ecovacs showed off its brand new DEEBOT X2 Combo; this unit combines my absolute favourite robot vacuum and mop system the X2, with a stick vacuum concept that’s built right in. Everything empties into the bin so you never have to touch anything. I’ll be hoping to get hands on with this one later this year so share any questions you have in the meantime.

Ecovacs is also about to enter some pretty cool new space with its robot lawnmower. Playfully called the GOAT, this fully automated lawn robot is a beautiful piece of machinery, and if it operates as easily as the company’s robot vacuums, this could be a massive game changer for yardwork.

And not to be outdone the company also shared its automated window cleaning robot—the Winbot W2. With a companion water tank and cleaning system, it sections to your windows to clean them autonomously and also appears to master fleet get into corners.

Ecovacs also announced a roving air purifier that will follow you around the house and keep your air clean.

Over at the Tineco booth, there were three new vacuums and a smart oven. Check out more details in my full article here on the blog.

Smart bird feeders from Birdfy

I was also charmed by these smart bird houses and bird feeders from Birdfy… with cameras to capture your feathered visitors it’s a great way to learn about your environment. The Hummingbird feeder is particularly neat with not one but two cameras at different angles. I’ll be getting hands-on to review this one later this season…

Another cool gadget that caught my eye is these earring headphones from Yvnens. Possibly one of the most beautiful sets of earbuds I’ve ever seen.

This is just the most impressive stuff I saw on day one…

New TVs from Samsung: transparent TV, New Frame TV

Before the show even officially got underway, Samsung already announced some updates to what it calls its lifestyle TV category, which includes a product we’ve written a lot about: The Frame TV. Sadly though, the news seems to be more about software updates, as opposed to hardware improvements.

• The Frame: Already the best-selling lifestyle screen product, The Frame comes with new enhancements to boost the art experience. Now with over 2,500 artworks from world-renowned museums and galleries in the Art Store, users can enjoy an Art Store experience that is even better than before. The Frame’s new art streaming feature gives users a taste of the Art Store’s diverse collection by providing them with free hand-selected artworks monthly. Moreover, the 2024 Frame helps reduce energy costs by up to 10% with the variable refresh rate adjustment available in Art Mode.⁸
• The Premiere 8K Projector: The Premiere 8K is the world’s first projector offering wireless connectivity. Removing the need for cables, this solution allows consumers to keep their living spaces neat and tidy. The ultra-short throw projector comes packed with smart features — such as picture-off premium home audio, cloud gaming, always-on voice with far-field mic and four multi-view screen splits — to extend usability and provide almost increased use cases. The projector incorporates Samsung’s patented “Sound-on-Screen” technology, integrating the top speaker module and software algorithms for an immersive sound experience.
• The Freestyle 2^nd Gen: The second iteration of the portable projector features Smart Edge Blending, which supports seamless merging of projections from two The Freestyle devices to create a large screen for pictures and videos. It allows two devices to project an image as big as 160-inches with a 21:9 screen ratio, with no manual adjustment needed.

Samsung has also announced the new Transparent MICRO LED TV, saying it offers “infinite possibilities with its modular design and…clear, unobstructed pictures for various applications”. The screen, which Samsung claims looks like a piece of transparent glass,  that eliminates seams and light reflection.  What does this magical TV look like, how close to consumer reality is it, and is it really cool as it seems? We will check it out in the coming days at the show.

Sennheiser announces new headphones

Sennheiser flung out multiple media releases this morning, announcing new headphones and earbuds.

MOMENTUM Sport integrates both a photoplethysmography (PPG) heart rate sensor and a body temperature sensor that can each output critical data to popular fitness apps and devices. It’s no secret that the right playlist can make or break a workout—a high-energy soundtrack can motivate when the finish line feels impossibly far. Now, the power of Sennheiser Sound is optimized for sports and supercharged with real-time biometric feedback for workouts that are far more efficient than a pure-adrenaline approach. As the inner ear is an optimal, dark location with a low degree of light pollution and is one of the most stable areas of the body during physical activity, MOMENTUM Sport can offer consistent biometrics, even at the peak of a workout.

There’s also now a MOMENTUM True Wireless 4. MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 features all-new internals and over a dozen improvements including Snapdragon Sound Technology with Qualcomm aptX Lossless Technology, Auracast, and ultra-low-latency mode, the portable powerhouse series brings uncompromised sound to the high-performance audio enthusiast.

