Gadgets We Love, The Natesh Sood Edition

Being a tech blogger I’ve come to realize it’s not always about having the latest and greatest devices, but being satisfied with what you have and knowing how to use it to its fullest potential. On a day to day basis I use pretty mediocre devices — nothing high end — but at the end of the day, I’m able to accomplish everything I need to do. In addition to talking about the main electronics I use, I would like to mention a few websites and software services that helps me get through my day. Without further adieu, let me take you through an average day describing products and websites I use.

First and foremost my favorite gadget to use is my cell phone. I am a proud owner of the LG enV 3, which is a quick messaging device and the successor of the original enV and the enV 2. I’m starting my second year on my Verizon contract with the LG enV 3 and I plan on upgrading to a smartphone next summer when I’m eligible for an upgrade. When I’m not texting or talking on the phone, I like to use it to listen to music. I put a 4GB Kingston microSD card in it and loaded about 500 songs from my music library.

The music on my phone comes in handy when I go running because I sync it with my Insignia Bluetooth headphones to listen to music, which brings us to another device I enjoy using — my Bluetooth headset. I purchased my Insignia Bluetooth headphones a little over two years ago and it still works really well to this day. For the most part, I use the headphones when running because they fit comfortably on my ears and don’t fall off. From time to time I will use them for its more conventional purpose of handsfree talking.

Let me introduce you to another favorite device of mine — second to my cell phone — my Dell Dimension 3000 desktop computer. This desktop is almost five years old but still runs relatively well. It features 1GB of RAM, 2.80GHz Intel Pentium processor, and a 150GB hard drive. It’s hooked up to a Samsung SyncMaster 940MW 19 inch LCD TV that doubles as a TV, and a Logitech wireless mouse. I use this computer to do most of my writing because I enjoy the large screen, keyboard, and mouse. Since it’s pretty old and worn, I plan on upgrading to a much better rig once I figure out what kind of specs I want and when I save up the money for it. When writing, I like to stream music from Pandora or Grooveshark, depending on my mood that week.

Pandora, in my opinion, is good for discovering new music because it takes a band and finds music similar to it. On the other hand, Grooveshark is good for listening to specific songs and creating a playlist that you can listen to over and over again. From time to time I will use Winamp to play songs from my music library — mainly if I’m feeling nostalgic and want to listen to music I already know. Another program I often use is Digsby – a multi-client IM client which handles my Google Talk contacts, AIM, email, Twitter, Facebook IM, and Facebook notifications. Needless to say I can handle almost all aspects of social networking straight from one client.

Back to actual gadgets now, I use a generic Memorex MP3 player which features 4GB of space, voice recorder, and FM Radio. I still own an iPod Video 30GB 5.5G, but the headphone jack doesn’t function properly anymore so I opted for a cheaper MP3 player, one that I wouldn’t mind if it broke. I usually leave the device on shuffle and let it cycle through about my 500 song library on it, which serves my purposes when I leave the house to go somewhere. For my MP3 player, I use a pair of Sony earbuds I purchased for an inexpensive price on Amazon; it’s nothing special but beats the crappy headphones that usually come with such devices.

At the end of the day, after I finished all my work and running, I like to sit down and enjoy playing a few Wii games on my Panasonic 42 inch HDTV. The TV itself offers rich, clear viewing while the Wii is fun to play with every once in a while. Sometimes the video games become a little childish and boring, but I only play it once in a while so it’s always fun whenever I do.

It just goes to show one doesn’t really need the latest and greatest tech products to get through the day. With a little persistence, patience, and creativity, older and cheaper devices can be used efficiently and productively. Sure, I wouldn’t mind the Motorola Droid X or a top-of-the-line Apple iMac, but for my purposes, the LG enV 3 and Dell Dimension 3000 desktop works as well.