00:00I'm your host, Makon Jlovu, and the holiday shopping season has officially begun.
00:09But what can you get that tech-savvy BFF or for mom in your life?
00:14Well, here with some gadgets that are perfect for black women is tech and lifestyle expert
00:18Stephanie Humphrey, better known as Tech Life Step.
00:21Hey, Stephanie.
00:22Thank you for joining us.
00:23Thanks for having me.
00:24All right.
00:25Now, before we get started, are there any pointers that you can share when it comes to shopping
00:27online for electronic devices?
00:29Do your research.
00:30Definitely.
00:31Lots of places out there offering the same products at different price points.
00:35Don't necessarily go for the cheapest one because if the deal looks too good to be true, it probably
00:39is.
00:40That is great advice.
00:41Now, let's dive right in.
00:42Talk to me about this fun product here.
00:43Well, first up, we have the HP Sprocket.
00:46And it's taking you back to those days when you actually used to print photographs out.
00:51And it is just a really fun way to capture those memories and capture those moments.
00:55The prints take less than a minute.
00:56Okay.
00:57So, we're going to take a quick selfie.
00:58Can we?
00:59You connect the printer to your phone via Bluetooth and then you download the HP Sprocket
01:04app.
01:05So, we will take a quick selfie.
01:06Take a selfie.
01:07Let's do it.
01:08Now, does it come with batteries included in it or do you have to?
01:10No, you have to charge it.
01:11You have to charge it.
01:12Let's do it.
01:13Let's do it.
01:14Let's do it.
01:15Let's do it.
01:16Let's do it.
01:17I love it.
01:18There we go.
01:19Now, what is the price point of this?
01:20Because I think I'll be buying this.
01:21This is $129.99.
01:22And again, super portable.
01:24Really lightweight.
01:25It takes about a minute for the photos to print out.
01:27So, it's really quickly.
01:28You just want to keep it down.
01:29Keep it up.
01:30Oh, yes, yes, yes.
01:31They're going to come right out through the back way.
01:32Right out the bottom there.
01:33Oh, I see.
01:34How many can you print out at a time?
01:35You can print out as many as you want at a time.
01:37Actually, you need to have it like that.
01:38Yeah.
01:39It'll go for 50 prints before you'll need to recharge it.
01:42And it recharges via a typical USB cable.
01:45So, you just plug it right in.
01:46Very nice.
01:47And you can edit your photos.
01:48There's one on here that we edited.
01:50You can add borders and text and different stuff like that.
01:53Filters and all of that.
01:55And it uses what's called zinc technology, which stands for zero ink.
01:59So, it's very similar to how Polaroids operated back in the day.
02:02So, there's no actual ink in the printer itself.
02:05The ink is in the photo paper.
02:06That's amazing.
02:07And the printer heats it up and makes the picture for you.
02:09Yes.
02:10And what is the price point of that?
02:11This is $129.99.
02:12$129.
02:13I love it.
02:14So, great for girls night out.
02:15Yes.
02:16For bridal showers.
02:17Yes.
02:18For, you know, just to have that memory.
02:19Yes.
02:20That's us.
02:21We cute.
02:22We cute, girl.
02:23And it's so crisp and clear.
02:24It is.
02:25It's a great photo.
02:26It looks amazing.
02:27And this is also sticky.
02:28So, you could take the backing off and you can stick it up on the wall and make, you know,
02:32a collage or something like that.
02:33Yes.
02:34So, really cool.
02:35Hint for my husband.
02:36This is the Christmas gift right here.
02:37This is the one I want.
02:38Yes.
02:39Now, let's move on to the next product that you have for us.
02:41Talk to me about this one.
02:42This is from a company called Roar for Good.
02:44And it's the Athena Safety Wearable.
02:46And I love this one because it really is going to give women, you know, their power back.
02:51Okay.
02:52You can connect it to your jewelry.
02:53You can connect it to your handbag or your backpack or if you're going out running to
02:58your sport bra or something like that.
02:59But what it does is it connects via app.
03:01Mm-hmm.
03:02And you can press this button if you're feeling unsafe.
03:06You designate a group of trusted contacts, friends or family.
03:09And you press this button three times if you're feeling unsafe.
03:12And they'll get a text message.
03:13So, say you're in the club.
03:14Yes.
03:15And there's that guy that just won't leave you alone because he bought you that one drink.
03:18You can press this button and your girlfriend on the other side of the club can come and
03:22get you and say, hey, girlfriend.
03:23Very nice.
03:24And if you really need emergency help, you press and hold it.
03:28So, is it like, does it call 911 or?
03:30They're actually adding that.
03:32They're adding that functionality.
03:33That's pretty loud.
03:34But that's the emergency feature.
03:35Yeah.
03:36Oh, wow.
03:37That's your emergency feature.
03:38So, we're going to turn that off.
03:39So, you can turn it on and off from your phone.
03:41Yeah, exactly.
03:42That's very nice.
03:43And the thing I love about this is that your contacts actually don't need to have the app
03:47on their phone.
03:48A lot of products like this, both parties need to have the app.
03:51Some people don't download it.
03:52They will get a text message to know that you need their help.
03:54That is lovely.
03:55So, you can clip it onto your phone or you can clip it onto your pants or your jeans.
03:58Clip it onto your jewelry, your pants, anything.
03:59All right.
04:00Now, the third product is a little something for the fashionista.
