6 jaw-dropping digital gadgets guaranteed to change how we live, work and play

Whether youve procrastinated until now to buy your holiday gifts, theres no shortage of amazing choices for technology lovers. And if youve already filled everyones stocking  or you just want to spoil yourself, theres always the upcoming year to celebrate.

Here are six of our favourites  including a couple you probably cant get your hands on just yet, but stay tuned!

Digital combination lock: Tired of forgetting your lock combination at the gym or wherever you protect your valuables? Master Locks battery-operated dialSpeed digital padlock only uses combinations of four arrow keys  up, down, left and right  matched up to groups of letters and numbers, making it easier to memorize a code based on your favourite acronym. You can also program three guest codes so the same lock can be used by different people. And if you forget your code, you can access the original factory code from the companys website.

Weatherproof wireless portable speaker: Everyone knows listening to music on your earphones while biking is dangerous  though many of us still do it. boomBOTTLE from Scosche is a rugged weatherproof speaker that fits inside your bicycles water bottle cage or most cup holders and wirelessly streams music from your Apple or Android devices via Bluetooth. You can even use it as a speakerphone if, say, youre having a meeting at the ski hill or beach.

Wirelessly controlled bulbs: Remember the clapper  Clap on! Clap off!? Yeah, this isnt that. Philips Hue Connected LED bulbs use 80% less power than traditional bulbs and let you wirelessly control the colour and intensity of your home or office lighting from your phone. You can even set timers to turn the lights on and off automatically or alarms to wake you up in the morning. The only catch may be its price  but that may drop significantly as the technology becomes more widespread in the years to come.

Ultra short throw projector: Speaking of pricey, the limited availability Sony 4K Ultra Short Throw Projector is definitely that but its also amazingly impressive. This next generation home theatre projector sits on the floor in a sleek credenza-like unit and shoots upward against your blank wall, turning it into a 147-inch screen.

BONUS! Paper tablet: Youll have to wait a few more years for this mind-blowing technology but, once it does, its expected to revolutionize how we work with tablets and computers. Developed at Queens University, it looks and feels like a sheet of paper but its actually a flexible, high-resolution display that allows the user to, for instance, transfer an image on one PaperTab sheet to another simply by touching them, or scroll through a document by bending the corner of the sheet.

Take a look at whats in store here:

Did you know? 

Total retail sales for consumer electronics in Canada is expected to be more than $15 billion this year.

Though smart watches, 3D printers and high-tech thermostats are creating a lot of buzz, theyll make up only 5% of sales. Smartphones and tablets, on the other hand, will account for more than one-third of our electronics purchases. Still electronics and appliances make up only about 3% of what we buy.

(Source)