Some of us have not seen our parents for weeks now and are unlikely to do so even on May 10, Mother’s Day — even if lockdown orders are rescinded. With social isolation orders in place it is tough to go out shopping for your Mum to get her something special so we thought we’d provide a few options and ideas for you.
While it is difficult to cover everything cool for your Mum we have sifted through the myriad of emails we receive from the various PR companies and have picked out our best for this year. To go with it we also be sharing details later today on a giveaway on some of the products.
The notable products to make the cut were:
Vivid-Pix RESTORE
Vivid-Pix RESTORE is an AI-based software that can be used to restore older photos to an amazing new level. The software brings back to life anything from scanned prints, slides, glass plates, tintypes, newspaper clippings, holiday postcards and more.
The software can be used to improve the colour and contrast of not just scanned, faded images and digital photos but also scanned records, letters and documents.
As part of their Mother’s Day promotion Vivid-Pix RESTORE are offering a free Mother’s Day template that can be used on their free trial of the software. The free trial allows you to fix up to ten pictures or documents.
The software is available for both Windows and Mac and is also on sale at the moment with a $10 discount offered after clicking the Buy Gift Card link on their website. Vivid-Pix have given us some codes to giveaway to readers and we’ll be detailing the competition later in the day.
Echo Show 8
Recently we reviewed the Amazon Echo Show 8 and were extremely impressed with it. It may not have Google Assistant support but has nearly everything else. The 8-inch display was bright and adapted nicely to the changing levels of brightness in the environment.
Using the browser you can still access YouTube and YouTube Music and you can even pair your favourite Bluetooth headphones to it to listen to music while streaming the video on the display. It has decent calling abilities for which all you need is the Alexa app (or an Echo Show of some sort) on your device.
Security conscious people will be impressed with the physical slider to hide the front camera as well as the mute button to stop Alexa listening to you. At $229 the Amazon Echo Show 8 is a great device to get your Mum this Mother’s Day to allow her to stay connected with her entire family in these isolating times.
In partnership with Amazon we will be offering an Echo Show 8 up for one lucky reader in a giveaway set to be announced this afternoon.
Kindle Paperwhite 8GB
Kindle’s have been around for a while now and with each generation Amazon have incrementally improved them. By now they have gotten pretty good at them, evidenced by the fact that we loved each one that we have reviewed.
Although it is only Mother’s Day next week I must admit that I purchased a Kindle Paperwhite 8GB for my Mum a few weeks ago when she was getting a bit bored (and sick of my Dad) in isolation. The reaosn I got her a Kindle — the ease of use. It is easy to purchase books or buy a subscription with Amazon. You can “borrow” or buy books on any platform from the Amazon Kindle store and then just easily download to the Kindle itself when required.
Nevermind the 300ppi glare-free display, the adjustable backlight, the waterproof design and a battery life that seems to last weeks — even when using all the time. It was the ease of use that sold me (and my Mum).
On sale now until a couple of days after Mother’s Day the Kindle Paperwhite 8GB will set you back just $169. If you prefer the 32GB Wi-Fi or 32GB Wi-Fi and LTE version expect to pay $199 and $319 respectively.
In partnership with Amazon once again we will be offering a Kindle Paperwhite 8GB for one lucky reader in a giveaway set to be announced this afternoon.
HP Sprocket Studio
The HP Sprocket Studio is an interesting product. We have covered similar products in the past and with so many of us having so much time on their hands it might be a good time to print out some family snaps — something we all know Mums love to do.
The Sprocket Studio offers large 4 x 6″ photos of higher quality than before but it is not just hardware with software also offering enhanced editing tools. Mums (and others) can use the Sprocket Studio to print not just photos but also greeting cards, thank-you notes and more. It is the perfect gift for your Mum to help her add yet more photos to her photo album or cover yet another wall in your childhood house (or is that just my Mum?).
Save your Mum heading out to Officeworks or Harvey Norman etc to print her photos this Mother’s Day and grab her one of these beauties for just $199 at JB Hi-Fi, HP, Harvey Norman and Officeworks.
Lenovo Tab E7
Many Mums will most likely have a lot of time on their hands and reading books or basic surfing the web will most surely pass the time. For basic media consumption and basic Internet usage Lenovo have just the solution with the value for money Tab E7.
Starting at just $99 runs Android Go (Oreo) so you can be sure everything will work as it should on its. It has a 7-inch HD display, just 1GB of RAM and 16GB of onboard storage. While that RAM may seem low the Android Go will make us of it well, and we did say that it was just for basic use. (Remember that the Kindle app works great for reading books on any device you install it on to)
The Lenovo Tab E7 represents a very cheap all-rounder that can be used for basic Internet usage as well as basic games and reading of e-books.
Lenovo Smart Display 10 or 7
Smart displays are extremely handy. They can be used for so many things including help with cooking, or just watching movies or YouTube while busy with other things. Lenovo make some great smart displays and although we prefer the smaller 7-inch model due to its design changes and compact nature Lenovo have the 10-inch variety on sale.
Using the code SMARTHOME Lenovo have the Smart Display 10 on sale for just $259 at the moment. With full Google Assistant support you can control your smart home along with play videos, make video calls and much more. If you are interested head on over to the Lenovo website and grab a smart display that Mum will love.
Tile Mate and Tile Sticker
I am assuming that many mothers are as forgetful as mine and my mother-in-law and as such are always losing their keys and more. A Bluetooth tracker will help them find anything lost (assuming they have not lost all of their smartphones and connected devices too).
Tile are the biggest name in Bluetooth tracking and have a couple of great products that would be perfect for your Mum.
Tile Mate is a lightweight finder that can be attached to your keys, stuck inside a wallet and more and with a Bluetooth range of 60 metres and a replaceable battery that will last you 12 months. Priced at around $35 it is a perfect addition to any gift your are considering getting your Mum. They are available on Tile.com and in major retailers; including JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Officeworks.
Tile Sticker is a Bluetooth finder that is an adhesive sticker with a range of 45 metres, is waterproof and a three year battery life. To use just stick it to the product you want to track and you are good to go. A two-pack will set you back $49.99 while a four-pack will cost you $79.99 and can be purchased from Tile.com and in major retailers; including JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Officeworks
UPRIGHT GO 2
This is a product that will help your Mum’s health and something I hadn’t heard of before now. The UPRIGHT GO 2 is a product designed to help with your Mum’s posture (or yours). The small, discrete device is attached to your back and shares real-time posture feedback to you through the UPRIGHT GO app. It vibrates when it detects you slouching, something that many of us are guilty of, and reminds you to correct your posture.
The idea is that by preventing you from slouching the device helps you to build upper back and core strength and develop muscle memory so that good posture becomes a habit and second nature. As someone who sees a lot of older people come in with back problems anything that may help your Mum may prevent her from back issues in the future.
The UPRIGHT GO 2 is available on sale at the moment (until May 17) for just $129 from Bing Lee, Officeworks and Harvey Norman. Show your Mum you are looking out for her welfare and grab one of these for her this Mother’s Day
Just tell your Mum how much you love and appreciate her
It may seem a strange time but now more than ever many Mothers are feeling detached and isolated from their families. It is important to show your Mum how much she means to you and although we have mentioned some great options above it does not always have to be something of a physical nature. For Mum’s it is more about knowing that we love them and appreciate them — a simple call telling them this will no doubt be greatly appreciated.
If you want to win a Echo Show 8, a Kindle Paperwhite 8GB, or get a free code to Vivid-Pix RESTORE for your Mum check out our post this afternoon where we will hopefully have finalised the details of the giveaway by then.