“The Qualcomm S5 Gen 2 Sound Platform and Snapdragon Sound will deliver premium sound experiences for music, calls, and gaming with lossless music streaming, ultra-low latency and robust connectivity,” according to Mike Canevaro, Director of Marketing, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We have a long history of collaboration with the Sennheiser brand, and we are excited to see them integrate our latest Snapdragon Sound technology to help deliver amazing wireless audio on their latest MOMENTUM True Wireless 4.

MOMENTUM True Wireless 4 also boasts up to 7.5 hours of battery—extendable to 30 hours with the charging case—and quick charging capability where you can get up to 1 hour of additional listening from just 8 minutes of charging, and it’s also Qi wireless charging compatible. Sennheiser has also upgraded the earbuds’ long-term battery performance with a battery protection mode that optimizes charging cycles.

​

Samsung’s Bot Chef kitchen robot; CES 2020.While the show is open to members of the media like us, it is actually closed to the general public, meaning you’ll have to follow news and announcements on your favourite tech websites. Of course we will have the latest updates right here and on video at YouTube.com/ErinLawrenceTV

Watch my video about CES Day 1 Highlights

For consumers and gadget lovers you can expect to hear about the coolest tech and gadgets that have just been released or will be coming later this year.

Without a doubt there’s going to be a lot of Artificial Intelligence at CES 2024. AI is already a buzzword, and brands have been slapping it on every gadget with a chip (in some cases disingenuously, in our opinion). The Consumer Technology Association, the entity that holds CES, expects over 130,000 attendees at the show with over 3,500 different brands or vendors — including companies like Sony, ECOVACS, Samsung, Canon, LG, Lenovo, etc…

You can expect without a doubt to see all manner of new and exciting developments on the Television front. From room-sized TVs to ones that can morph and change and even disappear, plenty of overseas Electronics brands are keen to show off what they can do to make a homes most important Central gadget more useful and more beautiful.

Vehicles tend to be another set of surprises at CES; a couple of years ago I saw a life-size prototype of a flying taxi. Sony also revealed it’s getting into the car business as well… That as far as I know we are yet to see any of their offerings hit the road. Hyundai also likes to share what it has going on in the innovation space plenty of interesting transportation options to come out of the show.

Whichever tech you’re most interested in, let us know and if we should be on the lookout for something for you, post your wish list in the comments.

The post What’s cool at CES 2024 appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Black Friday is no longer just one day; many holiday sales began earlier this week, including Amazon’s annual Holiday extravaganza. Since today is Black Friday, and the ‘official’ start to the holiday shopping season, we again spent hours poring over the deals, specifically in the tech and gadget space (that’s our specialty!) to find the ones that are the best bargains we’ve seen all year, and the biggest savings and markdowns. The good news is, if you’ve been surfing the deals earlier this week but waiting to buy, almost all the super deals we found earlier are still on! Now there’s even more bargains to be had. Here’s the list, divvied up by Amazon.com in the USA and Amazon.ca in Canada and each price listed in local currency. We’ve also added new deals we found today.

You may also want to check out our Amazon deals watch page where we curate some of the top products and monitor them for low prices, as we go through the weekend and into Cyber Monday.

What Amazon deals can I expect?

Amazon announced earlier this month that its Black Friday event starts Friday, November 17, giving customers more days and more deals to shop than last year’s event, and that it will see some of the lowest prices of the year so far on select products. You can find deals from popular brands like Samsung, HP, ASUS, Dell, VTech, Canon, GoPro, Fujifilm, and more, including and up to 49% off select Vitamix blenders, up to 40% off select KitchenAid appliances, up to 35% off select Shark vacuums, up to 35% off select Bosch tools and accessories, and up to 35% off select Garmin products.

Unexpected Apple deals and Dyson deals

Companies like Apple and Dyson, who almost never put their products on sale have also surprised us by offering big discounts this year. See below for what we think are the lowest prices you’ll see on these premium gadgets.

What are some good Amazon deals?

Amazon will continue to spread the joy of seasonal savings into its Cyber Monday weekend event starting Saturday, November 25, and running through Monday, November 27, with even more festive deals from top brands like Cosori, Ninja, Mattel, Hasbro, FitBit, and Wyze. With discounts of up to 74% off select Cuisinart appliances, up to 40% off select electronics from Anker, up to 40% off select Delonghi products, up to 38% off select Hamilton Beach appliances, up to 30% off select Dremel tools.

Small Business deals

Do you prefer dealing with smaller or family businesses? It’s great to support smaller retailers too, and Amazon makes it easy to get the benefits of fast shipping and trustworthy products, on a smaller scale.

Amazon is promoting small Canadian retailers with its Small Business hub if you’d like to shop smaller and more local. A similar Small Business holiday hub is available for Amazon in the USA.