04:02A little something for the fashionista.
04:03A little something for the fashionista.
04:04This is fabulous, right?
04:05Yeah, very much so.
04:06This is the Q bracelet.
04:07It's by a company called Q Designs.
04:08And, you know, by day, just a gorgeous, high-polished stainless steel bracelet.
04:13But, by night, it is your phone's charger.
04:16Won't you look at that?
04:17Right.
04:18Because the phone always dies.
04:19The phone always dies.
04:20And you don't always have your charger with you.
04:23So, is it compatible to all types of phones?
04:25Because I see this as an iPhone.
04:26Just iPhone.
04:27It's just iPhone, yeah.
04:28We need an Android version.
04:29I know.
04:30It has a lightning connector so you can only use it for iPhone.
04:32Okay.
04:33But you can see your phone is charging.
04:34And it's great because, again, you may not necessarily have your cable with you either.
04:38And you don't need the charging cable with this.
04:40So, a really beautiful piece of jewelry.
04:42Very nice.
04:43But also very functional.
04:44And it's very lightweight.
04:45Yeah.
04:46It doesn't feel very, very heavy.
04:47Lightweight.
04:48Yeah.
04:49Stainless steel.
04:50Comes in great colors.
04:51So, yeah.
04:52That's for the fashionista in your life.
04:53Very nice.
04:54Your battery never dies out.
04:55You'll get up to a 50% charge with that as well.
04:56Up to 50%.
04:57Because that was going to be my next question is how many times can you use this to charge?
05:00You can use it as many times as you need to.
05:03But it'll get your phone charged up to 50% from zero.
05:06Yeah.
05:07Very, very nice.
05:08I love that it's lightweight.
05:09It is amazing.
05:10All right.
05:11Let's move on.
05:12Keep that on your wrist.
05:13Keep that on my wrist.
05:14Let's do it.
05:15Let's put it on.
05:16There you go.
05:17And what is the price point for this?
05:18This is $149.
05:19$149.
05:20Very nice.
05:21All right.
05:22And then finally, yes, I love this one because this is just a cute gift if you need a stocking
05:24mirror or you have a secret Santa gift and you have a price limit that you can't go over.
05:28This is the Plug Life Smartphone Lighted Makeup Mirror.
05:33And what you do, it's for iPhone only, unfortunately.
05:35I know.
05:36There's a bias happening here.
05:37There is.
05:38There is definitely a bias happening.
05:39Yes.
05:40But what you do is you plug it into when you need that selfie.
05:46Yep.
05:47I know.
05:48Let me turn my phone over.
05:49Once you've charged your phone, right?
05:50Once you've charged your phone up.
05:51Now it's time to take the selfie.
05:52Exactly.
05:53But you need the light because you're in the club and it's dark, right?
05:55And you want to fix that makeup.
05:57Let's see.
05:58That's very nice.
05:59You get that close up.
06:00You get those brows on point.
06:01You get the lip gloss popping.
06:03Yeah.
06:04It's just great because you're carrying around a makeup mirror anyway.
06:07And sometimes you do need a little light in the club or at nighttime.
06:10And this is only $20.
06:11$20 is a great deal.
06:13Exactly.
06:14And since it sticks to your phone, you don't actually need any batteries for it.
06:17There are three settings.
06:19So a little brighter if you need it, if it's a darker situation.
06:21Oh, so you can even.
06:22Oops.
06:23Sorry.
06:24So we can actually even turn it up a few notches.
06:25Exactly.
06:26You can change the setting.
06:27So let's take a selfie.
06:28Let's see how that would look like with the light.
06:29See if it really enhances.
06:30Does it come with any filters or is it just the light?
06:32This is actually just a makeup mirror.
06:34Oh, I see.
06:35Okay.
06:36Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:37So really good.
06:38Again, for those stocking stuffers, for that makeup lover in your light.
06:42Can I test it out?
06:43Sure.
06:44I want to see how strong the light is and if it really, we should take a selfie together.
06:47Let's go back to the, to the, yes, there we go.
06:50The camera.
06:51Let's see how it looks.
06:52Let's turn it around.
06:53I'm definitely an Android user.
06:55I do not know how to use an iPhone.
06:57Let's take our photo.
06:58Oh, wow.
06:59Look at that.
07:00Beautiful.
07:01And it will give you a little more light if you need a little more light for your selfie,
07:04but you can also get close up when you've got to get those lip gloss pops.
07:07And then we can print it out.
07:08Exactly.
07:09That light.
07:10Stephanie?
07:11Everything.
07:12All right.
07:13Now there you have it.
07:14Our Black Girls Gadget Gift Guide has lots of great gifts for the tech loving women in
07:19your life.
07:20I might pick these up for myself.
07:21Honestly, real talk.
07:22Thanks to Tech Life Steph and all our guests for stopping through.
07:25If you missed any of today's show, stick around for the replay airing shortly on essence.com.
07:30And remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel to see all our videos.
07:34I'm Makone Lovu and I'll see you right here next Tuesday at 3 p.m. Eastern for an all-new Essence
07:40Now.
07:41Take care.
07:42And we're really breaking down for our careers.
07:43You don't need to love to notice that we'll get back toshow bio of Beckholt.
07:44We'll go home for a few weeks I'm in the next day at the end.
07:45I just want to keep watching.
07:46I want all of these.
07:48I want all of these.
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