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10 best Father's Day tech gifts

From music players to clever cameras, we find out-of-the-ordinary gadgets for Dad this June 21

Wednesday 17 June 2015 21:26 BST

Some fathers are easy to buy for (though here’s a hint, socks are rarely as popular as a diplomatic Dad will imply), but for those who aren't, boys’ toys usually appeal and you can spend anything from under £50 to over £800. Music is always a winner and a high-quality version of a staple device like a landline phone can work well. If your Dad is hard to buy for, read on.

1. Sony NWZ-A15 Walkman: £159.99, johnlewis.com

Okay, Dad, so you’ve got an iPod. But you haven’t got one of these. This is the world’s smallest high-resolution audio digital music player, which means that the sound quality is fantastic. It’s slick, compact and surprisingly very affordable. It plays dedicated High-Resolution music, which you can buy from music download sites like hdtracks.co.uk or linnrecords.com, and also upscales existing MP3 tracks, either downloaded from iTunes or ripped from CDs. Hold on Dad, what are you doing? Please, don't start dancing.

2. Jacob Jensen Telephone 3: £88.20, berkshire-telephone-systems.co.uk

A landline might seem old-fashioned to you, but dad will like this handsomely designed model from Jacob Jensen; touch the upper part of the handset and it almost floats into your hand. All the regular features are there, such as memory keys and last number redial. and that funny cord that goes into the wall? That means the call quality is consistently excellent.

3. Sonicare AirFloss Pro HX8372: £74.99, boots.com

If you’re buying for a dad who likes to floss, move along to the next item, but for everyone else, the new AirFloss Pro offers a simple, even fun way to floss your gums. Fill the tank with water or, even better, mouthwash and when you press the button it shoots the liquid powerfully between your teeth to dislodge roughly the same amount of plaque plaque as regular flossing can.

4. Naim Mu-So: £895, sevenoakssoundandvision.co.uk

This won’t suit everyone’s pocket but, oh boy, dad will love it. True, you can pick up a wireless speaker for £40, but this comes from a high-end hi-fi company and sounds astonishing. It’s rich and precise with real power and the clever volume dial is also the touchscreen for controlling the Mu-so. It’s perfect for playing music from a smartphone or laptop and making it sound the best it can.

5. Netatmo Welcome: £199, amazon.co.uk

The Welcome is the first home security camera (dads love stuff like this) to use face recognition so that it can recognise individual family members, so dad will know when a child gets home or Granny arrives and if the face is one it doesn’t recognise it can record footage of the intruder. For a security camera, it looks pretty good, too.

6. Gramofon: £43, gramofon.com

Simply connect this to your existing audio system to turn it into a wireless music player. Then dad can stream tracks from his phone or tablet — and not just the music actually on your smartphone, it’s compatible with music services like Spotify, Rhapsody and Napster. It even has a multi-room mode if you buy more than one. It’s no competition for Sonos, but at a fraction of the price you can't go far wrong.

7. Jawbone UP2: £89.95, amazon.co.uk

Jawbone UP2 Activity Tracker

Be tactful with this gift. Don’t actually say, “You could do with being fitter, father.” Point out that this lightweight, showerproof wristband counts his steps, calories burnt and even how well he’s sleeping (no, that’s not your cue to say he snores). At night it monitors light and sound sleep and can even wake him up with a silent vibration. It knows how deeply he’s sleeping to wake him at the optimum point in the sleep cycle. Clever.

8. Ion Audio Tape 2 Go: £24.99, ionaudio.co.uk

Sick of all those stacks of cassette tapes that he just never listens to? This handy device plays the cassettes and connects to a PC or Mac, saving the audio digitally ready to be played on an MP3 player or smartphone. You have to record in real time, so this is something to keep him occupied for days.

9. Amazon Fire TV Stick: £35, amazon.co.uk

When there’s just nothing on the telly, turn to a streaming device like this, where you can rent and buy movies and shows instantly (or stream shows from Netflix). You use an Android or Apple smartphone as the remote – so you won't lose that down the settee – and the Stick plugs straight in to the back of the TV’s HDMI socket, which also means Dad can take it round to his mates’ and plug it into their TV as well.

10. Dyson V6 Cordless Vacuum Cleaner: £299.99, dyson.co.uk

Again, don’t actually tell Dad he’s a slob and needs to clean up after himself, but a Dyson is a highly appealing vacuum and is gadgety enough to make him want to keep things tidy. The V6 is as powerful as a mains-powered vacuum but is cordless and amazingly light. It runs for 20 minutes between charges, by which time he’ll have had enough of cleaning anyway.

Verdict:

In terms of value for money combined with novelty value, the titchy but powerful Amazon Fire TV Stick and Gramofon have a lot to offer, while every Dad can enjoy the beautiful sound of the Naim Mu-so and the simplicity of the Ion Audio Tape 2 Go and the hours of fun that ensue digitising a tape collection is also likely to go down well.