The holiday season is officially upon us, which means our eyes are wide open for clever gadgets to gift our loved ones—and, let’s be completely honest, mostly ourselves. Pepcom events are always a fantastic way to test-drive the latest consumer tech under one roof, and their recent Holiday Spectacular, livestreamed from New York, did not disappoint.
After wandering the virtual show floor, we grabbed a handful of standout gift ideas that are going straight onto our personal wish lists here at Galactigeek.
GE LED+ Color Changing Bulb with Speaker
We have come to expect smart LED bulbs to paint our rooms in millions of colors, but the GE LED+ Color Changing Bulb with Speaker hides an extra trick up its sleeve: a built-in Bluetooth speaker. Impressively, the speaker adds zero extra bulk to the bulb’s standard footprint. GE readily admits the audio isn’t audiophile-grade, so don’t toss your high-end soundbar out the window just yet.
Still, it is a ridiculously convenient way to throw sound around a room and fill house parties or your daily routine with music. Better yet, you can pair up to 10 bulbs together to bathe your space in an overhead surround-sound experience without running a single speaker wire through the walls.
ViewSonic Dual Screen Portable Monitor
Portable monitors are already a great way to turn a cramped laptop into a personal command center, and the ViewSonic Dual Screen Portable Monitor takes mobile productivity up a notch by doubling the displays.
Adding two extra screens to your setup gives you an instant triple-monitor battlestation wherever you set up camp. Even better, its clever hinge design supports multiple configurations: you can switch seamlessly from horizontal to vertical orientation for scrolling through long pages, or fold the screens into a mirrored “tent” mode that is killer for across-the-table presentations.
Cricut StickerPix
This byte-sized photo printer doesn’t just spit out snapshots—it prints custom stickers on demand. Unlike similar pocket printers that leave you with basic rectangles or a pair of scissors, the Cricut StickerPix actually cuts the sticker sheets into any shape you want. That means you can print full sheets of custom-shaped stickers in whatever wild configuration you can imagine.
Better still, the companion mobile app makes it effortless for non-pros to whip up custom designs for crafting, gift wrapping, or any occasion without ever needing a computer, turning kitchen-table creativity into a five-minute affair.
Fanttik Cafein 11 Portable Coffee Machine
Taking up roughly the same volume as a standard water bottle, the Fanttik Cafein 11 Portable Coffee Machine packs all the internal heating and pressure guts needed to brew up to eight shots of espresso on a single charge—starting with nothing more than coffee grounds and cold water.
Whether you are commuting or camping off the grid, lukewarm thermos coffee is officially obsolete. I never once imagined myself brewing fresh, piping-hot espresso at the top of a rugged hiking trail, but after seeing this gadget in action, it is honestly all I can think about.
