Friends and family always ask about my latest gadgets. Honestly, I can’t blame them because sometimes I can’t keep track. So this list is much for me as it is for you!

Gadget Bag

stmbagSTM linear small laptop shoulder bag — I’m actually able to fit two laptops: a MacBook Pro 13 and a MacBook Air 11, in addition to an iPad 3rd Gen and Nexus 7 comfortably in this thing. This is especially useful when I travel for business and need that type of electronic fire power. The pockets easily hold an external hard drive, necessary cables and power supply (just one) for both laptops.

Laptops

MacBook Pro 13 (non-Retina) with 16 GB of RAM, 1TB Samsung EVO 840 SSD Hard Drive, Intel Core i7. This is my workhorse that I do everything with including video production. The Intel i7 makes a huge difference in this regard since it cuts processing time to half of what it would take an i5. Seriously.

MacBook Air 11 with 4GB of RAM, 256 GB SSD, Intel Core i7. This is my primary presentation laptop for the simple reason it’s light and has long battery life (in case I forget the power supply).

External Hard Drive

nexstarcxVantec NexStar® CX 2.5″ SuperSpeed USB 3.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure. Why external storage when you have plenty of drive space on your laptops? When I shoot and edit video, space fills up quickly. I’ve loaded the external case with the same 1TB Samsung EVO SSD drive in my MacBook Pro and it handles even the highest quality video.

Tablets

Apple iPad 3rd Gen 64 GB with Retina display running iOS 8.1.1. No plans to move to the new Air cause Apple makes them so damn tough! Although I like the weight of the new one, I am hesistant to shell out close to $1k to replace an older iPad that doesn’t need replacing.

Nexus 7 WiFi 32 GB running Android 5.0.1. I got this rather than a Apple iPad mini and I love it. Fast and light but I do get the occasional crash — I find I constantly need to quit games the little one installed when I’m not looking.

Smartphone(s)

Applie iPhone 6+ 128 GB on AT&T. Love it, enough said. Android size with the Apple build quality and ecosystem. Yes, the plural in the header is right. I also kept and unlocked my old iPhone 5S and put this still awesome smartphone on T-Mobile. Three words: Blazing. LTE. Speed. Caveat? Blazing only if I were hanging out in urban settings, not the same when I drive out to the Virginia countryside.

Smartphone Case(s)

Spigen Case Wallet S for iPhone 6+ and Mophie Juice Pack Plus (Red Edition) for iPhone 5s.

Travel Mouse

logmouseLogitech Ultrathin Mouse. Name says it all. It features a nice switch so you can use it with two computers via bluetooth (MacBook Pro and Air) and a touch surface you can program to make use of Mac OS X Mission Control functions. It’s killer feature is a built-in battery that lasts about two months of heavy use but only takes 40 minutes to charge full via micro USB — so no carrying around batteries.

Eliminate Cable Sprawl

magicableThe challenge of carrying lots of gadgets? All the cables and the various ports they require. However, there is a method to the madness. If you’ll notice, many manufacturers have standardized on a couple of ports — mini-USB and Micro-USB. Shame on Apple for coming out with a new proprietary port it seems like every two years. Solution? The Innergie MagiCable Trio allows me to take just TWO USB extension cables which I attached to this wonderful devices that cut cable sprawl. For my newer Apple devices requiring the Lightning cable, I attach a couple of Apple 30-pin to Lightning adapters. Done.

Spare Power for Mobile Devices

gearpowerGearPower Mobile Power Station with 12,000 mAh capacity to re-supply power via a 2.1 port for the iPad and 1.2 for the smartphones. It charges using a microUSB port.