Now… let’s get to the deals!

Amazon.com / Amazon USA best tech deals

Latest Black Friday Deals – updated November 24, 2023

Amazon Kindle Scribe Regular $389 NOW  $279.99 – Save 28%

Kindle Oasis Regular $249 NOW $179.99 _ Save 28%

MANY iRobot Robot vacuums discounted 28-42% off! Click here to see them all

Biggest Price Cut – Roomba 694 Robot vacuum – Regular $274 NOW $159

Amazing Deal – iRobot Roomba Combo j5+ Self-Emptying Robot Vacuum & Mop Regular $799 NOW $499 – Save 38%

Get TWO bots for one lower price – iRobot Roomba s9+ (9550) Robot Vacuum & Braava Jet m6  Regular $1249 NOW $899 – Save 28%

Lowest price we’ve seen! Beats Studio Pro Over Ear headphones Regular $349 NOW $169 – save 51%!

JBL Earbuds 30-50% off

Amazon Fire TV Stick HD – Regular $39 NOW $19.99 – Save 50%

Sony WH-1000XM4 Wireless Premium Noise Canceling headphones Regular $348 NOW $248 – Save 29%

TV Deal! – Toshiba 75-inch Class C350 Series LED 4K UHD Smart Fire TV Regular $799 NOW $499.99 – Save 38%

Best Robot Vacuum Deals

ECOVACS Deebot T20 OMNI – Regular Price $1099.99 NOW $799.99 – Save 27%! Read our full review of this OUTSTANDING bot-vac here.

NEW Deal – Roborock S7 max Ultra Robot vac + mop – Regular $1299 NOW $949 – Save 27%

NEW Deal – Roborock Q5+ Robot vacuum Regular $699 NOW $399 – Save 43%

NEW Deal – Roborock Q Revo Regular $899 NOW $679.99 – Save 24% Read our FULL review of Q Revo here.

Home security product deals

NEW Deal – Google Nest Thermostat – Smart Thermostat Regular $129 NOW $89.99 – Save 31%

Ring Video Doorbell Pro 2- Regular Price $249 NOW $149 – Save 40%

Ring Video Doorbell – Regular Price $99 NOW $54.99 – Save 45%

Ring Spotlight Cam Plus, Battery – Regular Price $169.99 NOW $119 – Save 29%

Or, see ALL Amazon’s Ring deals here.

Blink Outdoor 4 wireless camera – Regular Price for 3 cameras $269.99 NOW $134.99 – Save 50%  See our full review of Blink Outdoor 4 here.

Kitchen and Appliance deals

Ninja Blast Portable Blender – Regular Price $59.99 NOW $49.99 – Save 17% – Read our full review

Cosori Air Fryer – Regular price $119.99 NOW $99.99 – Save 17%  Read our FULL review of this Cosori Air Fryer.a

Best Health and Fitness Deals

NEW Deal – QardioArm Blood Pressure monitor Regular $99 NOW $72 – Save 28%

Fitbit Charge 6 – Regular Price $159.95 NOW $99.95 – Save 38% 

Withings BMP Connect blood pressure cuff – Regular price $129.95 NOW $97.46 – save 25% Read our full review of Withings BPM here.

Apple Deals on Amazon

Apple AirTag 4-pack – Regular Price $99.99 NOW $79.99 – Save 19%

Apple Watch Series 9 GPS – Regular price $508 NOW $428 – Save 15%

Apple iPad 10th Gen – Regular Price $518 NOW $403 – Save 22%

AirPods Pro 2nd Gen – Regular Price $249.99 NOW $189.99 – Save 24%

Other worthy tech and gadget deals in the USA

Amazon Echo Pop smart speaker with Kasa smart bulb – Regular price $62.98 NOW $17.99 – Save 71%!!

NEW Deal – Echo Show 8, 2nd Gen Regular $129 NOW $54.99 – Save 58%!

NEW Deal – BIG Bundle Value – Echo Show 5 (3rd Gen, 2023 release) PLUS  TP-Link Kasa Smart Color Bulb Regular $1122 NOW $39.99 – Save 64%!

Amazon.ca / Amazon Canada best tech deals

Latest Black Friday Deals – updated November 24, 2023

Philips 3200 Automatic Espresso Machine Regular $999 NOW $699 – Save 30% – See our review of this machine here. A TechGadgets Favourite!

