Best in tech 2024

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I love the beginning of the year, with a whole year of possibilities in front of me and nearly no plans on the horizon. And, then I remember that I cover a tech event in January that somehow takes me over a month to recover from {if you’ve done CES, you get it}. Getting home always coincides with our first illness of the year, the one that lasts weeks because it goes through all of us and slowly makes us all its victims. Then, somehow, it’s March.

Best in tech 2024

The good news is that the newest tech waited patiently while we all recovered. And the bonus is that some of my favorite tech picks are no longer under embargo, which means I can now freely rave about them. See, all part of my master plan*.

Without further ado, I present to you the best in tech 2024:

Cocinare ESSENCE 2-in-1 Electric Coffee Grinder

Have you shopped for coffee grinders recently? I have, and it’s crazy out there, man. I even went to a specialty all-coffee store to shop {yay for Seattle specialty coffee stores!} and the employees were super helpful. So helpful that I left with zero coffee grinders because my head was spinning with all the newfound information that I now carry with me everywhere, even when I’m not shopping for coffee parts. I went home, made a cheat sheet for coffee grinders, and then still didn’t buy.

It turns out, I was waiting for the Cocinare Essence 2-in-1 Electric Coffee Grinder to launch so I could fall in love with that instead of any of the many models I researched. Why, you ask? Because not only is the ESSENCE a countertop kit like you’re probably used to, but it’s also a portable unit that you can take on the go. This makes it perfect for using with your espresso machine at home, as well as packing with you to head to a cabin in the woods or inside your camper. Bring a pour-over kit {which Cocinare also sells} and you can have your favorite coffee anywhere you roam. For us Seattleites, this is incredibly important.

Best in tech 2024

Oh, and I know I mentioned espresso, but if you skipped that part, this works for making it. The Cocinare comes equipped with an 80-level grinding scale, allowing you to fine-tune your grind from 0 to 80 levels, with consistent particle size ranging from 150-1400um. I could bore you with all the tech specs, but I feel it’s probably easier for you to click this link and see how it made best in tech 2024. You can shop for the Cocinare Essence on Amazon.

Govee Outdoor LED Strip Lights

Every year we swear we won’t leave our Christmas lights up on our house past March, and every year we do. It’s not just that we get busy {:cough: and sick :cough:}, it’s also that this is our rainy season and we honestly haven’t had a weekend of sun in what feels like forever. So, our Christmas lights dangle from our eaves and taunt me as it rains and rains and rains. So, every year I ask if we even need to take them down at all. I mean it’s only 8 months until it’s acceptable to put them back up, right?

Well, what if you didn’t need to go through this every year and instead could have permanent lights that you can turn off and on with a simple voice command? And, even better, what if you could program those lights for all the random holidays between January to December, without ever having to go up on ladder again. That’s right, it’s a one time install that you can enjoy year-round. Tell me more, I hear you saying…

Well, with the Govee RGBICWW Outdoor LED Strip Lights you can now install once and then enjoy for all the holidays. Turn them on whenever you want to decorate with light, and then turn them off when you want them to “disappear”, and no one will ever know you *still* have your lights up. You can set timers and adjust color temperatures on Govee Home App via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and can even use your voice assistant to change color temperature and turn them on and off whenever you’d like. Simply connect up to three rolls of 32.8ft light strips into one long continuous line of 98.4ft. You can use the provided clamps and adhesive to fix the light on any dry and clean surface permanently, and then you’ll be ready for every holiday on the calendar, even the made-up ones.

Check out GOVEE and see how “lights can be fun.” With indoor options, string lights for outdoors, and even ones to enhance your movie watching, there’s a little something fun for everyone. You can shop the Govee line on Amazon.

Celestron Origin Intelligent Home Observatory

We’ve talked before about how much we love stargazing and our love of Celestron, but if you’ve been holding out looking into getting yourself a telescope, this is the year to do it. With an eclipse on the horizon and so many lunar must-sees coming this year, now is the time to get serious about stargazing and astroimaging. At CES this year, Celestron was showing its new Origin system, an intelligent, all-in-one home observatory that captures stunning views of faint, deep-sky celestial objects and delivers them to your phone or tablet. The images you capture in seconds look better than what you’d see in the eyepiece of a much larger telescope under much darker skies.

Its patented 6” Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph {RASA} optical design places it in a class by itself. With its large aperture and fast f/2.2 focal ratio, you get unparalleled image brightness and clarity with less exposure time. And, as Origin captures data, built-in AI algorithms autonomously stack and process every frame in real-time. Galaxies and nebulae instantly come to life in sharp, detailed, and in brilliant color—all with no user intervention.

Origin uses Celestron’s patented StarSense technology that I’ve raved about before to essentially scan the sky. It can focus and align itself on your target to start imaging in less than two minutes, eliminating nearly all of the guesswork and frustration of other telescopes. The user-friendly Celestron Origin app for iOS and Android can view the telescope’s live feed simultaneously. You can also cast the view to your smart TV or save and share it instantly. As you grow in the hobby, you can download the raw image files you capture for more advanced manual processing. You can also experiment with filters and use Origin for night-vision or land-based observing during the day.

