Hi everyone, the (almost) end of another eventful year. Whilst the stock market is definitely on Santa’s naughty list, and Elon Musk and all of FTX’s management are unlikely to even get a lump of coal. I still wanted to bring you the very best gadgets from around the world. Because gadgets are life and this is the 14th anniversary of this email. This year I have brought back my favourite Apps list at the bottom as well because I love you all so much.
I want to thank all of you for reading and sharing my posts, it’s a small but mighty army with a 75% open rate! These posts all take a lot of time. The only thing I ask in return is to share this with two people that also love technology stocks and gadgets.
Gadgets of the year
(winner at the bottom)
DJI Avata
Drone technology continues to improve every year thanks to DJI’s R&D. However, anyone that has controlled a drone knows that it is neither easy nor that fun. You are constantly course-correcting and hoping it doesn’t crash. The DJI Avata, allows you to put goggles on and fly as if you are sitting on the drone. The controls are as easy as a point and go joystick. This produces stunning shots and makes you feel like you are right there in the thick of the action. Watch this video for a better sense of how cool this thing is. The downside is that the battery range is only 18 mins, and the range of the camera control is only about 1km.
$1,200 https://amzn.to/3WYAiO0
Kindle Scribe
It’s a kindle with a digital notepad. The end.
Jabra Evolve2
I really tried to love the big can-eared Bose noise-cancelling headphones and even my Airpods for work calls. Both are ok, but if you are ever in an environment that is noisy (coffee shop, airport, walking when windy), they all fail miserably. I also wanted to avoid buying a boom microphone headset to avoid the call centre helpdesk look. Eventually, I relented and bought the Jabre Evolve 2. The noise cancelling, clarity of voice for the listener is outstanding. It also means that I can speak quieter when on calls which helps if you need to discuss confidential information. The cans do get warm after long use, and I find the band also hurts my head after a couple of hours. The headphones are not super compact but are still smaller than Bose. So whilst not perfect, they are the best the market can offer today.
$168, https://amzn.to/3hzrEp1
DJI Action 2
The second appearance for DJI on the list this year, as they have almost perfected the action sports camera with the DJI Action 2. It clips on using strong magnets and has a tonne of different attachments for almost any sport. DJI’s AI app editing also means that, just like with their drone, you don’t have to be a video expert to produce something that looks great, very quickly.
$400, https://amzn.to/3NXYe02
NightWatch Magnifying Clock Dock for Apple Watch
I always wondered why we have so many devices that can tell the time, watches, phones, clocks, and digital picture frames. Finally, someone has made a gadget that leverages your Apple watch’s interface and turns it into a clock whilst charging your watch. If you need an alarm clock in the morning it also amplifies the sound of the watch alarm. Great gift for that Apple lover in your life.
Ooni Pizza Oven
I was pretty late to this COVID trend of making pizzas at home, until a friend persuaded me to get one. Ever since then, I have been totally addicted. But its not easy. In fact it is really hard. It requires a lot of trial and error to get the pizza dough perfect and then to get the toppings just right and don’t get me started on the cooking itself. Cooking in the Ooni is an art form, it’s certainly not push and forget. But holy cow, is it worth it. There is nothing better than having freshly baked delicious pizza. The downside to this oven is that it can bake very hot, so you need to adjust the temp as you are cooking. Also, you will end up buying their accessories like the pizza peel which adds to the already juicy cost.
$700, https://amzn.to/3hvH9OJ
Segway Drift Roller Skates
Segway’s self-balancing board are the best on the market. They have taken that tech and put them into this rollerskates that you simply step on and push forward. Think of them as a hoverboard for your feet. Beacuse you aren’t strapped in, you can also jump off at any time giving you a far greater feeling of control. They aren’t available in Singapore yet, not even sure if they are legal, but they look freaking cool! The problem is that they don’t love bumps in the road and the videos online are mostly of people falling so if you are interested maybe wait for v2 Check out this video
$400, https://amzn.to/3DZbE7n
Ember Mug 2
It’s a chargeable mug. It keeps your drink at the perfect temperature. What is not to love?
$130, https://amzn.to/3Gb4iR4
Airfly
Now that we are all flying again. You realise just how bad the headphones are in planes. Especially now that nobody can afford to fly business unless they are a billionaire. Airfly is a great little gadget that enables you to connect your Airpods or other Bluetooth headphones to the plane entertainment system
Travel Router
If you travel with a baby and have a baby monitor, you will quickly realise that most monitors can’t connect to hotel wifi with a pop web page, they need a simple password system to connect to. If that is you, then you need a travel router. You can connect it to the hotel wifi and all of your devices just connect to the router. Essential for baby travel.
Winner **Eight Sleep **
The winner of the gadget of the year is Eight Sleep. Any gadget that saves a divorce and/or general marriage fights gets my vote. There is a lot of scientific evidence that our best sleep happens in a cold environment (21c or lower). There are two issues with this. (a) If you live in a hot climate, you need to crank up your aircon to the max. In the age of climate friendliness and sky-high energy bills, that is a no-no (b) women are comfortable at a much higher temperature than men. Cue fights and unhappy marriages. Along comes Eight Sleep. It is a mattress cover that connects to a pod which cools your mattress down by pumping cold water into tiny tubes across the mattress. The cover itself is very comfortable and feels just like a mattress topper. Use the app to cool the mattress down to freezing cold, and the best thing is that each person has their own zone to fit their perfect temperature. Because you are cooling the mattress directly, you no longer need to have the aircon cranked up to max. The sensors in the mattress learn how your body changes temperature throughout the night and adjusts it automatically using AI. Whilst I can’t guarantee it will solve all your marriage issues it’s a must-buy if you want to have a good nights sleep.
$2,000 My referral code for $200 off. http://refer.eight.sl/cw6gnpp9
Apps of the year
Whilst not a comprehensive review, these are the apps that I have 💓 this year
Airr is one of those apps that should really be a feature in every podcast app. It allows you to triple-click your airpods whilst listening to a podcast and that clip is saved in the cloud. Perfect for later referral or knowledge storage.
If you are like me, you spend hours reading Kindle books but then a few weeks later you have pretty much forgotten most of what you read. It is very common. Readwise forces you into a cycle of learning and memory by resurfacing 5 of those highlights each day in a flashcard for you to remember them. A really neat feature is that it can also show you the most popular highlights from other kindle readers. The real power comes from its ability to pull in highlights from other places like Airr (above), webpage highlights (from Pocket) and much much more. This is one of the few new apps that I have subscribed to this year.
Super simple and lightening fast todo list across mobile and web
Not new, but please please for the love of God use a password manager and protect your passwords. Take 10 mins out of your life and learn the tutorials and save yourself the heartache of being hacked.
Combine your new password app with the best two-factor authentication (2FA) app out there, Authy. DO NOT use google authenticator, if you lose your phone you lose your 2FA, it’s a disaster.
Pocket is a browser extension and app that saves webpages and articles for future reading. It’s like a scrapbook and works offline so great for those long plane journeys.
Now that travel is back, don’t buy SIM cards in each new location or use expensive data. Airalo allows you to use esims for cheaper, more convenient data whilst abroad . Use my referral code https://ref.airalo.com/591j
Contacts sync pro -If you have multiple Gmail or work accounts and you need to keep the contacts sync’d across them, this is the best solution
An app that has changed my fitness routine. Have a real person personalise, develop and then track your workout routine and get real-time AI feedback on your form. All via the Apple Watch. Prob one of the best value for money in fitness.