De’Longhi Dinamica Plus Fully Automatic Espresso Machine Regular $2099 NOW $1599.99 – Save 24%

Amazon Echo Dot 5th Gen smart speaker Regular $69 NOW $34.99 – Save 50% Read our full review of the new generation Echo Dot here.

e-reader alert! Kindle Oasis Essentials Bundle including Kindle Oasis, Fabric Cover, and Power AdapterRegular $399 NOW $249.97 – Save 37%  Read our full review of Kindle Oasis here.

Best Robot Vacuum Deals

NEW Deal – Roborock Q7 MAX Robot vacuum Regular $799 NOW $499.99 – Save 38%

NEW Deal – iRobot Roomba Combo j9+ Self-Emptying & Auto-Fill Robot Vacuum & Mop Regular $1799 NOW $1399.99 – Save 22%

ECOVACS Deebot T20 OMNI – Regular Price $1799.99 NOW $999.99 – save 44%! – Outstanding bot! Read our full review.

Ring home security product deals

Ring Video Doorbell- Regular Price $129.99 NOW $69 – Save 46%

Ring Video Doorbell Wired- Regular Price $84.99 NOW $44.99 – Save 47%

Ring Video Doorbell Pro – regular Price $134.99 NOW $224.99 – Save 40%

Health & wellness gadgets

Fitbit Charge 6 – Regular Price $219.95 NOW $149.95 – Save 32%

Philios Sonicare 6100 smart toothbrush – Regular Price $159.99 NOW $190.95 – save 31% See our full review of Sonicare 6100 here.

Dyson Deals

NEW Deal- Dyson OMNI Glide sweeper – Regular $549 NOW $398.00 – Save 27% – Read our full review of this handy device.

Dyson Purifier Hot + Cool – Regular Price $899.99 NOW $699.99 – Save 22% – See our FULL Review of the Hot + Cool here.

Dyson V15 Detect Cordless Vacuum- regular price $999.99 NOW $799.99 – save 20%  See our FULL review of Dyson V15 here.

Dyson SuperSonic hairdryer – Regular price $579.99 NOW $479.99 – Save 17% Check out the full review of Dyson Supersonic here.

Dyson AirWrap styler – Regular price $799.99 NOW $649.99 – Save 19% Check out the full review of Dyson AirWrap on the blog.

Other worthy tech and gadget deals in Canada

Apple AirTag 4-pack – Regular Price $129.99 NOW $118.98 – Save 19%

AirPods Pro 2nd Gen – Regular Price $329 NOW $267.99 – Save 19%

Amazon Echo Pop – regular Price $54.99 NOW $24.99 – Save 55%!

Govee Smart Light bulbs – Regular price $49.99 NOW $18.22 – Save 64!

Samsung The Frame TV 75-inch – Regular Price $3762.11 NOW $3099.99 – Save 18%

Cosori Air Fryer – Regular price $149.99 NOW $119.99 – Save 20%  Read our FULL review of this Cosori Air Fryer.

Beats Studio Pro over ear headphones – Regular Price $469.99 NOW $299.95 – Save 36%

JBL Go2 small portable speaker – Regular Price $49.99 NOW $29.98 – Save 40%!

Have YOU found a mega deal or true steal? Post your recommendation for other shoppers in the comments and we’ll add them to the list!

The post Best Black Friday tech deals from Amazon appeared first on TechGadgetsCanada.com.

Best Robot Vacuums

The key to finding the best robot vacuum for your household is to analyze its features carefully to see if they match your needs and learn how well the vacuum performs as advertised. After we reviewed numerous vacuums, we narrowed down the list to our three top picks below. We highly recommend checking out our reviews for each pick to make sure any of the vacuums’ weaknesses aren’t deal breakers for you.

Budget Pick: Yeedi Cube

The Yeedi Cube has convinced us that the absolute minimum you should pay for a brand-new robot vacuum is $500 USD. The Yeedi brand isn’t exactly a household name, but it doesn’t carry a heavy brand tax like other products. More importantly, the Yeedi Cube is an all-in-one vacuum that does all the essentials very well from vacuuming dust and pet hair to mopping hardwood floor. The Yeedi Cube has good mapping capabilities and reliable self-cleaning and emptying features.

Check out our Yeedi Cube review to learn more about our budget champ, or find it at Walmart.

Midrange Pick: Roborock S7 max V Ultra

Roborock is a more popular robot vacuum brand with a wee bit too many models to pick from. We reviewed quite a bit of them and decided on crowning the Roborock S7 max V Ultra as our midrange pick. Retailing at about $899 USD, this robot vac-mop boasts a maximum suction power of 5,100Pa and is more adept in avoiding obstacles thanks to its ReactiveAI 2.0 tech.

