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Five High Tech Gifts We Wish We Had Gotten This Holiday

Did you get all of the high tech gifts you wanted under your Christmas tree, Hanukkah, or your other favorite holiday? Here are five of the gifts--all from Southern California high tech companies--we wish we could have gotten wrapped in a present this year.



1. 3D Robotics X8+ Drone

The X8+ Drone from 3D Robotics is an octo-copter which can haul up to 800 grams--i.e. your GoPro Hero--anywhere you want, for the ultimate aerial photography and video platform, with up to 15 minute flight time and live, on-screen control and piloting. 3D Robotics is based in San Diego.

2. Wemo Water - not yet released

Wemo Water--which has been discussed, but has not yet been released by Playa del Rey-based Belkin, is a connected device which can be hooking into your home plumbing system, and--by sensing water pressure changes in your home--can tell you how much water you are using, and what things in your home are using the most water (toilet, sinks, irrigation, showers, etc.). The device connects into the rest of Belkin's Wemo line of connected devices--smart plugs, lightbulbs, coffee makers, crock pots, and more--to help you automate and better manage your life.

3. Sonos Playbar

The Sonos Playbar--created by Santa Barbara-based Sonos--is the ultimate sound accessory for the music and theater lover, and is particularly designed for use with your HDTV. The Playbar can not only connect to your favorite HDTV and play high fidelity sound, it also connects into the rest of your Sonos system and wirelessly streams music from any of your favorite streaming Internet music services, controlled via your Android, iPhone, or iPad device.

4. URB-E Commuter - not yet released

The URB-E is the ultimate in portable, compact transportation vehicles--and is a heck of a lot of fun to just ride around--with two models, one designed just for the joy of riding, the other for the dense urban commuter. The URB-E, which is current in pre-order and about to hit mass production--is perfect for getting from work to the light rail station--or even just tooling around town. Not only that, it comes with a built in smart phone charger, compatible with your iPhone or Android phone, and even has an app under development which will tell you what your battery charge is, range, speed, and will offer up navigation.

5. Oculus Rift Development Kit 2

The Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 is the ultimate in systems for immersive, virtual reality, offering up a high resolutions, OLED display and low latency positional head tracking technology perfect for getting into the world of developing your very own, virtual reality applications. The Oculus Rift Development Kit 2 is aimed at developers who are creating virtual reality content for the consumer version of the Oculus Rift--which has yet to be released--but developers have already shown incredible versions of hundreds of apps taking advantage of the virtual reality hardware. Oculus is based in Irvine.

What awesome high tech gear out there--from local high tech companies--did you wish you gotten in your stocking?