10 Breakthrough Gadgets for This Year's Christmas Present (Part 1 of 3)

With the passing of Thanksgiving, most people have one thing on their mind: Christmas shopping. The start of December welcomes the holiday season and with it comes lights, Christmas trees, holiday music, baking, and some serious shopping. And for those Moms doing Christmas shopping for techn-savvy teenagers and husbands- this is your lucky year. 

The last decade has seen some incredible technological advancements, but 2013 introduced some jaw-droppingly cool gadgets that you're definitely going to want to put on your list. 

1. Samsung Galaxy S4

Everyone's always buzzing about Apple's Iphones, but you may be surprised to know that in 2012's global smartphone market share Samsung's Galaxy S3 actually beat out the iPhone 5! Experts predict the updated version, the Galaxy S4 is going to give Apple a run for its money when it hits stores in April. Reading this as a die-hard Apple user myself, I wasn't entirely convinced but when I read about the new features it offers- I have no problem believing this will be the next big phone. Not even taking the 5-inch 1080 display and 13.0 megapixel camera into account, the phone offers touch-screen features including "Smart pause" which pauses video by the user simply turning their head away from the screen, as well as "Smart scroll", where users can browse through their emails by simply tilting the phone. How is this possible? All through facial recognition. 

2. 3Doodler

Reading about this recent invention truly blew me away. The 3Doodler has been dubbed "the world's first 3D printing pen". So how does it work? Well, the pen releases hot plastic which cools and then quickly solidifies. The creators believe that this pen will be responsible for huge advances in limited edition art as well as templates. They add that it is not only for projects and designing, but can be used for smaller, fun things too like decorating iPhone cases or jewelry. This makes for the perfect gift for any artists or architects-to-be!

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3. Pebble

This next invention combines a smartphone with a watch, in the coolest way possible. Nicknamed the "First Watch of the 21st Century", the Pebble connects to iPhone or Android smartphones and enables you to receive text messages, emails, or incoming calls at the touch of a button. But the reason why it truly stands out as the watch of the 21st century is because now in addition to viewing your texts, you can load it up with apps, with an increasing number available each day!