Learn more about this vacuum’s strengths in our full Roborock S7 max V Ultra review, or find it on Amazon.

Premium Pick: ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 OMNI

This oddly shaped robo vacuum makes more than just a fashion statement; it offers a full suite of premium vacuum features ranging from LIDAR to hot air drying and all the mopping and scrubbing smarts in between.

The $1,499 USD price is quite eye-watering but our in-depth ECOVACS DEEBOT X2 OMNI review could possibly wipe those tears! Find it on Amazon.

Best Over-ear Headphones

For many products, you get what you pay for. However, when it comes to cheap over-ear headphones, you might not realize that fact if you never listened to a pair of headphones costing more than $70 USD. So, if you know someone still jamming with a pair of wired earbuds that came with the device they’re using, treat them to a better audio quality experience that may involve enhanced bass, subtle instruments popping out more, getting rid of ambient noise, and other niceties. It all depends on how much you’re willing to pay.

Budget Pick: Audio-Technica ATH-M20xBT

Audio-Technica didn’t introduce any budget over-ear headphones models this year leaving the ATH-M20xBT as the priciest pair of wireless headphones under $100. It may look cheap and can feel a bit uncomfortable after medium-term wearing, but it hits some high notes in both audio quality and passive noise isolation. And oh, it has USB-C charging too unlike some past greats!

Come read our Audio-Technica ATH-M20xBT review to learn more, or find it on Amazon.

Midrange Pick: Sennheiser 450 BT

If active noise canceling is a must-have on the menu, the Sennheiser 450 BT is one of the cheapest options to get there as you can find it discounted for around $129 USD. Sennheiser released the 450 BT three years ago, but its specs still hold up with USB-C connectivity along with Bluetooth 5.0 and SBC, AAC, and aptX codec support.

Our detailed Sennheiser 450 BT review explains other things we liked about these cans. You can find them on Amazon.

Premium Pick: Sennheiser Momentum 4 Review

Sennheiser scores another win in our TechGadgets book with the Sennheiser Momentum 4 capturing the $299 price bracket. That price is quite a bit for a lackluster design, but our complaints end here; the rest of the features is a step above many of its competitors. The battery life lasts several days, sound quality is astounding, and its Transparency Mode is a real gift for focusing.

Learn more about its features in our hands-on Sennheiser Momentum 4 Reviews. Find it on Amazon.

Luxury Pick: Bowers & Wilkins P.X. 7 S2e

If you have that special audiophile someone, consider the Bowers & Wilkins PX 7 S2e. Not only does it offer a premium unboxing experience, but it delivers serene audio quality and feels very comfortable.

We reviewed its predecessor, the Bowers & Wilkins PX 7 and it looks like the S2e model improved its active noise canceling which was our main complaint with the original model. The headphones sit at the $399 USD tier, but it had $150 discount not too long ago so wait for Black Friday if this is on your wish list! You can find it on Amazon.

Best Wireless Earbuds

Wireless earbuds always make for nice little stocking stuffers, and we have a few picks here that can easily multiply the value of an innocent red sock.

Fitness Pick: Skullcandy Push Active Earbuds

Fitness at Skullcandy might look odd in the same sentence but throw in a sub-$80 USD price tag and it certainly got our attention! You won’t get any noise cancellation here but the IP55 sweat-resistant rating combined with good battery life makes the Skullcandy Push Active a great gift for fitness fans.

Just give our Skullcandy Push Active review a read to discover some of its minor weaknesses. But that two-toned charger is quite the looker! You can find it on Amazon.

ANC Pick: Jabra Elite 4

If you want to go the active noise canceling route instead of the fitness route for gifting, the Jabra Elite 4 is a good candidate. Yes, the newer Jabra Elite 5 exists but the Elite 4 continues to sell often dipping below its original $99 price.

Have a look at our Jabra Elite 4 review to learn other neat features this pair of wireless earbuds offers. You can find it on Amazon.

Premium Pick: Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2

If the gift calls for top tier audio quality for around $400, consider the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 in your shortlist. It ticks nearly every box in terms of features except for its IP54 water resistance which translates to “not sweat resistant”. However, it ticks the rest of the boxes with very bold strokes. Lows, mids, and highs all sound vibrant with great noise cancellation and passthrough performance.

Like its over-ear cousin, the Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 S2 model is a refreshed version of the original Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 which we reviewed. The S2 improvements are minor but the company claims they improved the battery life and Bluetooth range. It’s almost like B&W read our Bowers & Wilkins Pi7 review because that was our only main issue with it! You can find it on Amazon.

