Gadget gift ideas for Father’s Day

Fitbit Flex —

Who's not trying to get, or stay, in shape? If dad's looking to get off of the couch more, a growing bevy of high-tech exercise monitors are on the market to help. This Fitbit Flex band monitors your steps, distance and calories burned during the day, then tracks your sleep cycle during the night and can even silently wake you up the next morning. Price: Starting at $99

Courtesy Fitbit

Slingbox —

Dad loves to park it in front of the tube, right? Hey ... we're not here to judge. (Not until the season finale of "Game of Thrones" is over, anyway.) If your father travels a lot, Slingbox is worth considering. The set-top box allows the user to control and watch their home television from anywhere on a computer, smartphone or tablet. Price: Starting at $179

Sling Media

Jawbone Jambox —

Dad never did get that newfangled music you're into. But there's nothing stopping him from listening to the classics on a newfangled set of speakers like the Jawbone Jambox. Smartphone and tablet speakers don't tend to be very good. But with these, you get a cool design in fun colors and great sound quality. Price: $199.

Jawbone

The Chillsner —

Does Pop enjoy the occasional frosty oat soda? Then what better way to reward him than a stainless steel, freezable "in-bottle, drink-through beer chiller?" The Chillsner, from the makers of the similarly brilliant Corkcicle, might not fly with beer snobs. But it would be a hit at the tailgate, assuming its "proprietary cooling gel" doesn't leak.
Price: $29.95 (2 pack)

Corksicle

Pebble Watch —

The Pebble Watch, what many consider the first commercial smartwatch, first gained attention by pulling in more than $10 million on Kickstarter. Pebble connects to an iPhone or Android phone via Bluetooth and has a growing slate of apps of its own. Lots of other folks are jumping into the smartwatch fray (Apple and Samsung are believed to be on the way) so there are other options, too. Price: $150 to pre-order (watches shipping this summer)

Courtesy Pebble Technologies

Was Dad an early Internet adopter? Are you fond of cliches? If you answered "yes" to both, this is the gift for you. <a href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/f337/" target="_blank" target="_blank">ThinkGeek</a> is offering up the Nyan Cat tie -- combining the most predictable Father's Day gift ever with one of<a href="http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/nyan-cat-pop-tart-cat" target="_blank" target="_blank"> the Web's most beloved icons</a>. Of course, this will only work with a dad who thinks animated, 8-bit cats with Pop Tart bodies are funny. But, really, who doesn't?<strong> Price: $9.99</strong>

Nyan Cat Tie —

Was Dad an early Internet adopter? Are you fond of cliches? If you answered "yes" to both, this is the gift for you. ThinkGeek is offering up the Nyan Cat tie -- combining the most predictable Father's Day gift ever with one of the Web's most beloved icons. Of course, this will only work with a dad who thinks animated, 8-bit cats with Pop Tart bodies are funny. But, really, who doesn't? Price: $9.99

ThinkGeek

Proximo —

The worst part of anyone's morning ritual may be those high-stress moments when you're heading out the door and can't find your keys. Or wallet. Or smartphone. If dad has an iPhone or Samsung phone, you can help. The Kensington Proximo lets users tag up to five items. They can set an alarm that pings them if the item gets a certain distance away or, alternately, use GPS tracking to track tagged items that have gone missing. Price: $60 for starter kit, $25 for up to four more tags.

Kensington

Saving pennies on your heating and air-conditioning bills has never been so high-tech. The <a href="http://nest.com/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Nest thermostat </a>learns your usage patterns and automates setting the temperature of your home to save money and energy. Compatible with almost all heating and cooling systems, Nest means never again being asked if you were born in a barn. <strong>Price: $249</strong>

Nest thermostat —

Saving pennies on your heating and air-conditioning bills has never been so high-tech. The Nest thermostat learns your usage patterns and automates setting the temperature of your home to save money and energy. Compatible with almost all heating and cooling systems, Nest means never again being asked if you were born in a barn. Price: $249

Courtesy Nest

So dad has finally made the leap to an e-reader or tablet, but still longs for the look, feel and smell of a printed book. We can't help with the smell, but <a href="http://outofprintclothing.com/ebook-cases/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Out of Print</a> has the rest covered. Using real book board and cloth, they make covers that include classics from "The Great Gatsby" to "On the Road" to "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." Sadly, they're not available for dedicated Kindle e-readers. But they make versions for the 7-inch Kindle Fire, iPad, Nexus 7 and Kobo Glo.<strong> Price: $45</strong>

