Belkin Boost Charge Power Bank
The wordily named Belkin BOOST CHARGE Power Bank 10K + Stand Play Series
There are standard power banks that do nothing but charge your phone and accessories when you’re away from mains power, and then there are power banks that charge your phone and accessories, and act as a nifty, portable phone stand.
Belkin’s wordily named “Boost Charge Power Bank 10K + Stand Play Series” is the latter. A small tray that slides out the bottom forms a very effective stand for medium to large mobile phones, and a fairly effective stand for small phones like the iPhone mini.
It only works in landscape mode (which is fine, given it’s designed for playing video games and watching videos for hours upon hours on your phone), and it won’t hold up a tablet.
As the name suggests, the power bank has a 10,000 mAh battery, which should recharge a typical phone two or three times. It’s capable of delivering two 12-watt charges simultaneously, so it’s quick – if not an actual “fast charge”. $84.95
Apple iMac
Digital Life’s gadget of the year so far.
Apple’s new, 24-inch iMac is pricey, to be sure – the fully pimped, top-of-the-range model is pushing $4000 – but if any amount of money will buy you fatherly love and affection, this is it. The year’s not over yet but thus far it’s our gadget of the year.
Not only is it the best-looking computer in ages, it’s whisper quiet and surprisingly powerful, even in its cheapest incarnation.
That’s due to Apple’s shift to a new processor, its own “M1” chip, based on years of hardware development in iPhones and iPads and moved into Macs in 2020. The transition away from Intel isn’t yet complete – not all Macs run M1, and not all apps have been formatted for M1 – but it’s already proving to be a masterstroke. The M1 iMac is sublime. From $1899
Bellroy Flight Bag
Carry-on luggage with pockets, compartments and straps galore.
Let’s face it. Much of Australia will still be locked down when Father’s Day rolls around, making a travel bag just about the most useless gift imaginable. What Bellroy’s Flight Bag is, then, is the gift of hope. Hope that things are looking up. Hope that 2022 will be the year the borders reopen, if not internationally then at least domestically.
This leather-trimmed, 30-litre bag from Melbourne’s Bellroy has everything we look for in a cabin bag. A 16-inch laptop fits easily into its padded, externally accessed computer compartment – “easily” being the all-important word when you’re rushing to get a laptop out and then in again at airport security.
It’s got pockets for cables, tablets and phones. It’s got compartments for that change of clothes you need in the cabin, just in case your other bags go missing. It’s got leather handles, an over-the-shoulder strap, and hidden backpack straps for when you need both your hands free. And, very importantly, it’s got a strap to hold it to the handle of spinner luggage, for when one bag just isn’t enough.
Yes, the backpack straps slip – something of a design flaw for a bag at this price point – but that’s easily solved, either with a safety pin, or by doubling the strap through its clip. $499
Braun All In One Trimmer 7
About as low as you should go with the trimmer.
A word of warning to dads who may be considering fathering other, future gift givers: If you’re given this multi-purpose clipper/shaver set, Braun means it when it says the fitting known as the “body groomer head” is only for shaving and trimming hair on your legs, chest and under your arms.
It’s absolutely not for anywhere else on your body, if you know what I mean. Trust us. We checked. But pretty well everywhere else on your body is fair game.
This handy, rechargeable kit has clippers and clipper combs for maintaining any length of stubble. It’s got trimmers for your nose and ear hairs. It’s got a mini shaver head for cutting precise lines around a beard. And it’s got all sorts of combs for DIY beard trims and haircuts, should lockdown drag on too long and you can’t get to the barber. $149
