The holidays are upon us! Gift giving can be stressful sometimes for your favorite court reporter or legal professional. Luckily, I have my top picks you can choose from to ease the burden of coming up with a great gift for that favorite person on your list. It’s just a click away!
- Automatic Pro Connected Car Adapter: This handy gadget has realtime location data about who’s driving your car. I’ve been using this device since late fall 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.
- Tile: 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! I currently have the Tile Mate. Since last year, they now have the Tile Slim. The Slim is as thin as two credit cards. Easy to stick, slide, or tuck into tight spots like wallets, purses, passports, and more.
- Kenu Airframe+ Car Mount for Smartphones: This little gadget is great for mounting in your car when using your GPS app. It can be mounted in the car so it’s stationary. Never worry about glancing down at your phone and being distracted again.
- Square: Start accepting credit card payments today! A free credit card reader will be sent to you when you sign up with Square for use on iPhones, iPads, and Android. The account setup process is quick and easy. As mentioned above, as an independent court reporter, I do work in the courtroom. There are occasions when an attorney has forgotten to hire a court reporter and then approaches me to ask if I can cover his matter as well. In the instance where an attorney is not known to you and you are unsure of the payment history, Square comes to the rescue. You have the ability to swipe their credit card on the spot for the attendance fee and never have to worry if you will be paid later.
- 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 – no monthly fee, contracts, or commitments required
- Uses thermal printing technology — no expensive ink or toner needed
- TUDIA Klips: Without protection from wear and tear, many experience the inconvenience of having their charging cable break in less than six months of use. Once broken, it is not long until the cable is no longer capable of recharging. TUDIA Klip works to stop strain, before wires become exposed and the cable stops working. Rather than buying a new cable, the Klip allows you to preserve your original Apple Lightning or 30-pin cable. The Klip snaps on to your charging cable in seconds. This device keeps your cable functioning longer and helping yo, stay connected, and fully charged.
- Sugru: If you already have a cable that’s frayed, use Sugru. Sugru sticks permanently to lots of stuff like ceramics, glass, metal, wood, and most plastics and fabrics. Just push it onto something, then it’s time to build, seal, fix, create, and stick things together. You’ll have 30 minutes to get the job done. Give it 24 hours, and Sugru turns into a durable, flexible silicone rubber that stays stuck (unless you remove it).
- TimePorter for Apple Watch: TimePorter for Apple Watch was gifted to me by my sweet husband last year. This is both a case and a stand. TimePorter holds your charging cable, an extra Watch band, your USB charger, and more in a silicone-lined case. Pop your charging disc into the integrated opening in TimePorter and drape Apple Watch across the top to charge. With Apple Watch resting on TimePorter, open the case to the preferred angle and TimePorter transforms into a viewing stand, perfect for viewing notifications and the time. This is awesome! I actually can store several watch bands in this handy case.
- Rocketbook: This device was recommended to me by a great court reporter colleague. The Rocketbook Wave provides the freedom of a traditional pen and paper notebook, while instantly blasting your notes into the cloud using your smartphone. Image processing: In an instant, the Rocketbook app crops and enhances each page so your digital notes are more crisp and vibrant than the real thing. Send your notes to specific locations in the cloud services you already use. My favorites are Evernote, box, and Dropbox. When you use Pilot FriXion pens with the notebook, you can erase your notes using your microwave oven and reuse your notebook.
- Pilot FriXion Gel Pens: Use these pens with your Rocketbook. Writes smooth, erases clean for a “mistake-free” writing experience. This is perfect for making drafts, edits, lists and notes.
There you have it — my Top Ten Gadgets for the Holidays 2016. Happy gifting! Oh, and don’t forget to pick up a little something for yourself while you’re shopping. You can click on the image below to start shopping now.
Happy Holidays!