Best Appliances

There’s no shortage of great appliances you can gift to your friends and family. So for this year’s holiday tech shopping guide, we’ll focus on some appliances in a few categories that each have a neat little trick that will surely wow him or her.

Kettle Pick: Hamilton Beach Alexa Smart Kettle

What can get really hot, has Alexa integration, and costs under $80? Why a Hamilton Alexa Smart Kettle, of course! But rest assured because asking your trusty Amazon Echo device to boil water for you isn’t as silly as you sound once you try it. Plus, it boils water rather quickly!

Read our hands-on Hamilton Beach Alexa Smart Kettle review or check out our video review to see it in action! You can find it on Amazon.

Blender Pick: Ninja Blast Portable

The Ninja Blast Portable is a small, innocent-looking blender that can crush ice (with a bit of liquid) and make a nice little smoothie good enough for a single person on the go. Not so innovative, right? But here’s the trick up its sleeve; you can charge the blender via USB-C! How cool is that?!

Find out what else we loved about this blender by reading our Ninja Blast Portable review. You can find it on Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart.

Air Fryer Pick: COSORI 6-quart TurboBlaze

You know anybody who’s not yet onboard the air fryer hype train? This is the year to be that special Santa because COSORI’s trick with its new COSORI 6-quart TurboBlaze Air Fryer is right on its name! The “TurboBlaze” technology is more than just a fancy trademark as the air fryer sports a DC motor which helps make the air fryer work more quietly while speeding up cooking times.

Get the full rundown of this air fryer and why it got a perfect five-star rating in our COSORI 6-quart TurboBlaze review. You can find it on Amazon.

Coffee Pick: Ninja 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker

The Ninja 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker might be the most boring looking product in our appliance list but don’t let that fool you. For under $70 USD, you get a coffee brewer that not only has a 12-cup water reservoir but is removable as well! This means refills are less of a hassle which is a huge plus for the daily multi-coffee cup lover.

This coffee machine has a few other neat features we liked which you can find in our full Ninja 12 Cup Programmable Coffee Maker review. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Best Wearables

Ordinary wristwatches will never go out of style, but the smartwatches released this 2023 would like to have a word. We heard what they have to say, and it involves some walled gardens. This makes buying a smartwatch easy to buy as a gift because all you need to do is figure out what phone the person uses!

Android Pick: Google Pixel Watch 2

The Google Pixel Watch 2 might only be a second-generation product but it’s the indisputable option for Google Pixel and Android users (unless you use a Samsung phone). It has the health and tracking soul of a Fitbit with an improved chip and larger battery over its predecessor.

Discover what else this Google smartwatch brings to the table in our Google Pixel Watch 2 review. You can find it on Amazon.

Samsung Pick: Samsung Galaxy Watch 6

The Google Pixel Watch 2 should work with any Samsung phone running Android 9.0 or newer but the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 offers deeper integration with Samsung’s services like Samsung Health.

We dedicated a special section in our Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 review highlighting the special features its One UI interface brings. Just be aware of the stricter requirements before considering as the Galaxy Watch 6 only supports Samsung devices with Android 10.0 or newer. You can find it on Amazon.

Apple Pick: Apple Watch Series 9

We have not reviewed the latest Apple Watch but because of Apple’s strict ecosystem, it’s impossible for us to recommend anything else for Apple users! Yes, Apple does sell older models as well as a budget-friendly SE option, but if you are going to gift an Apple product, you might as well gift something that will last multiple years because older and lower-end models will be first on the chopping block for end-of-life support. Always buy the latest model as it comes with the latest internal hardware to support newer WatchOS versions later down the road. You can find it on Amazon.

Best Portable Speakers

Portable speakers are great budget options for gifting to just about anyone! When it comes to the current crop of products, looks can be deceiving and here’s a few that caught our eyes and later our ears!

Budget Pick: JBL Go 3

The JBL Go 3 is an excellent gift not just for your average folk but also for kids as it is small, rugged, and comes in various colors. It sounds great for its size and costs only $49 USD / $59 CAD which is just enough to forgive its middling 5-hour battery life.

Find out what else this weatherproof Bluetooth speaker offers in our full JBL Go 3 review. You can find it on Amazon, Canadian Tire, or Walmart.

Spatial Audio Pick: Anker SoundCore Motion X600

The average music streaming lover might be missing out on a third dimension of their favorite songs. This is your chance to be that cool friend or relative by gifting a speaker with spatial audio and the Anker SoundCore Motion X600 offers just that for just $199 USD / $269 CAD. Just prepare the wrapping paper because this speaker is a bit larger yet still portable thanks to its non-foldable handle.