You can shop Celestron’s range of telescopes for every hobbyist and professional, ranging from kid-friendly models like we’ve talked about in the past up to units like the new Origin.

AMIRO R3 Turbo Facial RF

I will admit it, I’m terrible at scheduling self-care. Really, really bad at it. I get my hair cut once a year at best, and it’s always at a discount walk-in location because I didn’t make an actual appointment. I’ve never done spa-anything, so I don’t really know what I’m missing. But, planning ahead for self-care isn’t self-care for me. It stresses me out, so I choose not to do it.

But, that’s not to say that I don’t want the spa-like results. In fact, the older I get the more I wish I had the time and drive to take better care of myself. I may still *feel* young, but I’m already starting to notice a drastic change in my skin, one that I know will soon lead to looser skin and wrinkles. But, I also know that fillers aren’t for me after hearing a recent horror story involving someone I work with. If I was ever considering fillers, I certainly wouldn’t be after seeing her pictures and all the pain she’s had to endure. So, if I find something I can do in-home that makes me feel like I’m at a spa that also helps with lifting, firming, and reducing puffiness? I’m all in for that.

Best in tech 2024

That’s where the AMIRO radiofrequency {RF} facial wands for skin tightening come in. The AMIRO R3 is their newest model and it uses their clinically proven method of using RF energy and ionization to enhance penetration as it heats the skin beneath the surface. This is designed to stimulate collagen production at the deepest level to result in skin tightening and wrinkle smoothing. No visiting dermatologists, no needles, no signing your life away with all the risks and complications, RF skin tightening can be conveniently and safely performed at home using dermatologists-approved AMIRO facial devices.

The AMIRO R3 device features a smooth, flat head that effortlessly glides across your skin, covering every facial detail with ease. After use, you can use a gentle wipe to keep your wand clean and hygienic, without any residue. The advanced temperature control system maintains an optimal temperature of no higher than 42℃ for your skin, monitoring 200 times per second. With precision and safety as AMIRO’s top priority, you can get spa-like treatments at a fraction of the cost, without appointments or large time commitments, and with absolutely zero needles and complications. And the bonus is that it feels like you had a spa day every time you use it, and even helps with other issues I have like hyperpigmentation and redness. Read more to find out all the reasons it made best in tech 2024.

You can find AMIRO on Amazon. You can shop the R3 Turbo Facial RF Skin Tightening Device here.

eufy Video Smart Lock S330

Remember when all of our locks were dumb? I remember entire childhoods of being stuck outside waiting for my parents to get home because I didn’t have a house key. I also remember having family come to pick up packages while we were gone and we had to do a key sign out system because we only had one spare key. But, nowadays, locks are getting smarter and smarter, and the technology keeps improving each year. As the kids get older and have more freedom, we knew we needed a solution that wouldn’t leave them sitting outside waiting for someone with a key, and I fell from the eufy S330 3-In-1 Video Smart Lock. It’s so much more than just a traditional smart lock as it combines a 2K HD camera, a doorbell, and a smart lock into a single, compact unit.

What I love most about it, aside from the 3-in-1 utility is that there are 5 easy ways to unlock your door with the eufy S330. You can open the lock from their app, use your fingerprint on the lock itself, utilize a physical key, or you can enter the password or use a voice assistant. All of these options means there’s a perfect way for everyone to have access that needs it – from us parents, to our kids, and then to our emergency contacts, and finally for one-time use like housekeepers {I wish!} or service calls {I don’t wish!}.

Best in tech 2024

Another thing I love is that it has a super-fast 0.3 second fingerprint recognition and 1 second unlocking speed, so you can enjoy swift and secure access to your home. The wide 160° field of view ensures that you have a clear and comprehensive perspective of your surroundings, while the dual motion detection feature minimizes false alarms by accurately sensing movement up to 19 ft {6 m} away. Additionally, the 2-way audio functionality enables seamless communication with visitors at your doorstep. In short, the S330 Video Smart Lock provides a comprehensive solution for monitoring and managing access to your home, combining convenience and security into one exceptional device.

You can shop eufy security products on Amazon.

Proclaim Custom-Jet Oral Health System

I never understood why people hated dentists until about 5 years ago. I never had any issues with my teeth, never had cavities, I basically had perfect oral health that just required simple cleanings every 6 months. Sadly, that’s past tense, and now I’m jittery every single time I have to get in the dentist’s chair. It turns out, I’ve always had weird teeth with extra cusps, over-crowding, grinding teeth, and strangely large jaw bones, they just didn’t act up until recently. Aging is fun, huh?

You know how I casually mentioned 5 teeth problems I just recently learned I’ve always had? Well, now these issues are basically impossible to ignore and they terrorize me even in my sleep. I’ve been put on new oral care systems, I’ve boiled and created my own mouthguards, and now they are talking orthodontia to fix my over-crowding. Even flossing my teeth is difficult because of the extra large bones, the extra cusps, and the fact that my teeth are wedged together. Sigh.

