Joe's Favorite Things of 2017

Joe's Favorite Things Wait, how are we already at the end of 2017? Didn't it just start a few days ago? Oh well. This past year has been a great one for phones, games, accessories, and more, and although the holiday season shouldn't be focused solely on material things, spending money on tech that's not even worth the time of day isn't fun for anyone. Here are the gadgets and gizmos released in 2017 that are my personal favorites. Google Pixel 2 Last year's Pixel was easily one of my all-time favorite phones, and somehow Google made it even better with the Pixel 2. The camera is out of this world good, little features like Now Playing and Active Edge are way more useful than I could have ever imagined, and the look of the phone is much more attractive compared to its predecessor. Combine this with all of Google's wonderful software tweaks here and there, and you end up with the absolute best Android phone money can buy. From $649 Buy Now Bose QC35 II I'm about as far from an audiophile as they come, and as such, was pretty reluctant to throw down $350 on a pair of headphones. However, after finally picking up the Bose QC35 following endless recommendations from friends and colleagues, I don't know how I survived without these things. The fit is extremely comfortable, Bose's active-noise canceling is scary good, and the inclusion of Google Assistant on Series II is a must if you're like me and use Google's AI on a daily basis. $349 Buy Now Samsung Gear Sport If you're in the market for a new smartwatch this year, one of the few that's actually worth considering is the Samsung Gear Sport. The Gear Sport comes equipped with nearly every feature found on the Gear S3 released last year, but the more compact body is a godsend if you're like me and have smaller wrists. There's no option for LTE connectivity on the Gear Sport, but the watch does offer a fantastic fitness-tracking feature-set, support for NFC payments with Samsung Pay, and a design that looks good both in the gym and at the office. $299 Buy Now Google Home Mini The Google Assistant is currently my favorite AI of choice, and for most people, the Google Home Mini is the best smart speaker that has it built-in. The Home Mini's circular, fabric design is fun and welcoming, and its sound quality absolutely blows the Echo Dot's out of the water. The regular $50 price is already a great deal, but the insta-buy price of $30 that's going on right now at so many retailers makes it one of those things that you can't not get. $50 Buy Now TCL 55P607 Roku TV After months of trying to hold off, I finally broke down and picked up my first 4K TV. There are more than a few options to choose from these days, but the one I ended up going with is the TCL 55P607. Priced between $600 and $650 depending on where you look, the picture quality is downright awesome and way better than I would have expected at this price point. Support for HDR10 and Dolby Vision makes the TV even better, and the built-in Roku operating system means you don't have to worry about picking up a streaming box or stick to watch all of your favorite shows. $649 Buy Now Nintendo Switch What is there to say about the Nintendo Switch that hasn't already been said a million times before? It's a gaming console that's just fun to use, and I haven't been able to get enough of it even after months of first buying the thing. The ability to play console-quality games wherever you want to go is an awesome feeling that never gets old, and titles like Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2, and Super Mario Odyssey and reason enough to pick up the Switch on their own. $299 Buy Now

source: https://www.androidcentral.com/joes-favorite-things-2017
date: Tue, 05 Dec 2017 21:00:02 +0000