You can read more about its full feature set in our Anker SoundCore Motion X600 review. You can find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

Premium Portable Pick: Marshall Willen

If the JBL Go 3 is too pedestrian for your tastes and you’re willing to spend a bit more than double its price, the Marshall Willen speaker is the one to get. $120 USD / $179 CAD gets you a tiny, but loud speaker that has that classic guitar amp look. It also boasts an IP67 weather-resistant rating and can last about 15 hours from a full charge.

Take a look at our full Marshall Willen review for a deeper dive. You can find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

Best Smart Lighting

When it comes to smart lighting, you might feel tempted to go cheap and settle for the first sponsored listing you see in a typical Amazon search. However, you might end up with a product that works well for a few days and later has issues. Avoid those pitfalls by sticking with some of our tried-and-tested picks here!

Bulb Pick: Amazon Basics Smart Light Bulbs

Have a friend or relative you are frequently in touch with via Amazon Echo? An easy and inexpensive gift idea is to get an Amazon Basics Smart Light bulb as it is easy to set up via the Alexa app. If you feel hesitant with the small packaging or the $13 USD price tag, you can always consider the 4-pack for a bigger gift impact!

To find out what else you can do with this smart light, check out our Amazon Basics Smart Light Bulb review. You can find it on Amazon.

Toilet Pick: IllumiBowl Motion-Activated Toilet Night Light

If you want to hide some hearty laughing gas in your Christmas gift for not much money, the IllumniBowl Motion-Activated Toilet Night Light is a good candidate! A light for your toilet sounds like something you would encounter in TEMU but this $15 USD / $17.50 CAD motion light really works. Just add a trio of AAA batteries, attach the arm with no tools required, and you’re good to go!

If you’re still not convinced, you can check out our photos of the light in action in our full IllumniBowl Motion-Activated Toilet Night Light review. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Table Pick: Ilios Lighting Rechargeable Table Mirror

If you have some money to spare and want to gift a light that will get a lot of use, we recommend the $139 USD Ilios Lighting Rechargeable Table Mirror. With its internal rechargeable battery, you can light up the mirror’s outer bezel away from the outlet. This level of freedom is only something you must experience to appreciate it and Ilios even bundles it with a cool suction cup attachment making it travel-friendly as well.

Want to know more about the lighting specs? Check out our Ilios Lighting Rechargeable Table Mirror review! You can find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

Curtain Pick: Govee Curtain Lights

Another clever way to spend $140-ish USD on smart lighting is to get a bunch of tiny lights that can do all sorts of neat tricks. With the Govee Curtain Lights, you get 520 teardrop-shaped lights specifically! The best part? These lights do not require a smart hub and work with Alexa and Google Assistant.

To find out what you can do with these lights after setting them up, see our full Govee Curtain Lights review. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Best Health Gadgets

A health-focused gadget might not be an exciting holiday tech shopping category for some folks, but you never know, a single smart gift could change some habits for the better! Here’s some health gadgets we positively reviewed.

Toothbrush Pick: usmile Y10 PRO Smart Toothbrush

The usmile Y10 PRO Smart Toothbrush is like the modern embodiment of an electric toothbrush. It has a cool digital screen, has 4 brushing modes, and charges via USB-C. Brush head replacements are a bit on the pricey side but at least it comes with two brush heads which is reasonable for the $100 USD asking price.

Our usmile Y10 PRO Smart Toothbrush review breaks down all the features and includes an Amazon US coupon code for getting a cool $15 discount!

You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Blood Pressure Monitor Pick: QardioArm Blood Pressure Monitor

Finding a good medical product like a blood pressure monitor requires a bit of extra care because you want something from a reputable brand and has proven to work throughout the years. The QardioArm has over 4,000 positive reviews on Amazon US and offers apps for sharing blood pressure data that continues to get updates and also received positive reviews.

We also have our own QardioArm Blood Pressure Monitor review where you can learn more about our findings after using the product. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Sleep Pick: Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake Up Light

Did you know Amazon Echo Show devices have a “Wake-up Lighting” feature that tries to synchronize the display’s brightness and other smart lights with the sunrise? If configured correctly, the feature should help you sleep or wake up, but your results will vary from setup to setup. If you want a product offering real results, you must look back to the past and give the Philips SmartSleep Connect Sleep and Wake Up Light a try. Philips wake-up lights have been around for decades, and this particular model comes with a ton of features.

