Posts in Gadgets
VR workout

My 18-year-old daughter bought an Oculus Quest 2 VR system but didn’t like it. It sat in the box for a few months before I gave it a try. I got a trial subscription to a boxing fitness program called Supernatural. I’m hooked. It’s so much fun that I don’t notice that my heart is beating fast and I’m panting as I’m dodging, ducking, and jabbing. With over 500 workouts, I look forward to the beautiful settings and enthusiastic coaches every time I work out. — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
New Tile Slim for wallets

I keep a Tile Slim bluetooth tracker in my wallet. If I misplace my wallet, I can use my phone to make the tracker chirp. If I misplace my phone, I can press the button on the tracker and make my phone chirp. The 2022 version of the Tile Slim is out. It’s still as thin as 2 credit cards, but has an improved range of 250 feet. I bought one for my daughter, who recently had a scare when she lost her wallet (someone found it and returned it fortunately). — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Super fast charger

The 65 watt Anker Nano II is an itsy-bitsy wall charger, size of golf ball, that uses fancy circuits to super charge your phone, pad, or laptop really fast, about 3x the standard speed. Its only port is USB-C, and comes without cables, so bring your own. It can fully charge my new iPad in about 75 minutes from a dead start. (A 13-inch laptop is about as big as it can handle in super fast mode; for any laptop larger its advantage is its very small size.) This tiny speed charger is perfect for my daypack bag. — KK

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Earbud extension cable

It seems like Zoom and Google Hangouts will be permanent fixtures in my life. My Bluetooth earbuds have not worked well for me. The wired earbuds I use are foolproof. It’s just that the cable is too short for comfort. KabelDirekt’s 3-foot extension cable solved the problem for me. While Zooming, I can now stretch comfortably in my chair without having to worry about the earbuds falling out. — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Best older iPad

I wanted to give my daughter an iPad, but I doubted she needed the biggest, most powerful model, which costs as much as a MacBook Air. After poking around on Reddit, I found the consensus was to get an 8th generation iPad. Amazon has 128GB models for under $450. It works with the Apple Pencil and supports the smart keyboard, too. It’s all the iPad she needs for drawing and video streaming. — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Best AirPod Pro replacement tips

I bought memory foam tips to replace the standard ones that come with AirPod Pros. They were an improvement because my AirPods stopped falling out of my ears. Then someone told me to get a pair of SednaEarfit Xelastic tips. I did, and they are incredible. The soft rubbery tips completely seal my ear canal, and make the noise cancelation so much better that I couldn’t even hear the toilet flushing. They are comfortable, too. — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Wireless Charging Pad

I got tired of buying Lightning cables, which break frequently so I decided to try a wireless charger pad for my iPhone 12 Mini (most newer phones can be charged wirelessly). It cost less than a lightning cable and now I just set my phone (or AirPod Pros) on it and it starts charging. I’ll never go back to cables. — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Better lightning cables

After reading my recommendation for getting cheap 3rd party Lightning cables instead of Apple’s shoddy ones, Martim Weinstein said “buy some good cables instead” He recommends the Belkin Mixit DuraTek Lightning cables: “Have a pair of these on my car and another on my motorbike. The ones in the car constantly get stepped on by wet and dry shoes, charge my kids iPads and iPhones, charges guest iPhones, are left out and about with zero looking after. They’ve lasted 2 years so far with zero sign of wear. The one on the motorbike is in rain, blazing sun and constantly exposed to the all elements with zero signs of wear. It’s on there almost a year and works just like it did on day one. I’m never buying another Apple cable if I can help it.” — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Lightning cables in bulk

It’s criminal that Apple doesn’t use USB-C or Micro-USB for charging. Its Lightning cables are shoddy and suddenly stop working with no visible signs of wear. I’m almost ready to switch to an Android phone, but until I do, I’m going to buy bags of cheap third-party Lightning cables, like this 5-pack. I’ve used them for a month so far with no issues. — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Fire TV Stick 4K

I bought the original Fire TV stick when it first came out a few years ago. When the HD version with a voice-activated remote control came out a couple of years later, I bought that and I appreciated the extra speak and talk-to-search feature. Amazon recently released the Fire TV Stick 4K. The remote comes with volume controls and an on-off button for the TV so I don’t need to use the TV remote anymore. It’s also much faster than the previous versions of the Fire TV stick. It’s a worthy upgrade. — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Cute, handy printer

I love my Mini Magic Wireless Thermal Printer. I don’t have a regular printer in my home office, and don’t really need one, but I’ve been using this tiny, handy machine to print out lists, and pictures of my pets, and poems that I want to save. I am growing a collection of whimsical receipts! Because there is no ink required and because it came with six rolls, I constantly feel inspired to print something. I also ordered this sticky thermal paper (3 rolls, $10) on Amazon, so I can draw and print out my own stickers. — CD

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Correct USB plug orientation

You try to insert a USB plug and it doesn’t fit. You flip it over and it still doesn’t fit, so you flip it back to the original side and now it fits. Ugh! How many thousands of times has that happened? Just remember this: the topside of any USB plug will be smooth metal and the underside will have a groove down the center. Keep the smooth side up. — KK

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Don’t mute, get a good headset

We are all Zooming, Skyping, Webexing, Google hanging. Nothing will increase the quality of a video conference better than having a good mic pointed at everyone’s mouth. The least expensive way to get a good mic is with a headset. Lightweight ones don’t have to look dorky. It’s what I use. Which headset should you get today? Matt Mullenweg, founder of Wordpress, whose entire 900-person company has worked remotely for a decade, outdid Wirecutter in trying out and testing all USB headsets. He posted his work and recommendations here on his blog post, Don’t Mute. — KK

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Heavy duty power brick

The myCharge RazorXtreme ($100) is a portable charger with two USB A ports and a USB C port that charge small devices as well as laptops (20V, 45W). It’s bigger and heavier than typical portable chargers (almost 9-inches long and 1.3 lbs) but it keeps my family’s numerous electronics juiced all weekend when we are away from an AC power source. — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Find misplaced items

I put a Tile bluetooth tracker in my wallet and forgot about it. Last week, my wallet fell out of my pocket when I was at the movies, and I didn’t realize it until I was in the car. I went back to the theater, opened the Tile app on my phone and pressed the “Wallet” button. The tile in my wallet chirped loudly and I found it wedged between two seats. A useful little gadget! — MF

GadgetsClaudia Dawson
Ergonomic Wireless Mouse

My Magic Mouse was giving me claw hand from the way I had to grip it and I needed to a find an alternative mouse, so I immediately googled Wirecutter’s tested picks and bought their upgrade pick of the Logitech MX Master Mouse ($70). Full disclosure: I thought I had purchased this from a list of the best vertical mouses. Even after it arrived and I began using it, I still mistakenly thought I was using a vertical mouse and that I had quickly overcome the steep learning curve that everyone talks about. By the time I realized that it was not a vertical mouse — just a very good ergonomic one — my claw hand was gone and I was happy with it, so I just kept it! My favorite thing about this mouse is I was able to customize the buttons and scroll wheels to do everything my Magic Mouse used to do. — CD

GadgetsClaudia Dawson