The holidays are upon us! These awesome must-have gadgets may be just what you’re looking for this year for your favorite court reporter or legal professional. These are my latest and greatest picks this year and just a click away for that favorite person on your list! Whether you’re on the naughty list or the nice list, remember to pick up a little something for yourself while you’re at it.
Some of the following made my list last year, but they’re just so darn awesome that they landed on the list again this year. So, hold on for “deer” life as I “present” to you my favorite gadgets of 2018. I hope “yule” love them as much as I do. Enjoy!
- Automatic Pro Connected Car Adapter: This handy gadget has realtime location data about who’s driving your car. I’ve been using this device for over a year now and am absolutely loving it! I am using an app called IFTTT to automatically generate a Google spreadsheet to keep track of my work miles. No more mileage logs for me where I have to handwrite all the data. This adapter plugs into almost any car to provide unlimited monitoring with zero fees. You may even connect your car to your Echo, your smart thermostat, or any other part of your digital life. This product works only in the United States.
- DYMO LabelWriter: This labeler is my all-time favorite gadget. Just upload your company logo, add your contact information, and print a professional-looking label for every transcript that heads out the door. My labeler is connected to a dedicated computer. But I have no worries about keeping my contacts up to date, because I utilize Apple’s iCloud. When I effect a change or update in my address book on one computer, it then syncs on all computers, so my contacts are always up to date and available no matter which computer or device I happen to be using. I also have created a customized exhibit sticker with my logo. No more worrying about ordering exhibit stickers because I create them on-the-go. The product features of the DYMO labeler are many: create and print address, shipping, file, folder, and barcode labels; print USPS approved DYMO stamps postage directly from your desktop, uses thermal printing technology — no expensive ink or toner needed.
- Tile: I’ve been using the Tile for a few years now to keep track of my most important items. Think your writer, wallet, keys — you get the idea. Quickly find items that you seem to always misplace with Tile. I have given these as gifts before, and they’ve been a huge hit! Can’t find your car keys? Not sure where you placed your phone? Or what if my equipment gets stolen? Quickly find your lost items using Tile’s Bluetooth tracking device. If your Tile is within the 100-foot Bluetooth range, it will play a loud tune until you find it. Keep the app running in the background, and Tile will automatically remember the last time and place you last had your item so you know where to start looking. Tile is available for both Android and Apple devices! The New Pro & Mate now come with replaceable batteries.
- Peerless TrackR Quartz Blue Ballpoint Pen: This gadget is on my list this year. I think it would be a great addition to my gadget collection. Please tell Santa this is a must-have! The Cross Peerless TrackR was designed for those who want to enjoy the luxury of a Cross pen without the worry of it getting lost, left behind, or stolen. Within it is a tracking device that lets you keep tabs on your pen’s whereabouts through a suite of tracking features. It also comes with a lifetime mechanical guarantee!
- Anker 10W Wireless Charger, Qi-Certified Wireless Charging Pad: This is one of the best gadgets ever! No more cords for me when I need to charge my iPhone X. Fast charge mode enables wireless charging up to two times faster. (Metal attachments or credit cards will interfere with charging.) Some of its unique features are as follows: LED indicators, non-slip pad, temperature control, surge protection, and more!
- iRobot Roomba 780: Be productive at home and do other things you’d rather be doing than vacuuming! We fondly call our Roomba “Alice,” like the housekeeper from The Brady Bunch. Now if only we had a real Alice! The features of the Roomba: iAdapt multi-room navigation uses a full suite of sensors to navigate and adapt to your changing home; room-to-room cleaning with the included Virtual Wall Lighthouse beacons; three-stage cleaning system agitates, brushes, and suctions floors; conveniently scheduled up to seven times per week or just press Clean on the robot; automatically docks and recharges.
- AirFly: Wish you could listen to in-flight TV with your AirPods? Want to hear the gym cardio machine’s TV audio with your wireless headphones? Now you can, thanks to AirFly – a tiny device that connects wireless headphones to wired-audio jacks on planes, in fitness center, and anywhere else wired headphones were previously required. Just pair your wireless headphones with AirFly, plug it into the headphone jack, and you’re ready. It’s just that easy! AirFly stays charged for eight hours and includes a USB charging cable and travel pouch. The built-in battery lasts up to eight hours and recharges via USB.
- Apple AirPods: I love to do away with cords when I can. The Apple AirPods made it into my gadget collection this past summer. I was looking for a good option to monitor live audio during a job without a cord hanging from my ear. I used the AirFly to connect to my writer, which it did fine. Unfortunately, at this time they are unusable for this purpose because of audio feedback. That being said, the AirPods are an amazing product and hopefully one day the technology can work for monitoring of audio during the deposition. These earbuds can be used for when I want to edit over the lunch hour or on breaks and I wish to spot-check my audio. They are slim and quite unobtrusive. No one can even tell I have them in! They can be used with all your devices. After a one-tap setup, the AirPods are automatically on and always connected. You will get up to five hours of listening time on one charge.
- HGM-2 Microphone: This handy little microphone is packed with lots of features and has extreme pickup range and quality in addition to a built-in battery tester. The court reporter who has this mic can be assured you will have a worry-free day of crystal clear audio. The HGM-2 utilizes a high-power battery that lasts 600 hours and allows the microphone to actually track voices up to 75 feet away while filtering out background noise. I use this microphone attached to my Luminex so that I can monitor audio live for those low-talking witnesses and attorneys!
- Amazon Echo Dot: I received the Echo Dot last year. It truly has a wide variety of uses and can be used throughout your office or home. Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that uses Alexa to play music, control smart home devices, make calls, send and receive messages, provide information, read the news, set alarms, read audiobooks from Audible, control Amazon Video on Fire TV, and more. When editing my transcripts, I ask Alexa to verify spellings for me so that I don’t have to take my hands off the keyboard; thus, making me much more productive. If a court reporter can keep their hands on the keyboard, it saves time and effort for sure. Other uses for the Echo Dot are as follows: Connects to speakers or headphones through Bluetooth or 3.5 mm stereo cable to play music from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn. Apple Music is coming mid-December! Play music simultaneously across Echo devices and speakers connected via cable with multi-room music. There are many skills available for Alexa. If you want to find out if you or your children are on Santa’s Naughty or Nice list, enable the skill on Alexa and find out quickly!
- Peeps: This gadget is another one that is on my Wish List! It’s gotten rave reviews online. It’s a revolutionary and patented invisible carbon formula that safely and easily cleans your glasses, leaving your lenses as clean as the day you got them. This gadget is compact, lightweight, and pocket-sized, which makes it a perfect companion for travel! Unlike disposable chemical-filled wipes, the carbon technology is all natural.
There you have it — my Top Gadgets for the Holidays 2018. Happy gifting! Oh, and remember to pick up a little something for yourself while you’re shopping.
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