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leebase · 12-19-2019, 03:43 PM

Time for those "year end" wrap up stories. I bought a few tech things this year...and was pleased by all of them.

The new (5th gen?) iPad Mini is my favorite of the year. I'd been hanging onto my iPad Air 2 for long enough that the battery was down to "needing to be charged every night". And while I liked the 9.7" form factor, I hadn't been developing any iPad apps and really didn't need full size any more. Reading, watching YouTube, photo editing, social media and web browsing. So I decided to go for the mini because it had just been upgraded.

Super nice screen...very light....and I got it with 256gig which is one step up from the base. Now I have plenty of storage for when I go on trips...to download movies and tv shows. So much so....that I've pretty much eliminated the use case I had for my Amazon Fire HD 8. A device I bought last year and is still going strong...and wasn't updated this year.

But I did pick up the Walmart ONN 8" tablet for $64 (regular price, no ads). It comes with Stock Android 9.0 plus a few Walmart apps. I've been very pleased with it. It's pretty much the same experience as the Amazon Fire HD 8...only cheaper price, no ads...and no "Amazon Fire" skin. I'd be really thrilled if I hadn't bought the iPad Mini which, like I said, kinda took away my need for a cheap android tablet with memory expansion.

The thing that would keep me in the Amazon tablet camp would be the option for 32gig ram. There is only the 16gig version for the Walmart ONN. And I've learned that having an external memory card slot doesn't mean as much as you might think.....as not everything can be installed on the external card. And anything that is installed on the external card runs slower. It's best if you just put media (books, music, movie, tv shows) on the card and buy enough internal storage to allow you to install all the apps you want. Still, $64 for an Android 9.0 device was worth it.

Bought the Airpods Gen 2. I love these. Not surprising as I loved the originals and my battery in those was already compromised. However....if I had known that Airpods PRO were going to be released in the fall, I would have waited. Still...next to my iPhone and iPad mini, my Airpods are my most used device. Great for calls...'just fine' for sound quality....and super convenient.

Visible mobile service. It's a $40/month "all you can eat" mobile service that uses Verizon. I have Sprint on my phone, but it doesn't work everywhere....but I can't afford Verizon all the time. So when I go on a trip or vacation, I turn on Visible (it's pay as you go). I got a cheap Android phone with it for $19 that I use solely as a hotspot (though it works just fine as a phone.

I got a HooToo portable router/battery all in one. Very nice. I don't use it a lot...but when I do, it's great to have. The Visible service only allows you to connect 1 device to it's hotspot. I connect this router and then can share that one connection with my iPhone and iPad and laptop.

It's also nice for connecting to a hotel wifi....and then I can use my Raspberry Pi 4 headless.

Which brings me to the Raspberry Pi 4....a "computer on a card" device that costs $35-$55 depending if you want 1,2 or 4gig ram. $99 for a kit that has everything you need except a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Which is a real problem when you travel without a monitor because you can't see to setup with wifi. But with Hootoo portable router, I've already setup the Raspberry Pi at home....and so once the HooToo is connected to the hotel wifi, so is the Raspberry Pi. And I just remote in from my laptop.

What is it? It's a linux computer...with 40 pins that you can use in all kinds of DIY electronics projects. I just use it as a computer. A test bed to play with Linux and any time I might want to do something that I wouldn't want to expose my regular computer to danger. You can use your imagination.

You have young people that you can't afford to give a computer too...but you can afford $100 and have monitor/keyboard laying around....it's a great tool for introduction to computers and programing.

And then there's the iPhone 11 Pro. It is a nice camera upgrade. Super great screen. A little heavier than before which I notice when reading books. Fantastic battery life. Was it worth upgrading from the iPhone X? Only if you care enough about the photography. Which I do. I definitely have gotten shots I could not have with an older iPhone. I think most people would be phone with the iPhone 11 at $300 cheaper and missing the third (2x telephoto) camera. For me....$300 for a telephoto lens is something that's in the ball park from a photographer's pov (I've spent more on some of my lenses than I spent on the iPhone).

I didn't get any Android phone this year, opting for the Walmart tablet to get an Android 9.0 device.

I bought a second HomePod but I don't get to open it until Christmas. I love the first one which I bought for $350. I got the new one on black friday special for only $199. They are supposed to be much better as a pair. Looking forward to finding out.

