These are my top five favorite tech and gadget purchases for 2017.
If I could I'd buy so much more tech every year, however I've got other things to pay for like rent, food, less important stuff.
I thought it'd be nice to share what nerdy things took my hard earned money in 2017.
At number five is my Samsung BD-J5900 Blu-Ray player.
I know this is very strange in the year 2017.
But let me explain.
My Blu-Ray player for years was a Playstation 3. Which was used very infrequently.
I received The Tick animated series on DVD as a gift, which is an awesome gift by the way.
Thing is, my PS3 drive, didn't seem to work with any disks.
So, I looked up Blu-Ray players and found this via Scene It.
Why is it awesome?
It goes from off to playing a disc in around six seconds.
Now, I could have gotten an XBox One or a PlayStation, but I seriously doubt I would be looking at a movie within six seconds with those.
A Samsung BD-J5900 is not the prettiest device out there and it could really use some kind of LED to tell you it's on.
But it's a simple Blue Ray player and it's great.
And number four is Scribd, this one is an ebook service, it costs around $9 a month and gives you access to ebooks, audiobooks, and magazines.
But, here's the thing, the same $9 gets you access to Blinkist Pocket Premium Movie and a couple more services.
Blinkist offers 15 minute summaries of nonfiction books.
Often, I found a good summary on Blinkist, and read the entire book later on Scribd.
I've used Pocket for years, it's a good way to keep a read later list.
Paying for Scribd would get you Pocket Premium, which includes full text search and permanent copies of what you want to read.
So the article you want to read has gone offline, pack it as a back up for you.
Then there is also access to movies and online video services.
There are a lot of services bundled with Scribd which by the way has a great selection of books.
Number three is a tie between Google Home Mini and the Amazon Echo Dot I've got an echo in almost every room along with two google assistant devices which is incredibly unnecessary.
However, I don't regret these additions whatsoever.
The Echo Dot is cheap and useful.
This year I've been using the Echo differently.
I've used it a lot to reorder all kinds of things.
The Home Mini is just another way for me to ask random questions to Google, and I like that.
At number two is the Logitech Harmony Hub.
I already had one of these in my home.
I finally broke down and bought a second one for my bedroom, since it was at a ridiculous $60 price point.
Point.
I know what you're thinking.
Seriously, second hub?
Why?
It can control the AC, the fan, the TV, the attached Apple TV, and the lights.
Plus, any iOS or Android device can serve as the remote.
I mean, that's a lot of convenience.
Before we get to number one, let's talk about a few things I wasn't so thrilled about paying for in 2017.
There is Hulu, While I really enjoy their catalog and the service, it's redesigned interface is a mess on both Apple TV and Roku.
Lot's of stuff are just varied.
Hoefully, Hulu will figure out a better interface.
Then there was my ill fated Google Pixel 2 XL.
More on that coming right up.
And my favorite tech product I've bought this year is the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. So here's the thing.
I purchased a Google Pixel 2 XL and received it at launch.
I enjoyed the software, the squeeze feature to bring up assistance, the cameras and the front facing speakers.
But that screen, that screen After testing the Note 8 head to head with he Pixel 2 XL, I returned the Pixel and bought a Note 8. They cost about the same but the Note 8 has a great screen, a headphone jack, a micro SD card slot, better waterproofing, dual rear cameras and the S Pen.
I might be weird but I like the S Pen to jot down notes or mind map.
The Note 8 is not perfect I'm looking at you bixie button, but I'm happy with it.
If you're screaming at the screen saying, Iyaz, you shill.
You've been paid off for this top five.
I say, nope.
I researched and paid for each of these things on this list.
What was your favorite purchase for the year?
Let us know.
I'm Iyaz Akhtar and I'll see you online.
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