It's the time of year to shop for holiday gifts for your loved ones, and that can mean useful electronics. Media players, headphones, battery packs, smartphones, tablets...you name it and you probably have a friend or family member who wants it. Giving a gadget as a gift can certainly please its recipient, but you don't have to stop there.
In addition to kicking off the end-of-year shopping season, December 1 is World AIDS Day, and (RED) is an organization dedicated to fighting AIDS in Africa. You can donate directly to the cause, but that doesn't exactly solve your gift-giving problems. That's why (RED) has partnered with many technology brands including Apple, Beats by Dre, Mophie, and Square to offer (RED) versions of popular gadgets. When you buy a (RED) model, the company will donate up to 50 percent of the profits to the global fund to fight the spread of AIDS.
To put that into perspective: A (RED) pair of Beats by Dre Solo 2 headphones will pay for 17 days of medicine for someone who needs it. A (RED) Apple iPod nano or iPod touch will provide more than a month of treatment. (RED) products are exactly the same as any other model in its line, except, well, they're red and bear the Product (RED) logo.
Take a look at the best (RED) technology below, and read our full reviews of the original products if you're uncertain about what to get. (RED) versions are just like the devices we've tested in the PC Lab, only they help save lives.
If your gift-giving plans go beyond electronics, there are all sorts of (RED) products, from clothing and housewares to sporting gear and stationery, and every purchase raises money for AIDS treatment in Africa. What you see here is just a small sampling of the (RED) products available.
If you want to save lives with your gifts and pick up a (RED) product based on our reviews, let us know with the #PCMagRED hashtag on Facebook and Twitter!
The idea of a device being "just" a media player might seem strange these days, but when all you want is to listen to your favorite music or watch a video on-the-go, it might be all you need. The (RED) iPod nano is a tiny, slick little media player with a bright red metal body and loads of handy features, like a fitness app with pedometer. It will also last much, much longer than an iPod touch or an iPhone, playing music for up to 30 hours before you need to plug it in to charge.
Apple has certainly made its mark on the smartphone market, but that mark will leave a $649 hole in your pocket before you even think about your wireless plan when you opt for the latest iPhone 6s. If you want the media-playing, app-loading, Web-browsing convenience of iOS for a fraction of the price, the $200 iPod touch is a great choice. It has all of the software benefits of the iPhone, minus the cellular connection and service contact.
Beats by Dre has shaped the style and engineering of modern headphones, and its most recent on-ear headphones continue that trend. The (RED) Solo 2 headphones have a bright, glossy red finish with the signature Beats logo on the earcups, and their sculpted sound profile produces powerful, distortion-free bass with plenty of clarity in the highs to balance things out.
(RED) Mophie Juice Pack Air for iPhone 6/6s
A battery case for your phone can save more than much-needed juice. Mophie's (RED) Juice Pack case adds hours of battery life to your iPhone, along with increased protection against drops. And the signature red color really brightens up the look of your phone if you're bored by Apple's understated metallic finish.