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Top Tech Gifts for the 2016 Holiday Season

December 16, 2016

At OpenView, we do our very best to deliver thought leadership all year long on the topics that matter most to your software business. Some of our most popular articles this year have revolved around the death of freemium pricing, the greatest sales deck ever made, diversity in the tech industry and so much more.

But one topic in particular has been occupying us lately – what to get our dearly beloved friends, family and colleagues this holiday season. So today, we’re highlighting the best tech gifts to give this year as recommended by some of tech’s most influential leaders.

First up on the list?

Amazon Echo

Truly turn your house into a smart home with Amazon’s surprise hit Echo. The handy little device fills any room with immersive sound played from a variety of sources including Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora and others through simple voice commands. Alexa, Amazon’s counterpart to Siri, will also answer questions, order you up an Uber, turn lights on and off, control thermostats and so much more.

Recommended by:
Justin Somaini, Chief Security Officer, SAP
Lucinda Ducalfe, CEO, Monetate

The Coolest Cooler

Who knew cool could apply to a cooler in both senses of the word? The Coolest Cooler features a built-in blender, bluetooth speaker system and USB charger. What more could you ask for? Maybe temperatures warm enough to require a cooler. Might we suggest throwing in a plane ticket to the Caribbean with this gift

Recommended by:
Yoav Shapira, Engineering Manager, Facebook

Jibo

Still in pre-order this AI powered robot has already received rave reviews from the likes of Today and the Wall Street Journal. Jibo is a family friendly robot that can recognize faces, greet you with a joke and even put your kids to sleep with an interactive bedtime story. Plus Jibo was created by a woman. Need we say more?

Recommended by:
David Chang, Entrepreneur & Angel Investor, Former COO of Paypal

CEIVA Interactive Photo Frame

With CEIVA you can take pictures and display them on the mantle mere seconds later. The interactive frame provides users with a shared folder that anyone with access can use to share and upload photos right to the frame. Plus it provides news, sports and weather info and is even covered by a lifetime warranty that includes hurricane coverage! So even if the frame doesn’t weather the storm, your photos will last forever.

Recommended by:
Alec Stern, Founder, Constant Contact

WizGear Air Vent Magnetic Car Mount Holder

Did you know that traffic deaths have increased 10% in just the last year due to phone app usage? The WizGear car mount holder not only keeps your phone safe, secure and visible, it allows you to drive through that holiday traffic with two hands on the wheel.

Recommended by:
Yvonne Wassenaar, CIO, New Relic

Macbook Pro

Apple keeps reinventing a classic and this time one might argue that it’s better than ever. The new MacBook Pro is not only faster and thinner than ever before, it features the company’s best display yet. Plus, Apple’s new Touch Bar gives you the ability to access all of your sites and web apps without the stroke of a single key.

Recommended by:
Joshua Feast, CEO, Cogito

MINI BOOM Wireless Bluetooth Speaker

Super compact with a long battery life, the MINI BOOM wireless bluetooth speakers allows music and podcast aficionados to seamlessly stream from virtually anywhere.