You’ll have to head to our Philips SmartSleep Connected Sleep and Wake Up Light review to learn more about them. You can find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

Best Beauty Gadgets

When it comes to beauty gadgets, you won’t find any budget picks in our small list here. You do have to pay a bit of a premium for the best experience and that usually means, minimal to no fuss!

Epilator Pick: Philips Epilator 8000

Pulling hairs by the roots equates to pain but the Philips Epilator 8000 says no to that! The $110 USD package includes several swappable attachments which you can use depending on the area.

The TL;DR version is that it isn’t a pain to use but check out our Philips Epilator 8000 review for our full thoughts or our video review to see it in action. Just take note that this isn’t a product for the face; we have a recommendation for that just below!

You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Facial Pick: FOREO LUNA 4

The FOREO LUNA 4 is another product we gave a perfect score to despite its high price because it cleans the face so well. This all-in-one cleansing brush has been around for a bit more than a year and you can currently find it on Amazon for about $180 at the time of writing which is a historical low!

This gadget is packed with too many features to fit here so check out our FOREO LUNA 4 review for the full rundown. You can find it on Amazon or Best Buy.

Hair Styler Pick: Shark FlexStyle

The Dyson Airwrap is a wonderful product but the high price really makes this a gift you want to give to yourself. For other folks, you don’t have to feel guilty in gifting a Shark FlexStyle as it offers tremendous value for the money.

You’ll have to resort to our Shark FlexStyle Multi-styler review to learn more about the attachments and its performance. For a little summary, it’s a powerful blow dryer, feels a bit heavy but compact, and it does hot curling well after a bit of practice. You can find it on Amazon, Best Buy, or Walmart.

Creative Tech Gifts for the Person Who Has Everything

Gifting a tech-savvy person who has many of our top picks or worthy competitors to these picks will be a bit more challenging. That’s where this special list comes in as we dug up some hidden gems that might not be for everyone but could serve as fun, clever gifts!

Ember Mug 2

A $150 “smart mug” might give you that visual of spitting out your recent morning sip in shock. But gift this to any coffee or tea connoisseur and you can expect a resounding gesture of gratitude. Preparing the best cup of tea or coffee involves a lot of tinkering with the liquid temperature and one of the Ember Mug 2’s key features is maintaining that temperature to the exact value you can set in the app. Yes, you can control this mug with your phone, and it comes with a few cool smart features like an LED indicator once it reaches your preferred temperature and an auto-sleep function to conserve battery life.

Still curious how this all works? Come and have some tea with our Ember Mug 2 review! You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Tineco Smart Toaster

Air fryers? Those are for rookies! Smart toasters are the current buzz… at least in Tineco’s world! Bagging an iF Design Award this year, the Tineco Toasty One is more than just a fancy spaceship-like appliance and certainly got us curious.

After fiddling with the appliance’s touchscreen and dabbling with various toast settings, we gave it top marks. Find out why in our Tineco Toasty One smart toaster review. You can find it on Amazon.

Thermomix TM6

Thought the Tineco Smart Toaster was outworldly? Meet the Thermomix TM6 according to the manufacturer is an “all-in-one kitchen assistant”! Automation is the name of the game with the Thermomix TM6 from food processing to cooking to cleaning itself.

Boasting 20 kitchen functions, you do have to pay $1,500 for that luxury, but our full Thermomix TM6 review explains just how such a high amount is actually great value for the money. And if by rare chance the person you want to gift has one, you can always consider gifting a Thermomix Cutter! YOu can find one on the Theromix website.

BLUETTI Power Station

A good chunk of our picks in this list are useless without a power source. The same can be said with gadgets that run out of battery and have no place to charge if you suddenly experience a power outage. Having a BLUETTI Power Station serves as a second wind for these devices making them perfect gifts for the tech lover. BLUETTI offers a wide range of power stations in different sizes and energy specs to suit various use cases.

Check out our recent BLUETTI post on products to learn more about the different power stations and its uses or read our BLUETTI AC180 review to discover what you can do with 1,800 watts of portable power. You can find it on Amazon or Walmart.

Himiway D5 Zebra

When it comes to shopping for an e-bike, a lot of the usual tech knowledge simply doesn’t apply. Many of the brands in this space are out of the common tech bubble and various models target specific bikers. However, the Himiway D5 Zebra e-bike is a good bike to start with or gift to someone because of its easy assembly, stable ride, and adjustable settings.

Getting used to the bike’s massive 79-pound frame is necessary to appreciate the experience and you can get a glimpse of that from our Himiway D5 Zebra review. You can find it on Amazon.

Have any holiday tech ideas worth sharing? Do comment below! Happy holiday tech shopping!

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