This page serves as a frequently updated list of hardware gear (like e-readers, smartphones, and cameras) that’s not tethered quite so closely to a computer. You can also see computer systems, computer peripherals, software and web services as well as stuff I’m just messing with.
(Last updated March 10, 2024)
An iPhone
In 2022, T-Mobile offered me a “free” upgrade to an iPhone 14 Pro with the trade-in of my iPhone 12 Pro. So I did it. It’s mostly just a great iPhone, although I do think the Camera app may not be getting the best out of the new 48-megapixel main camera. Along with most iPhone owners, I also have a pair of wireless earbuds. For me, it’s Apple’s AirPods Pro (second generation). The sound is pretty good, the integration with the iPhone and other Apple devices is insanely good, and the noise cancelling is just good enough.
Not-the-iPhone Phone
To keep up with how the other half lives and maintain my knowledge of Android apps, I also have a Pixel 7 Pro phone on Google’s low-cost Fi network. This replaced a perfectly good Pixel 4A in November, 2022, because of…wait for it…a ridiculous trade-in deal. The Pixel 7 Pro is a little larger than I like with its 6.7-inch screen. But Google services are great and the dictation and speech-to-text features are fantastic. I am still trying to decide whether it takes better photos than the iPhone 14 Pro.
Recharging rectangles
Traveling with phones and tablets and various other energy-sucking gadgets, I’ve found myself searching desperately for an electrical outlet on more than one occasion. So I have a couple of power banks I usually carry around. One is the Anker 521 Magnetic Battery, which is smaller than a deck of playing cards and magnetically attaches to the back of a wireless-charging capable phone, such as any recent iPhone. It also has a USB C port. The other is a Morphie Powerstation with a 10,000mAh battery and two USB C ports. It’s a little chonkier but charges gadgets more quickly than the Anker. Both banks have the 4 little lights on the side so you can make sure they’re charged up before you stash them in your bag. I recently added a little kit of cables in a cute carrying container from Morphie.
Flies through the air gadget
After watching my son enjoy his drone for a few years, I took the plunge and bought a DJI Mini 2 in 2020. It’s loads of fun to zip around the skies, though the pictures and movies it takes are not top quality and it doesn’t have a full suite of sensors to keep you out of trouble (I have only crashed into my house once and a tree once or twice).
E-book reader
I’ve been an unabashed fan of Amazon’s electronic book reader, the Kindle, since it came out in November 2007. I owned the original until June, 2009, when I upgraded to the larger screen of the Kindle DX. I upgraded multiple times over subsequent years through the Kindle Voyage 3G in 2014. But over time, I came to rely more on the iPad and stopped upgrading Kindles until… Amazon introduced the Kindle Scribe in September 2022. A Kindle with a 10-inch screen that you can also write on? Sign me up. I ordered one “write” away. I do miss the formerly included free cellular connectivity. I blogged about e-readers incessantly back in the day, as you can see under the “Kindle” category. I posted a review of the Kindle DX (2nd generation) on September 5, 2009 and the basic third-gen model on September 22, 2010.
Smart-ish speakers
Since owning an original Amazon Echo speaker with Alexa in 2016, we have added and subtracted various upgraded models and competitors. Google speakers never caught on with us and an original grey Apple HomePod sits in a corner unplugged and gathering dust. Amazon’s speakers have the most reliable connection with our Spotify account, among other benefits. So still online, we have an Amazon Echo Plus (second generation) in the kitchen, a larger Echo Studio in the living room, and I keep the cute, round Echo Spot on my desk to give me scores, weather, and solve the occasional long division problem.
Mirror-less camera
Seeking a camera that took great pictures with ease instead of complexity, in March, 2013, I dumped some better spec-ed cameras for the Fujifilm X-E1. It had fantastic, old-school analog controls and a great set of lens. Subsequent years brought various upgrades. I currently switch off between a tiny X-E3, which I bought used, and a big boy DSLR-style XT-3 I got for Christmas in 2018. Quick change camera straps from Peak Design are a requirement.
Coffee is not an option
Speaking of requirements, coffee is not optional to the writer on deadline — it’s a necessity. For such “emergencies,” and the usually scheduled morning cuppa, we have on hand a slightly fiddly but necessary Breville Grind Control BDC650. It grinds the beans fresh for each brew, which is critical for great tasting coffee. It replaced a Cuisinart DGB-700BC Grind & Brew, which died from overuse–the certain fate of all coffee makers in our house.
Other stuff:
Systems Computer Peripherals Software and Web Services Just Messing With
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