Skip to main content

Here’s to you, old man! 8 Father’s Day gifts for the tech inclined and gadget obsessed

Fathers Day Guide
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Olympus PEN E-P5 ($1,500)

Fathers Day Gift Guide Olympus PEN E P5Face it: Dad is old. When he first started shooting pictures, he was using film in a camera that more than likely looked like the old Olympus PEN F. That old school classic (that, incidentally, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year) could make even a blind man feel like he was an intrepid photo journalist or adventure photographer because … well, mostly because it had leather on the body, which is what we associate with old school photo journalists and adventure photographers. But despite the retro styling, there’s nothing old school about the E-P5: a 16-megapixel sensor, fast autofocusing, Wi-Fi pairing with smartphones, bright LCD, and a Micro Four-Thirds interchangeable lens mount. So give good old Dad a camera that reminds him of the glory days, when his imagination was a little more vivid. 

Recommended Videos


GolfSense
($130)

Fathers Day Gift Guide GolfSenseWhen it comes to … pretty much everything, guys need to be able to measure their efforts so that they can track their progress and cache some bragging rights. Golf is no different, which is why there’s the GolfSense. A 3D golf swing analyzer with some pretty amazing capabilities, the system consists of a lightweight sensor, which attaches to the Velcro strap of a golf glove. The sensor beams swing data wirelessly via Bluetooth to iOS and Android-based smartphones and tablets. From there, the GolfSense app processes the data and comes back with a 3D rendering of the user’s golf swing along with a bevy of interesting swing data, including club head speed. That’s right, not only can the golfing dad in your life now boast about their shooting distance, but they can add swing speed to their list of merits. Oh, and if they want to address that nasty slice of theirs, GolfSense can help with that too. 

Garmin Oregon 550T ($500)

Fathers Day Gift Guide Garmin Oregon 550TIn addition to being named after Digital Trends’ home state, the Oregon is versatile, accurate, and pretty much bomb-proof. It’s also small enough to slip in a pocket and Pops can use it to take 3.2 megapixel shots of his encounter with Sasquatch – or just the Sasquatch Music Festival. If it’s the latter, Dad will know just how high … his elevation is, because the 550T includes topographical maps and a barometric altimeter as well. It’s easy enough to use for the tech-challenged, waterproof, has a compass, 850 megs of memory, runs on AA’s or NiMHs and communicates wirelessly with smartphones to easily communicate to everyone how lost – or high – your dad really is.  

Remote control bald eagle ($360) 

Fathers Day Gift Guide Remote control bald eagleThe bald eagle might be a somewhat cowardly predator, mostly hunting defenseless creatures much smaller than itself, but it’s still majestic looking, and – damn it – it’s a symbol of this great nation. So don’t think twice about dropping more than 350 bucks on this thing. It has a bio-accurate(ish) 6.5 foot wingspan and a cleverly-placed motor that is hidden from view to anyone (except maybe other bald eagles flying above it), so no one will know that they’re not being attacked by a real bald eagle. That’s right, this year, give Dad the gift that keeps on giving: the ability to dive bomb the neighbor’s kids. Plus, it’s from the Sharper Image, so you know it’s good. 

Golf Club drink dispenser ($90)  

Fathers Day Gift Guide Golf Club drink dispenserSpeaking of the Sharper Image, they’re kinda on a roll this year, as proven by this nifty little bit of slight-of-club to save Dad the cost of the beer cart on his local 18. Have you seen the prices at your average country club? Dad just wants an ice cold Coors Light while he’s golfing without mortgaging the house or catching flack from the fancy pants teetotalers waiting for him to slice it into the drink. Should Dad have to worry about that? Not with you as a child, he shouldn’t. You’re welcome. 

Chillsner ($30)

Fathers Day Gift Guide ChillsnerFrom the geniuses behind the corkcicle comes the slightly more manly Chillsner, which is scientifically proven to keep beers frosty. How does this remarkable device work? Basically, it’s a reusable ice cube that doesn’t melt and also maintains carbonation, but don’t let that keep you from crowing to Dad about how science has solved all his problems in the form of a steel cork that will … get this … make your beer consistently awesome even if he’s drinking really slowly on the hottest day of the year. He’ll be sizing you up for a World’s Greatest Child blazer in no time. 