But, that’s where Proclaim comes in. Proclaim custom-jet oral health systems are, as the name suggests, custom engineered just for you. Their mouthpieces are 3D printed with custom jets placed within them based on a digital scan of your mouth from a dental professional. This means that you can get easy and convenient deep cleaning in just seconds a day, tailored precisely to your {maybe weird, maybe not} teeth.

The system is clinically proven to improve gum health up to 74% in just 15 days, reduce plaque by 18x, and give you a clean that flossing and brushing alone cannot achieve. Oh, and did I mention it is apparently less messy than a traditional oral irrigator. Consider me sold.

Proclaim Custom-Jet Oral Health System (proclaimhealth.com)

EZQuest Ultimate USB-C Multimedia Hub Adapter 13 Ports with Power Delivery 3.0

I distinctly remember a time when computer ports were basically never used. Unless you were specifically plugging in a USB flash drive to get documents onto your computer, you never really needed more than one. But, these days, I’m always fighting for ports and find myself playing the game of “which one hurts the least if I unplug?” The answer is always my Bluetooth mouse, but doing anything without a mouse at this point is utterly comical since I have always used one for photo editing and graphic design. Me using a touch pad is like watching an elderly woman surf the ‘net, with just as many stupid mistakes and extra clicks. It turns out that unplugging any of my necessary drives/dongles/peripheries is just painful all around. Hence, a hub.

But, this isn’t just *any* basic hub. This is a EZQuest 2 HDMI 4K 60Hz, VGA, USB-C with 100 Watts Power Delivery 3.0 {FRS}, USB-C 10Gb/s, Gigabit Ethernet, 2 USB 3.0 Ports, 2 USB 2.0 Ports, SD, Micro SD and Audio Jack magic hub. Did you get all that letter soup? Basically, it does it all. EZQuest’s Ultimate USB-C Multimedia Hub Adapter 13 Ports with Power Delivery 3.0 provides extra ports for second screens, data transfer, charging and other everyday tasks, all in one tiny gadget that can go with you anywhere. 

Designed for Apple MacBook Pro or Air with dual Thunderbolt/USB-C ports on one side, the EZQuest Ultimate Hub is perfect for operating multiple external displays at once. It can also simultaneously read and write to/from the SDHC or Micro SDHC card reader, has a 3.5mm audio jack with microphone 2-in-1, high speed Gigabit Ethernet network connection, and a whole list of ports, which you can find below:

Data: USB-C Port 10Gb/s, Two USB-A 3.0 Ports 5Gbs, Two USB-A 2.0 Ports 480Mbs, VGA Port. Total shared data is 10Gbs.

Power Input: One USB-C 100W Power Delivery port version 3.0 with pass-thru charging up to 85W output and FRS technology. Power Output: USB-C Port 5V/1.5A (7.5W), Two USB-A 3.0 Ports 5V/0.9A (4.5W), Two USB-A 2.0 Ports 5V/0.5A (2.5W). Total shared power is 15W.

If you’re like me and are constantly fighting for ports, readers, and connectors, you want to get a hub that can handle it all, effortlessly. I love knowing that I won’t outgrow the EZQuest hub like I have with the basic ones I’ve bought before, ones that lasted only a few years until I needed more ports or they just quit working on me. Right in the middle of a big project with a deadline, of course.

You can shop EZQuest on Amazon or the EZQuest site and see what else this little magician can do for you.

Tablo

I distinctly recall when it was considered brave to “ditch cable”. People would look at you like you were blazing a new trail, a rebel who couldn’t be tied down to any one cable provider, a nomad who would never watch good TV again. They would also wonder what you were going to do with all your newfound extra time, because there was no way you were getting all your programs you loved without bowing down to a cable company. But, thankfully, those days are over. In fact, I think I only know a handful of people who still have cable. The rest of us? We’re no longer rebels, we’re the norm. We get our electronic entertainment from streaming services, mostly, but we also have times when we use old fashioned antennas to get live TV broadcasts.

And, that’s where my next pick comes in. The Tablo DVR is new on the market and can be bought alone or with an indoor TV antenna {35-mile range} so you can watch, record, and replay free TV at your schedule. The Tablo connects to the internet via your home’s Wi-Fi router to deliver live broadcast TV and a selection of free streaming TV channels to all compatible smart devices in your home.

It basically allows you to enjoy free TV the way we used to enjoy TiVo, by recording it and then watching it whenever we got around to it. No longer are we at the mercy of live TV’s schedule, we can watch it on our time, whether it’s live sports, local news, or prime-time network shows, as well as free streaming series.

Find out more and purchase Tablo on Amazon.

What’s your favorite tech product coming out this year?

There are so many new inventions and releases that it’s honestly hard to choose a favorite, but I’m so excited for all of these best in tech 2024 releases. Do you have a favorite?

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