2020 was the Year of the Podcast for you. It was for us, too.
Just like us, you’ve probably told everyone you know about the podcasts you love. Perhaps you’ve showed them which podcast app to use, how to subscribe, and even what headphones to use.
But have you really splurged on yourself? Since your podcast time is a solo listening experience, what are the chances your family and friends know what would make it even better for you?
This holiday season, let’s give a little love to ourselves.
Here are our recommendations for the Top Gifts to order, wrap, and open yourself:
Tribit Flybuds NC – Ever watch a movie and find yourself lowering the volume during the action and then having to reach for the remote so you can raise the volume during the dialogue? It’s annoying. I don’t even know how to measure that annoyance, but I do know it’s more enjoyable when I don’t have to manage the volume.
This is why we want you to get the Tribit Flybuds NC earbuds.
Imagine listening to your favorite podcast without having to compete with the sounds of cars, lawnmowing, leaf blowing, airplanes, and kids playing piano. Imagine just being able to “soak” into the words of your favorite stories.
When you put Tribit Flybuds into your ears, the “inner ear” mic helps cancel out any inner ear noises, the ambient mic listens and cancels any ambient noises, and the outer mic allows for phone calls. The sound quality is pristine. For $60, there is no better way to thoroughly enjoy your podcasts.
VicTsing Bluetooth FM Transmitter – We take my wife’s van when our destination is more than 30 minutes away . . . for one reason. Her phone connects to her car stereo, which means I can play any song I want. When the kids are being annoying, I can play “Elvira” over and over and over again.
The ability to play what you want is so much better than radio. No commercials. No rogue songs. AND I can listen to podcasts.
If you do not have this ability, then you need the VicTsing Bluetooth FM Transmitter. It connects to your phone via Bluetooth, and then you can stream your podcasts over your car’s speakers. But not just your phone. If you have audio stored on an SD card, portable hard drive, or even via an aux cord, it’ll work for that, too.
And while it fits into your “power outlet,” it includes two extra USB ports, so other people in the car can charge their devices, too. And if you’re in a minivan, even people in the backseat can control what’s played.
As an added bonus, its LED screen will track the power level of your car battery, so you’ll never have to be stranded because of a dead battery again. Score!
Soundbot SB210 Bluetooth Beanie – If it’s cold and you’ve got to wear a winter hat, then your Tribit Flybud’s ambient mic is going to be covered by your hat. So, you might as well save it from the cold temperatures and get something built for that.
This is when you need a Bluetooth-enabled beanie in your arsenal. The Soundbot SB210 is your weapon. We’re talking about a really soft feel and great fit. It’s not loose, but stretches perfectly, so it won’t move when you’re running or playing basketball.
It’s totally washable, and when you put the speaker/driver back in, you can place it exactly where it fits bets. Then, you get five hours of podcast listening in before you have to charge it up for an hour. It’s got all the built-in playback features and reportedly connects to your device up to 33 feet away (not sure why that’s important unless you were planning to run for five hours in 34-foot circle).
Do yourself a favor, and don’t use the cold weather as an excuse not to run. Get the Soundbot SB210 beanie and listen away.
BOOM 3 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker – Shower speakers are dumb. I’m talking about the kind that hang from your shower head. You have to unclip and reclip it whenever the battery dies. That doesn’t happen, and then it just hangs there dead forever.
But having listening capabilities in the shower and hot tub, near the beach, or at the pool is important. Normally, you don’t listen to podcasts at the pool with a bunch of people. But do you need separate gadgets for all those activities? I don’t think so. If you have one great one, you can do them all.
What you need is something waterproof, with great sound, a tiny footprint (for shower shelves), long battery life, and that’s great looking.
All of that is in the BOOM 3 Waterproof Bluetooth Speaker. Own this, and you’ll be able to listen to your favorite podcasts wherever you go.
Anker Power Core 20100 – You can’t afford to get to a remote meeting after listening to your favorite podcasts only to realize you’re about to run out of power. You really need a backup power source, so you never have to forego your listening.
The first step in deciding what exactly you need is to determine whether you need it to be able to fit into your pocket or not. Power requires space, so the more power the battery has, the bigger it has to be.
Let’s assume you need it to be portable, but not so portable that it has to fit into the front pocket of skinny jeans. Let’s say it needs to fit into your bag, your car console, and your jacket pocket to be effective for you.
While there are a ton of options, the Anker Power Core 20100 is the best one that fits these needs. It has two USB-A ports, so you can charge Apple and non-Apple phones. It charges the big power phones in about 95 minutes.
Sure, we could talk about rapid charging and amperage and overall voltage. But in the end, you just need something portable that’s totally ready to save you in an emergency. This is that product.
Micro Notebook – This is not sexy or exciting by any means, which means no one is going to get you this as a gift.
But how many ideas do you get when you’re listening to podcasts? How many books get referenced that you want to read? How many business ideas do you want to try? How many things do you wish you could remember to Google later? How many great ideas do you want to implement, but you’re a couple months out from being able to?
You could certainly jot notes on the back of receipts in your car, but you’ll for sure lose them. You need a dedicated place to take notes on the podcasts you listen to. That’s why you need to always carry a micro-notebook.
This is the one I’m getting myself this year:
Links:
(Not sure where we have affiliate links, but pretty much everywhere will carry the above products. Here’s the link to the notebook).
(link to notebook) https://www.amazon.com/Small-Pocket-Notebook-Notepad-Sheets/dp/B07KQDCGKK