Logitech K400 keyboard ($40)

Fathers Day Gift Guide Logitech K400 keyboardA keyboard doesn’t have to be attached to the desk, and Logitech knows it. The perfect size for the couch, the Logitech K400 keyboard is a lightweight solution for cord-cutters who want to enjoy content in the living room and on a big screen, and the built-in touchpad increases versatility. The best part? The K400 gives you bang for your buck: it has a list price of $40, but you can find it at online retailers or at Target for just $30. 

Case-Mate folding wallet ($80)

Fathers Day Gift Guide Case Mate folding walletA few years ago, we might have recommended a nice leather wallet for Dad, but hey, it’s 2013. If he doesn’t have a smartphone by now, buy him one, and then get him the Case-Mate folding wallet to hold it. It has all your standard wallet-type stuff, like three credit card slots and a space big enough for a wad of cash and receipts. But it can also fit the iPhone you’re going to buy Dad, which means the wallet’s really the wrapping paper for the phone. And that means you just trumped your sister who thought she won World’s Greatest Child with the aforementioned Chillsner. 

Digital Trends Staff
Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…
ChatGPT’s awesome Deep Research gets a light version and goes free for all
Deep Research option for ChatGPT.

There’s a lot of AI hype floating around, and it seems every brand wants to cram it into their products. But there are a few remarkably useful tools, as well, though they are pretty expensive. ChatGPT’s Deep Research is one such feature, and it seems OpenAI is finally feeling a bit generous about it. 

The company has created a lightweight version of Deep Research that is powered by its new o4-mini language model. OpenAI says this variant is “more cost-efficient while preserving high quality.” More importantly, it is available to use for free without any subscription caveat. 

Read more
Star Wars legend Ian McDiarmid gets questions about the Emperor’s sex life
Ian McDiarmid as the Emperor in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

This weekend, the Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith 20th anniversary re-release had a much stronger performance than expected with $25 million and a second-place finish behind Sinners. Revenge of the Sith was the culmination of plans by Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) that led to the fall of the Jedi and his own ascension to emperor. Because McDiarmid's Emperor died in his first appearance -- 1983's Return of the Jedi -- Revenge of the Sith was supposed to be his live-action swan song. However, Palpatine's return in Star Wars: Episode IX -- The Rise of Skywalker left McDiarmid being asked questions about his character's comeback, particularly about his sex life and how he could have a granddaughter.

While speaking with Variety, McDiarmid noted that fans have asked him "slightly embarrassing questions" about Palpatine including "'Does this evil monster ever have sex?'"

Read more
Waymo and Toyota explore personally owned self-driving cars
Front three quarter view of the 2023 Toyota bZ4X.

Waymo and Toyota have announced they’re exploring a strategic collaboration—and one of the most exciting possibilities on the table is bringing fully-automated driving technology to personally owned vehicles.
Alphabet-owned Waymo has made its name with its robotaxi service, the only one currently operating in the U.S. Its vehicles, including Jaguars and Hyundai Ioniq 5s, have logged tens of millions of autonomous miles on the streets of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Austin.
But shifting to personally owned self-driving cars is a much more complex challenge.
While safety regulations are expected to loosen under the Trump administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has so far taken a cautious approach to the deployment of fully autonomous vehicles. General Motors-backed Cruise robotaxi was forced to suspend operations in 2023 following a fatal collision.
While the partnership with Toyota is still in the early stages, Waymo says it will initially study how to merge its autonomous systems with the Japanese automaker’s consumer vehicle platforms.
In a recent call with analysts, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai signaled that Waymo is seriously considering expanding beyond ride-hailing fleets and into personal ownership. While nothing is confirmed, the partnership with Toyota adds credibility—and manufacturing muscle—to that vision.
Toyota brings decades of safety innovation to the table, including its widely adopted Toyota Safety Sense technology. Through its software division, Woven by Toyota, the company is also pushing into next-generation vehicle platforms. With Waymo, Toyota is now also looking at how automation can evolve beyond assisted driving and into full autonomy for individual drivers.
This move also turns up the heat on Tesla, which has long promised fully self-driving vehicles for consumers. While Tesla continues to refine its Full Self-Driving (FSD) software, it remains supervised and hasn’t yet delivered on full autonomy. CEO Elon Musk is promising to launch some of its first robotaxis in Austin in June.
When it comes to self-driving cars, Waymo and Tesla are taking very different roads. Tesla aims to deliver affordability and scale with its camera, AI-based software. Waymo, by contrast, uses a more expensive technology relying on pre-mapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar and lidar (a laser-light radar), that regulators have been quicker to trust.

Read more