12-19-2019, 03:43 PM	#1
leebase Karma Kameleon Posts: 2,938 Karma: 26738313 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: iPad Mini, iPhone X, Kindle Fire Tab HD 8, Walmart Onn	Favorite Gadgets of 2019 Time for those "year end" wrap up stories. I bought a few tech things this year...and was pleased by all of them. The new (5th gen?) iPad Mini is my favorite of the year. I'd been hanging onto my iPad Air 2 for long enough that the battery was down to "needing to be charged every night". And while I liked the 9.7" form factor, I hadn't been developing any iPad apps and really didn't need full size any more. Reading, watching YouTube, photo editing, social media and web browsing. So I decided to go for the mini because it had just been upgraded. Super nice screen...very light....and I got it with 256gig which is one step up from the base. Now I have plenty of storage for when I go on trips...to download movies and tv shows. So much so....that I've pretty much eliminated the use case I had for my Amazon Fire HD 8. A device I bought last year and is still going strong...and wasn't updated this year. But I did pick up the Walmart ONN 8" tablet for $64 (regular price, no ads). It comes with Stock Android 9.0 plus a few Walmart apps. I've been very pleased with it. It's pretty much the same experience as the Amazon Fire HD 8...only cheaper price, no ads...and no "Amazon Fire" skin. I'd be really thrilled if I hadn't bought the iPad Mini which, like I said, kinda took away my need for a cheap android tablet with memory expansion. The thing that would keep me in the Amazon tablet camp would be the option for 32gig ram. There is only the 16gig version for the Walmart ONN. And I've learned that having an external memory card slot doesn't mean as much as you might think.....as not everything can be installed on the external card. And anything that is installed on the external card runs slower. It's best if you just put media (books, music, movie, tv shows) on the card and buy enough internal storage to allow you to install all the apps you want. Still, $64 for an Android 9.0 device was worth it. Bought the Airpods Gen 2. I love these. Not surprising as I loved the originals and my battery in those was already compromised. However....if I had known that Airpods PRO were going to be released in the fall, I would have waited. Still...next to my iPhone and iPad mini, my Airpods are my most used device. Great for calls...'just fine' for sound quality....and super convenient. Visible mobile service. It's a $40/month "all you can eat" mobile service that uses Verizon. I have Sprint on my phone, but it doesn't work everywhere....but I can't afford Verizon all the time. So when I go on a trip or vacation, I turn on Visible (it's pay as you go). I got a cheap Android phone with it for $19 that I use solely as a hotspot (though it works just fine as a phone. I got a HooToo portable router/battery all in one. Very nice. I don't use it a lot...but when I do, it's great to have. The Visible service only allows you to connect 1 device to it's hotspot. I connect this router and then can share that one connection with my iPhone and iPad and laptop. It's also nice for connecting to a hotel wifi....and then I can use my Raspberry Pi 4 headless. Which brings me to the Raspberry Pi 4....a "computer on a card" device that costs $35-$55 depending if you want 1,2 or 4gig ram. $99 for a kit that has everything you need except a monitor, keyboard and mouse. Which is a real problem when you travel without a monitor because you can't see to setup with wifi. But with Hootoo portable router, I've already setup the Raspberry Pi at home....and so once the HooToo is connected to the hotel wifi, so is the Raspberry Pi. And I just remote in from my laptop. What is it? It's a linux computer...with 40 pins that you can use in all kinds of DIY electronics projects. I just use it as a computer. A test bed to play with Linux and any time I might want to do something that I wouldn't want to expose my regular computer to danger. You can use your imagination. You have young people that you can't afford to give a computer too...but you can afford $100 and have monitor/keyboard laying around....it's a great tool for introduction to computers and programing. And then there's the iPhone 11 Pro. It is a nice camera upgrade. Super great screen. A little heavier than before which I notice when reading books. Fantastic battery life. Was it worth upgrading from the iPhone X? Only if you care enough about the photography. Which I do. I definitely have gotten shots I could not have with an older iPhone. I think most people would be phone with the iPhone 11 at $300 cheaper and missing the third (2x telephoto) camera. For me....$300 for a telephoto lens is something that's in the ball park from a photographer's pov (I've spent more on some of my lenses than I spent on the iPhone). I didn't get any Android phone this year, opting for the Walmart tablet to get an Android 9.0 device. I bought a second HomePod but I don't get to open it until Christmas. I love the first one which I bought for $350. I got the new one on black friday special for only $199. They are supposed to be much better as a pair. Looking forward to finding out.