Out of Print e-book covers —

So dad has finally made the leap to an e-reader or tablet, but still longs for the look, feel and smell of a printed book. We can't help with the smell, but Out of Print has the rest covered. Using real book board and cloth, they make covers that include classics from "The Great Gatsby" to "On the Road" to "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." Sadly, they're not available for dedicated Kindle e-readers. But they make versions for the 7-inch Kindle Fire, iPad, Nexus 7 and Kobo Glo. Price: $45

OutOfPrint

These wireless <a href="http://www.beatsbydre.com/headphones/beats-wireless/beats-wireless,default,pd.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">Beats by Dr. Dre headphones</a> offer crisp, bass-thumping sound without a cord to get tangled up in. Dad will dig being able to stream audio from his phone, laptop, TV, or any other Bluetooth-enabled device -- and field phone calls -- with 10 hours of battery life. <strong>Price: About $280 from various retailers.</strong>

Beats wireless headphones —

These wireless Beats by Dr. Dre headphones offer crisp, bass-thumping sound without a cord to get tangled up in. Dad will dig being able to stream audio from his phone, laptop, TV, or any other Bluetooth-enabled device -- and field phone calls -- with 10 hours of battery life. Price: About $280 from various retailers.

From Beats by Dre

Is Dad an eco-friendly guy? This <a href="http://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/wireless-solar-keyboard-k760-for-mac" target="_blank" target="_blank">K760 wireless, solar-powered keyboard</a> syncs via Bluetooth with your Mac, iPad or iPhone. Its built-in solar cells charge with sunlight or even lamp light, so you never need to buy batteries. <strong>Price: $79, although some sites sell it for less.</strong>

Logitech solar-powered keyboard —

Is Dad an eco-friendly guy? This K760 wireless, solar-powered keyboard syncs via Bluetooth with your Mac, iPad or iPhone. Its built-in solar cells charge with sunlight or even lamp light, so you never need to buy batteries. Price: $79, although some sites sell it for less.

From Logitech

When in doubt, it's hard to disappoint Dad with an ultra-portable 7-inch tablet. The<a href="http://www.apple.com/ipad-mini/overview/" target="_blank" target="_blank"> iPad Mini</a> (left) starts at <strong>$329</strong>, while Google's more affordable Android-based <a href="http://www.google.com/nexus/7/" target="_blank" target="_blank">Nexus 7</a> (right) starts at <strong>$199</strong> for a Wi-Fi-only, 16GB model. Or consider 7-inch <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Dolby-Audio-Dual-Band-Wi-Fi/dp/B0083PWAPW/ref=r_kdia_h_i_gl" target="_blank" target="_blank">Amazon's Kindle Fire HD tablet</a>, also starting at <strong>$199</strong>.

Mini tablets —

When in doubt, it's hard to disappoint Dad with an ultra-portable 7-inch tablet. The iPad Mini (left) starts at $329, while Google's more affordable Android-based Nexus 7 (right) starts at $199 for a Wi-Fi-only, 16GB model. Or consider 7-inch Amazon's Kindle Fire HD tablet, also starting at $199.

Apple/Google

Tech gadgets for Father's Day

Story highlights

With Father's Day approaching on June 16, here are some gadgets gifts to consider

Instead of obvious tablets and phones, we're mostly showcasing lesser-known tech

CNN —

Let’s face it: In 2013, the words “dad” and “tech” don’t clash like they used to.

Plenty of today’s fathers have spent their entire adult lives, if not part of their youth, in the digital age. And as to the others, well, isn’t it our job to drag them kicking and screaming into our brave new world of smartphones and tablets, e-readers and apps?

So, whether you’re shopping for a plugged-in dad or one who just figured out that disc-drive thing on the computer isn’t a cup holder, tech gadgets should probably be on your list of potential Father’s Day gifts.

There are the obvious smartphones, tablets and laptops, of course. But we’d like to showcase some less-obvious gadgets that might make dad forget all that money you borrowed in college.

From wearable workout helpers to advanced beer-chilling tech, hopefully one of these offerings will have some appeal.

And, yes, just because we think cliches are awesome, there’s a necktie.

Happy Dad Day shopping, folks. And if you have any gadget gift ideas of your own, let us know in the comments. We may add them to the gallery.

CNN values your feedback

Tech gadgets for Father's Day

Story highlights

CNN Business Videos