Cool Gadgets for Geeks and Travelers This Christmas, Many of Them Bargains Under $20

There are many phone handsets around, and they’re very popular these days, not only with geeks, but also with people looking to reduce radiation from their mobile phones. You can buy a retro desk phone that docks your smartphone, or just the phone handset. This one comes with noise reduction technology and a hands-free function.

This Fiotek handset is a nice retro phone made for comfort, great sound, and allowing you to easily work on your iPhone or Android phone if you need to while you talk. I think it will make a great Christmas gift for many people. Better than retro phone that also work as docking stations, because those may not fit all types of smartphones.

These camera lenses for smartphones have really taken off ever since they became popular on the market a few years ago. The Xenvo Pro lens kit is by far the most popular on Amazon at the time of my updating this article, and it comes with a lifetime guarantee. It includes a 0.45X Tru View Wide-Angle Lens and a 15X Clarus Macro Lens. The wide-angle lens captures 45% more elements in your images, and it does so with little distortions and no dark corners. The premium coated class also greatly reduces reflections and lens flares and other unwanted light effects.

The macro lens works best at half an inch from the object of your photograph.

The kit also includes a rechargeable natural LED light with three brightness settings. It also comes with a travel case and lanyard. A great Christmas gift for anyone who’s into high-quality mobile photography.

Another gadget that’s been popular lately, not only with geeks but also with people who travel a lot, is laser projected keyboards. They connect via Bluetooth and allow you to easily write long emails or posts about your trips as you travel light. What’s not to love? This virtual keyboard from AGS sells for $45.99 -- admittedly a little above $20, but worth it.

A cheaper novelty keyboard for geeks and travelers is the flexible silicone keyboard, but it fell out of favor with users since some people found that certain keys didn't work properly. So instead of foldable flexible keyboards, savvy users and companies have veered onto foldable plastic mini keyboards, like the one below from iClever.

(NB: It's more expensive than $20 but that's what you get for much better quality.)

The market is now flooded with digital luggage scales (no more trying to fit your luggage over your bathroom scales!), but they’re not all made equal. This luggage scale from Tarriss Travel Gear has a rating of 4.5 stars on Amazon, out of thousands of customer reviews. Some of its plusses are that it’s accurate (even above 30 pounds), weighs up to 110 pounds, has a durable stainless steel design, and the company provides great customer service should you need any. It sells for $15.97 and comes with a lifetime warranty, which makes it a great stocking stuffer for travelers!

This is not a new gadget by any means, but by its vary nature it's very popular with travelers. There are plenty worldwide adapters on the market, but they are not the same quality or with the same options. This one comes with four adapter plugs for more than 175 countries, and it's quite sturdy, compared to some other travel adapters, especially those with separate plugs. This one also includes 4 USB ports, which is very useful considering the scarcity of power sockets in most hotel and guesthouse rooms.

4.7 stars on Amazon from 1,121 reviews

Note that this plug adapter, like virtually all such travel adapters, is not a power converter, so you won’t be able to use things like hair dryers or irons, but you will be able to charge your phones, cameras, etc. Laptops are also generally fine to charge using travel adapters like this one. Available now from $19.95.

This mini charger from Belkin is a great gift for travelers within Type A countries (USA, Canada, Japan, and others) who need more outlets for their electronics and other gadgets, some of them chargeable via USB ports. This Belkin travel charger is also great because it comes with surge protection. It sells for $15.29, down from $19.99.

For those looking only for more USB ports, there are many fun USB hubs out there.The pink airplane and the Hubman have 4 USB 2.0 ports.

This power bank from INIU is one of the thinnest 1,000 mAh on the market. Its external battery charges 1.4 times faster than some others, due to INIU's UPower+ technology. It also includes a flashlight. It's especially friendly to lovers of dogs and cats and other fur babies as it comes with a lit paw indicator.

This portable charger can come in handy if you use WhatsApp or the Internet a lot on your phone, or if you go places with poor reception, which also tend to use up your battery. The solution to this power drain are these portable chargers. At $19.99, it's one must-have gadget for both serious travelers and those of you going away someplace remote for the weekend.

This portable solar panel charger works on SunPower Maxeon solar cell technology, which makes it better than other similar solar power banks on the market. It's also waterproof and highly durable, a great choice for camping or traveling in all sorts of weather. The Nektech solar charger power bank also has 2 USB ports. It's lightweight (it weighs only 23 oz) and foldable, and it comes with hooks and eyelets so you can easily wear it on your backpack.

A power bank that you can charge at home before leaving on a trip is always great when traveling, and having a solar one that charges on the go is even better. Great gift for campers and hikers! It's now available at $49.99, down $10 from last Christmas season (2020).

There are many LED light bulbs with built-in speakers on the market nowadays. The TexSens ones appear to be the most popular right now. The one I'm showing below offers not only quality stereo music (with a nice bass), but it can also cycle or face through colors, or pulsate light in sync with the music. It's a nice gadget for late garden parties or for any parties at home, for that matter. Selling now at $15.99. Note that it's not waterproof.

Headphones are always a great gift for geeks, and these lycra headphones from CozyPhones are designed for extra comfort. They are wonderful for everything from plane travel to sports, meditation, relaxation, and snug drifts to the land of nod. No more aggravating earbuds! A great stocking stuffer, I’d say! Currently priced at $15.99.

Camping stoves come in many shapes and forms. I'm showing two designs, one from Ohuhu and the another from Hike Crew. The first one, made in stainless steel, works with whatever twigs and wood you can find as well as with solidified alcohol tablets, and it's both lightweight (0.8 pounds in all!) and collapsible.

The second one, also in stainless steel, is a propane grill and stove burner. It's more compact but it weighs 12 pounds, which to my mind makes it better suited for RVers rather than occasional campers, who'd rather travel more light, especially if they also hike to their camping grounds. This Hike Crew one has the advantage that the lid, when open, protects from the wind. It also comes with a ceramic griddle pan, which can be quite useful.

Both have their advantages, and the price is also something to take into consideration. Take your pick!

If you're traveling light by day as a backpacker, it makes sense to use a foldable plastic water bottle. While not as sturdy as a collapsible bottle, it does make more room in your backback when empty and weighs less. On the other hand, if you're going camping in a van, you may want to use a collapsible version. I'm showing both.

On a happier note, here's a translator gadget for no less than 106 languages! That's 106 languages online and 8 languages offline. It uses both audio and text, and it comes with character-recognition online photo support for 44 languages.

It's a bit pricey at $139.99 but what a great gift for a globe trotter -- or simply for someone who looks to practice foreign languages at local ethnic stores, dance gatherings, you name it.

Enjoy the holiday season! I hope you will give and receive great gifts!