The 11 Best Gadgets I Bought In 2014

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1. 10” USB Extender

Oh the wonders of the USB extender. Anything I’m charging, usually my phone, can come to bed with me or sit on the couch with me or follow me around the apartment as I pace around talking to my parents. It’s insane that our chargers are only two or three feet long and I won’t stand for it anymore. Easily the best $7 I spent all year.

2. Wii U

I thought the Wii U would be stupid because the Wii became kind of stupid. I was very wrong. Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. are worth the price of the console alone. This is the best purchase I’ve ever made when it comes to entertaining guests. It also plays Hulu, Amazon, and Netflix. Hours of fun!

3. iPhone 6 Plus

I bought this big stupid phone that doesn’t really fit in my pocket and I love this big stupid phone that doesn’t really fit in my pocket. The larger screen size seemed silly at first but now it’s the exact right size for a phone. It makes reading books so easy my Kindle has been tossed to the side when I leave the apartment. It’s just big enough for video to finally make sense in my palm and just small enough to take everywhere I go. Thanks to Apple Pay I also can sometimes leave my wallet at home. Definitely worth the price, especially if you have an old phone to trade in or resell.

4. Clarisonic Mia

Just go buy it. That includes you, men. This little device is an electric sound-based brush for your face (I know that sounds insane but hear me out) that exfoliates your skin and prevents breakouts unlike anything I’ve ever tried. It charges wirelessly and comes with replaceable bush heads. My skin has never been smoother or healthier. It even comes in manly colors in case you’re not comfortable enough in your masculinity to admit that you care about your skin.

5. Sonicare Diamondclean Toothbrush

This toothbrush costs way too much and I would buy it again in a heartbeat. Dental hygiene is one of the most important things you can do for your long-term health and it’s horribly overlooked. This wireless rechargeable electric toothbrush looks like a spaceship and cleans like a team of highly trained scientists. My teeth felt weird after I used it… until I realize they had only ever been that clean after a dental visit. Oh, and they’re whiter. I love my overpriced space toothbrush.

6. iPad Air 2

The iPad is the best tablet on the market and the iPad Air 2 is the best iPad yet. It’s slim and light and it does everything I could possibly ask of it in record time. It comes with me to the gym, to work, and to my couch during TV/human vegetable time. You can find me in Planet Fitness watching music videos on this wonderful slab and using the elliptical by the window.

7. SodaStream

I like drinks that bubble – even though most of them are really bad for you. Now I can make them at home, for a fraction of the cost, and even cut out a ton of the calories and sugar. The SodaStream is the answer to a problem I didn’t even know I had. I want to attach my face to it and never stop drinking that glorious bubbly substance.

8. Google Chromecast

Give your TV super powers for the price of a good lunch. My TV (and it’s big speakers) can now play all the music, podcasts, TV shows, and movies that I want in HD, wirelessly, from any device. It’ll even mirror your computers’ browser so you can watch things that are normally only available on the web! So much joy, such a low price.

9. Kindle Voyage

Hands down the best ebook reader on the market. The Kindle Voyage has an improved touch screen, a light sensor to adapt to its surroundings, and a pressure sensitive bezel to flip the page with the slightest of ease. It’s been the first ebook reader I truly prefer using to an actual book.

10. Square Card Reader

This tiny, free, dongle plugs into your phone or tablet and lets your take credit card payments from your friends or customers. Like you have your own goddamn store. Throw it into your bag and never worry about that friend who doesn’t bring cash owing you money ever again. Your phone is now a goddamn store.

11. Bluetooth Headphones

I finally made the jump to Bluetooth headphones this year and the results have been awesome. Yes it sucks to charge your headphones every day, but the ease of having wireless headphones at the gym or on the subway is worth the trouble to me. No more weird cord wrapping or getting wires caught on doorknobs! This is the future.