A dozen great gift ideas for the boomer mom

PRIME – May 2014 By Gary M. Kaye Editor, In the Boombox (www.intheboombox.tv) Listed below are some of my top suggestions for tech-savvy gift-giving for boomer moms this Mother's Day, or any spring or summer celebration. Contigo West Loop Hot and Cold Travel Mug – For the Mom on the go. This isn't electronic, but it is perhaps the most hi-tech mug I've seen. It will keep your hot beverages hot for up to five hours and your cold stuff cold for 12 hours. It has a positive lock so there's no opportunity for your coffee to leak or spill in the car or on your desk. These stainless steel mugs come in several colors and sizes, ranging in price from $21 to $30. Garmin VivoFit fitness band – There are a lot of wearable fitness bands out on the market. But there are a couple of reasons why we like the Garmin VivoFit. For one, it never needs to be awakened. It's on all the time, and it doesn't need to be recharged. It uses a watch battery that will run for about a year. It will learn your exercise routine and set a daily goal for you that makes sense for you. It also has a nice feature that prompts you to get up and move if you've been sitting still for more than an hour. The VivoFit can connect with any ANT+ enabled heart monitor, and can also link to your computer so you can keep track of how you're doing and share the information through the Garmin Connect ecosystem. Price: $130. Samsung Point and Shoot camera WB350F – If Mom likes to share her pictures with the family, or the world, this point and shoot might be ideal for her. It features easy to set up wireless connectivity that lets her send her pictures to her favorite sites. It has a big 21X zoom lens for getting sharp detail on distant subjects. The touch screen menus are easy to navigate. This 16.3 megapixel camera comes with an optical stabilization lens to reduce camera shake. This is a modestly priced camera; I've seen it advertised from $190 to $250 with lots of bells and whistles. Electrolux Rapido Cordless Vacuum EL820A – This is a dust buster-style rechargeable vacuum cleaner from Electrolux, a brand with a reputation for making durable quality products. It has little wheels in front to help it glide over surfaces. It has a washable filter to help cut down on dust. And the nozzle can be extended to get into those tight crevices in places like the underside of car seats. Price: $80 Lenovo Yoga 2 - 13 – This is the newest upgrade to Lenovo's convertible Yoga line of tablet computers. It can function as a laptop, a tablet, a tent, or a stand. It uses the Intel Ultrabook design standard so it's thin and light, but has plenty of computing power. It has a 13.3-inch multi-touch display screen and systems begin with an Intel i5 processor, 500 GB of hard disk drive, and it comes with Windows 8.1. It weighs about 3 1/2 pounds and battery life will last up to eight hours, good enough to get you from coast to coast. It comes in a variety of configurations, beginning at $899. Electrolux Vac & Steam – model EL4090 – For the moment, this little number is an exclusive on QVC for $199. It handles one of the toughest jobs in the kitchen – the kitchen floor. The new Electrolux Vac & Steam allows consumers to vacuum and steam at the same time, or use the functions separately. The floor mop operates in normal steam mop mode where steam is evenly disbursed across the floor pad. Mom can use the Clean Burst function to remove dried and sticky spots twice as fast as an ordinary steam mop. When activated, the Clean Burst function concentrates the steam to one area to quickly loosen dried and stuck on stains. The Vac & Steam comes with washable mop pads, filter and dust cup. The large capacity water tank allows consumers to steam clean for up to 20 minutes. HTC One (M8) Smartphone – If Mom is style conscious she's going to love the brushed aluminum case on the newest HTC flagship phone. It has the latest Qualcomm processor, runs on the newest version of Android, and has twin speakers, giving it some of the best ever sound to come out of a smartphone. This also has an innovative camera that will allow you to refocus your pictures after you've taken them, so she'll never have to worry about her snapshots being soft and fuzzy. Depending on carrier, you can expect to pay between $150 and $200 for the HTC One with a two-year contract. Without a contract it will run you between $600 and $650. Frigidaire Infrared Professional Convection Oven Model FPCO06D7MS – How often do you want an extra oven when you're making a big meal? Or heat something up without the sometimes-nasty side effects of microwave cooking? This is a great solution to both issues. It uses Rapid Cooking Infrared Technology and has a large-capacity Convection Toaster Oven, all wrapped in a sleek, stainless steel design. The Pro-Select LCD display with eight Preset Cooking Options allows users to toast, bake, broil, reheat and warm, or cook bagels, cookies or pizza with the touch of a button. And the whole thing takes up not much more room than your current toaster over, but with a lot more functionality. I've seen it priced from about $122 to $150. Asus All-In-One Desktop Computer ET2322 – If Mom likes to work on something with a bigger screen than a laptop she might enjoy this 23-inch desktop from Asus. It includes display, processor, graphics, storage, memory, and more – in one slim and sleek form factor. The backlit HD display features an ultra-slim 10-point touch display and a silver sculpture-inspired hinge that curves gracefully from the base that connects to the rear of the ET2322 for a more elegant appearance. The I/O ports are cleverly gathered together in a row at the back of the screen to keep all cables in one place. It includes HDMI input and output so you can connect to big screen televisions and gaming consoles. For an enhanced audio experience, the ET2322 has two built-in stereo speakers, internal subwoofer, and an external subwoofer. It comes in a variety of configurations depending on processor and memory. I've seen prices beginning at $1,000. Blue Goji – Goji Play – This is a gaming system that may actually get Mom to look forward to doing exercise on a treadmill, stair climber, or exercise bicycle. The system comes with two game controllers and a wireless activity tracker that you clip onto your clothing. You can either mount the game controllers on the handlebars of your exercise device or hold them in your hands. Your tablet computer or smartphone becomes your screen and you pick one of several games. As you get started, the motion from your exercise becomes part of the game. The more animated your exercise, the more your metrics on the tablet will rise. The aim is to have so much fun that it makes her feel like it's only taken ten minutes to do a half hour's worth of exercise or more. Cost of the system is $100 and it is only compatible with iOS devices such as iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch. SmartMath Inner Balance – Want to get Mom to a better state? No, we're not talking about Florida. Inner Balance is like an introduction to meditation with training wheels. It helps focus her ability to control her breathing. Inner Balance consists of a sensor that attaches to the ear and monitors heart rhythm and heart rate variability. The sensor is coupled to an app on your iOS device. It begins by asking for your mood then helps you focus your breathing to get to what it terms a state of coherence. It may not make Mom into a Zen master, but with a little concentration could help her to achieve a calm, less stressful state. Price for sensor and app is $129. Frigidaire Tri-Blade Immersion Blender – This device handles a variety of food preparation tasks. Versatile enough to crush ice, the Tri-Blade Immersion Blender/Mixer also purees and blends fruits and vegetables with no mess in the included extra-large chopper. The Frigidaire Immersion Blender features a professional tri-blade Veloute knife to ensure superior even-blending performance and Express-Select variable speed control to let you choose from 9 different speed settings for tackling a wide array of mixing/blending tasks. The convenient Pro-Select turbo button allows for an immediate burst of maximum power to give you the results you want in less time. It comes with a LED speed indicator and includes a 10-inch mixing wand, dual-whisk attachment to transform the immersion blender into a hand mixer, extra-large dual-blade chopper, blending pitcher and a kitchen mount. I've seen it advertised in many major chain stores for about $130. Gary Kaye is the creator of In The Boombox (www.intheboombox.tv), the first website to cover technology from the Baby Boomer perspective. Kaye has been covering high tech for more than 30 years with outlets including NBC, ABC, CNN and Fox Business. He is a regular contributor to AARP and other websites on issues regarding the nexus of technology, seniors and baby boomers.