Happy birthday to me! The turning of October marks the kick off of my birthday week celebration. I fill the week with indulgences of all kinds, including treating myself to techie gifts on my wish list, hello iPhone 6. Here are some other ideas I searched high and low for that I (hint, hint) I – and any other hipster techie out there – would love in a ribboned box! It is my birthday week, so I will keep the ideas short and sweet!
1. Smart Mat – your yoga teacher says a teacher lives inside you but what about inside your yoga mat? Never miss a yoga class again and get private instruction to get the perfect pose anywhere your mat is.
The Smart Mat is being marketed as the first responsive yoga mat. It senses your placement on the mat and helps you adjust your pose. Then it goes one step further to correct your pose so you balance your weight evenly. It communicates through your iPad or iPhone (yes, you can hear your yoga instructors everywhere breathing deeply through this frustrating feature) to give you a guided class-like experience with private instruction-like adjustments. For yogis like me, this is the mat we aspire to be worthy of.
According to the site, the Smart Mat can even work in Hot Yoga sessions and is smart enough to work with most yoga poses include complicated ones like Crow or Pigeon pose. The mat talks to you to give you feedback in a few ways, so it really is like being in a guided class. It even gives you rankings so you get feedback how you each session.
You can preorder now on Indiegogo for $297 ($150 off retail)
2. A Personal Cloud Device. Yes, it doesn’t sound super sexy. But had Jennifer Lawrence saved her nude selfies on one, they would have been kept off the internet (or maybe she wanted them on there…you never know). Oh, and that paranoia that Edward Snowden has created should be heeded.
Enter WEDG and Sherlybox – two personal, private cloud storage devices that allow you to store you files, pictures, your passwords and even stream movies from these teeny boxes that you store in your home and on a private cloud! Each boast different levels of storage and features including apps. By storing everything on these devices you eliminate monthly fees and keep things on a private cloud. For small businesses, web developers and paranoid citizens everywhere, this is a great way to keep things secure, share files and manage group collaboration. Both are in various modes of fund raising. But this is the gift that I have been waiting for, as I am generally distrustful of keeping my life up on a cloud that someone else owns. I’m also too lazy to back everything up on my external drive, though I own 5 of them.
Prices range from $200 and up
3. A Postcard. If you ask me, the best gifts always come from heart. I long for the days of receiving letters, sending postcards and yearbook signings so you can tell people how they make you feel. Here’s a little treat you can send someone for a birthday or any day just to make them smile – straight from your phone!
With Postagram you simply upload the app to your iPhone or Android device and select a photo to make into a postcard to mail to your friends and loved ones in just a few clicks and without any stop to buy stamps.
Using photos from Facebook, Instagram or your phone’s camera, you can select photos you think are memorable, write a custom message and have mailed to your recipient in 5-10 business days and for $0.99. Honestly, receiving one of these from friends or loved ones would make my birthday…or any day! Send to mom, grandma, your boo and see them light up and without a major cash spend!
Download the Postagram app
