The Year in Gear

I love gear. Sports gear, electronics gear, everything… Admittedly, I spend far too much on it, so to help rationalize past (and future) purchases I thought I would share some thoughts on my three favorite items from the past year:

1. iPhone 3G – There’s not much that can be said about this device that hasn’t already been said. I’ve already blogged a few complaints about it myself, and, yes, there should be real tethering for use as a modem, and yes, AT&T’s 3G network can be particularly dreadful in New York City but… In the past year, this device has changed my daily habits more than any other. It’s the closest I have experienced to a complete communications and information device. Both my MS Exchange and my Yahoo Mail integration have been great. I more regularly read the newspaper articles (NY Times, WSJ, Boston Globe Sports) on my iPhone than any other medium including paper. It’s where I go for Twitter and Facebooks updates. To me, this is the netbook. In the year ahead, I’m hoping to see some of the gaming on the device become more social or, better put, I’m hoping to see some of the social functions become more game-like. There’s a huge opportunity to use the iPhone to make the routines of our daily lives more game-like.
2. Amazon Kindle – I never knew I wanted one until I received one as a gift. After spending a week with it, I loved the Kindle so much, I returned the favor by getting one for the gift giver (no, it was not a re-gift). From a user’s perspective, the Kindle has changed my reading habits as much as the DVR changed my TV viewing habits. My reading is up 300% and I now often have 2-3 books going at once. The clarity of the screen is incredible, the font is very easy to read, it’s easy to carry an entire library with you, and brings an immediacy to book shopping which has never existed before. Howver, the real genius of the devce may be in it’s potential to revolutionize the book business. With a Kindle, there’s no longer a need for Amazon to carry or ship physical inventory, so the prices of Kindle books are lower than their physical counterparts. Presumably, the margins are better too. But one of the most cleverly insidious things about the Kindle, is that it makes it impossible to lend a copy of a book to a friend. Ultimately, this should mean that retailers, authors and publishers sell more copies of a title. I’d recommend that you go get one right away if only Kindles weren’t back ordered for 8-10 weeks (and the rumors I’ve heard about the next generation weren’t so amazing).
3. Ortovox S1 - This is an avalanche beacon. I hope I never truly need it, but someday, it could save my life or the life of a friend. Last January a friend  was killed in a slide. He was an expert skier, with locals who knew the area well, and was just a short hike from a resort. Avalanches happen. Just last week, on Christmas Day, an inbounds slide at Squaw Valley killed a 21 year old ski instructor. The next day I put on my Ortovox before setting out to ski KT-22. If you are the type of skier (or love someone who is) who hunts for powder stashes, scans cliff bands for chutes or occasionally heads to the backcountry: Get a beacon, take a class, practice, demand that your friends do the same. If you think, you may need it only rarely, spend more to get one with “ease of use” features like the Ortovox S1. Sometimes a few seconds mean everything. Think of the Ortovox S1 as the 3G beacon.

Some notable exceptions from the list. I really like my 15″ MacBook Pro (February update) and my Nikon D300. Both provide wonderful evolutionary improvements over their predecessors, but neither has changed my daily life the way the above devices have. A new dual-suspension mountain bike purchased during the past year should definitely be on the list, but some of my friends already have me thinking it’s time for an upgrade!