Father’s Day Gift Guide – for the more affordable Dad

Father's Day

We’ve already made a few Father’s Day suggestions for the well-heeled. But this time let’s keep things well under a thousand dollars and see what’s available. Remember, Father’s Day is on Sunday the 2nd of September this year.

Philips Laser Guided Trimmer Series 9000 shaver – $159.95

Father's Day

Does dad have a beard? Sideburns? Edges to his hairs that need to be kept in line? What’s better for Father’s Day than a gadget that combines high tech with traditional trimming technology? The Philips Laser Guided Trimmer promises “perfect symmetry” around those edges.

We haven’t laid hands on this one yet, but it looks like the trimmer casts a workmanlike laser line onto his skin. He uses that as a trim guide. It’s battery powered, of course, and fully waterproof. He can dial in the length he wants, with seventeen settings between 0.4mm and 7mm.

Read more about it at Philips’ website here.

Bose QuietComfort 35 II noise cancelling headphones – $499.95

Father's Day

Does dad travel? If he does, the best thing you can get him for Father’s Day is some fine noise-cancelling headphones. The Bose QuietComfort 35 II noise cancelling headphones offer two levels of noise reduction, with the higher level being the most impressive we’ve ever experienced.

Of course, they can work (without noise reduction) when the battery is flat, fed by the supplied cable. And as with other Bose headphones, they deliver impressively high-quality sound.

Read the gadgetguy.com review here.

Fitbit Versa smartwatch – $299.95

Father's Day

Fitness bands don’t have to be stark, utilitarian devices. Fitbit’s latest is the Versa. It’s more properly thought of as a smartwatch than a fitness band, although it does all that stuff just as well. As a Father’s Day present it’s versatile. That’s because it’s stylish, perfectly usable as a good looking watch. In other words, it is more than just a suggestion to dad that he get up from the couch and get the heart moving.

We certainly liked the Fitbit Versa very much (and indeed, one is adorning our wrist right now as we’re typing this). Read the gadgetguy.com Fitbit Versa review here.

Andatech AlcoSense breathalyser — $269 to $469

Father's Day

How about a Father’s Day gift that can help dad stay safe? And stay out of jail? A compact, portable breath tester can help him with both, especially after those all-important work-social gatherings. We’ve played with the Andatech AlcoSense line a few times, and we’ve been consistently impressed.

Indeed, we have drunk one or several glasses of wine for you, just to make sure they work. They do.

Wacom Bamboo Tip – $79.95

Father's Day

Does your dad have a tablet or touchscreen computer, but no “stylus” for it? His finger is fine for tapping buttons, but if wants to take notes or draw on his screen, it’s a stylus he needs. Wacom has been in the computer-drawing-interface game for roughly forever, so it knows what it’s doing with this kind of thing.

Make sure you read the gadgetguy.com.au review for a few tips on compatibility.

Nuraphone Bluetooth headphones – $499

Father's Day

We’re pretty sure that if your dad has spent any time on gadget websites he’d know about the Nuraphone Bluetooth headphones. They are advertised everywhere. When we checked them out, we had to agree that the Nuraphone headphones are thoroughly impressive.

Their main trick is that they tune their sound to your hearing. That worked in a good way. They also provide excellent noise reduction, both passively and actively. They’re probably not ideal for travelling because of their bulk, but otherwise your dad will likely love these for Father’s Day.

Read the gadgetguy.com.au review here.

iRobot Braava Jet 240 Mopping Robo – $479

Father's Day

Save dad from some of that housework! Any modern dad would love to be spared some of the tedium of home cleaning with a bit of intelligent assistance. You could consider an iRobot Roomba, but they can be quite pricey. The Braava, though, is quite a bit less expensive and is ideal for some light hard-floor maintenance.

So this Father’s Day, consider saving dad from the mop. Read the gadgetguy.com.au review here.

Nokia 3310 3G mobile phone – $89.95

Father's Day

Plenty of dads are as close to their smartphones as the typical teen (we’re looking at ourselves here). But a sizable segment of older Australians likes to use their phones to, well, make phone calls. And maybe text a bit, but that’s about it.

The problem is that since the 2G network disappeared, plenty of old phones don’t work any more. The Nokia 3310 3G is the answer to that. Read the gadgetguy.com.au take on this phone here. (And, yes, Nokia has plenty of smartphones out as well. Read our reviews of them here.)

Leatherman – from $44.94

Father's Day

Two stories. In 127 Hours, James Franco is a trapped rock climber. As his blade rapidly wears away, he laments that he has only a cheap knock-off of a Leatherman. The other? Right in front of me on my desk is a Leatherman Skeletool, one of the finest Father’s Day gifts I ever received.

Leatherman models range from less than $50 up to many hundreds. And for $10 extra you can have many of them engraved with a personal message. Check them out at the Leatherman website.

Nest Cam IQ – $479

Father's Day

Homes are getting smarter. Security products abound. Nest is a system that offers a whole lot of integrated home control and security products. The Nest Cam IQ has a 4K sensor, and a 130 degree field of view lets the camera do clever things, like tell the difference between your cat and intruders. It’ll only both you if it’s the latter wandering through your home.

And your dad can control the thing using Google Assistant. That’ll make life easier for him. Check it out at the Nest website.

Motorola e5 smartphone – $229

motorola e5

Motorola makes some very fine high-end smartphones. What if dad needs a new phone, but you can’t go wild with the cost? We found the Motorola e5 to be “a lot of phone for little money”. It runs Android 8.0, of course, and has a large 5.7-inch display with a modern-looking 18:9 aspect ratio. There’s a 13 megapixel f/2.0 camera with support for 1080p video.

It’s basic but very serviceable. Read the gadgetguy.com.au review here.

EFM Aspen Case Armour for Samsung/iPhone – $49.95

Father's Day

And remember, if you can think of nothing else, there’s always a case for his phone. The Aspen Case Armour has a nice reassuring name, and it promises to provide superior impact protection for his iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X, Samsung Galaxy S9 or Samsung Galaxy S9+.

Check out the cases at the EFM website here.