Buying for someone who loves to read? Maybe someone more interested in writing? We have some ideas that could help.
Even though we live in a fairly digital world, there are gadgets that sometimes appeal to folks who yearn for more simple things that digital doesn’t always cater for.
Know someone who loves reading? How about someone who enjoys writing? Both of these are things the analogue approach caters for, with proper physically printed books, plus paper and a pen. But if you’re looking for a digital way to convert them from their analogue ways, this collection of gadgets for readers and writers could just change the way they deal with words.
Readers
If you know someone who loves to read and wants to connect digitally, but isn’t sure how to take the written word to a newer gadget, this list could help them get there.
Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition
Price: $289
A solid mid-range eBook reader boasting water resistance, wireless charging, and a great performance for eBooks, not to mention a warm colour to help your eyes adjust to low-light better, the Paperwhite Signature is a step in the next direction for what a digital book can do next.
Reviewing the Kindle Paperwhite Signature recently, we found it to be a solid choice, provided you didn’t mind living in Amazon’s Kindle store, which is the only place you can buy books from for a Kindle.
Kobo Sage
Price: $440
Spend a little more on an eReader, and you’ll get a little more in terms of features, which is what the Kobo Sage comes with.
A little bigger, still water resistant, but supporting a stylus to scribble notes plus audiobooks over Bluetooth, Kobo’s Sage gives you a little more capability from your eReading experience if that’s what the person you’re buying for craves. What’s more, it’ll take books found from outside Kindle, meaning bookshops in Australia and even likely your local library.
Apple iPad Mini
Price: $749
While the previous two gadgets are all about reading, Apple’s compact and slim iPad Mini covers reading and more. It’s the tiny tablet to turn to if you’re buying for someone who wants one gadget to do it all, but reading is a big part.
Powerful like the larger iPad models, but available in a compact size, the iPad Mini revives the idea of a small tablet in a big way, updating the look and performance, and really just making the tiny tablet better in every way.
It won’t play nicely with a keyboard so it’s really not for writers, but with support for the Apple Pencil, you might even find whoever gets it can scribbler a few notes here and there, as well.
Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3
Price: $2499
A phone for someone who digs entertainment, the Z Fold 3’s thin phone screen opens up into a 7.6 inch tablet, making it ideal for reading, whether it’s books or comics, or really anything else.
Granted, buying someone a phone for the holidays seems really, really unlikely, but if that person loves to digest reading and entertainment materials, the Z Fold 3 could make total sense, as we learned during our review of the Galaxy Z Fold 3.
Writers
Writers are a little different than readers. Granted, people can be both, but if you know someone who needs to get down to brass tacks and just write — just write — there’s a gadget or two that can help out, and not just because they have a keyboard.
For writers (which Pickr’s editor counts himself as), these are gifts that may help the writing process by offering a little relaxation, caffeine, or maybe just a better set of keys to write with.
Logitech MX Keys (either for Mac or PC)
Price: $199
One of the better keyboards we’ve come across, Logitech’s MX Keys comes in both a Mac version and a Windows PC version, though we recently spent time reviewing the MX Keys for Mac.
While it’s not necessarily a replacement for every writer, those who need a decent keyboard and want it without wires can look to Logitech’s
TimeChi
Price: $199
A crowd-funded project from Australia, TimeChi is all about prioritising time for workers, but also for anyone who needs their time segmented into little boxes and cut off from the world.
A little like a traffic light for work, TimeChi has made Time magazine’s best inventions of 2021, and while it won’t likely be out for the holidays — we checked with its creator — it will be out in the new year, meaning the present could be a little late, even if the message could still be delivered as “your work is important to us all”.
Sony WH-1000XM4
Price: $549
There are some genuinely great headphones out there, but in terms of price and performance, nothing really beats the value delivered by Sony’s WH-1000XM4.
Big, spacious, comfortable, and offering some of the best sound you can find to date, the noise cancelling tech of the WH-1000XM4 can place you in a bubble of just your tunes and thoughts, handy for budding writers. Plus, the fact that the headphones are obviously on your head should serve as a point worth talking about, because
Delonghi La Specialista Arte
Price: $749
A good source of caffeine is a must have for a writer, and while you can always rely on the trusty kettle and a good teabag, if a coffee machine is what will help, we’ve recently reviewed one that fits that bill.
Delonghi’s La Specialista Arte takes a bean choice and turns it into coffee with ease, essentially making anyone into a barista by guiding you into grinding the beans, quickly tamping them down, and then making espresso. Highly enjoyable espresso, and other espresso-based drinks.
Apple M1 MacBook Air
Price: $1499
Still one of the best laptops you can find, Apple’s M1 MacBook Air brings with it plenty of performance and battery life, and something that matters for writers: choice of writing apps.
We love writing on the iPad, sure, but thanks to macOS, the choice of writing app expands significantly, while also giving you the versatility you expect from a computer. Music control, web browsing, and as much as 18 hours, though likely closer to 15 for most people.
In short, the MacBook Air is a stellar laptop for writers, providing great performance, excellent battery life, and a comfy keyboard, all for the win.
