Best Products 2013

Here is my personal list of favorite products purchased in 2013 which I still haven’t yet sold via Facebook and Ricardo 😉

Hardware

Parrot Zik

I really struggled prior to buying these headphones, since they are expensive, going back to the store around three times (on different days of course) before making the purchase. A great decision in hindsight; I love these headphones! They not only have all the features I was looking for (Wireless, comfy, full ear, noise cancellation, mic and control functions), but they sound so good that I sometimes miss their sound. The software gets better with every update and the best part was the Lou Reed EQ preset update, which sounds so good that they felt like new headphones. I would buy them again – no questions asked.

Kindle Paperwhite

This is already my second (sorry third – I broke my first) Kindle. My Kindles have changed the way I read and I’m reading 300% more books per year now. It is an essential gadget in my life and I probably won’t touch a regular book anytime soon. I’d like to mention that Amazon customer service is excellent and any real-life shop has a hard time providing such value to its customers.

iPhone 5

Calling the iPhone a gadget would be an understatement in my opinion. For me it is an instrument of my professional life and by far the “most-used” of this list. I still think it is by far one of the best designed products (and I’m not talking about its looks – design is how it works!). Although I’ve also bought the Nexus 4 and 5 this year, the iPhone is still unbeatable as a whole package. I really would love to use a Nexus (Nexus, not Android) since I use so much of the Google ecosystem, but they are simply just not there yet (very close! they’re making huge steps). Mabye the Nexus 6 or 7 will be my phone of the future… for now it’s the iPhone 5(s/c).

Software (desktop)

Google Chrome

Chrome is by far the software I used the most. I often say “I live in Chrome”, and that is true! I don’t ask myself anymore what operating system is the best, fastest or most innovative. I think the question has to be: “Which browser?”,and my answer is Chrome.

Evernote

I love this product; It is my personal, digital brain. Amelia and I use it (two business accounts) and we store every restaurant, travel destination, recipe, or everything you could (or couldn’t) remember. I think Evernote is one of the most innovative and customer-oriented companies out there, and they even have an office in Zurich. One of the (few) companies I would love to work for, if they had a job for me 😉 There are no other third client apps worth mentioning; my other software is “as a service”.

Software mobile:

Google Play, Google Maps, Google Chrome, GMail Evernote (see above) Reeder (Thank You Silvio!)

Software as a Service

Google Apps

I was lucky to be early enough to (still) have a free google apps account. I love the management, service level, and whole package. I hate the fact that I love Google so much, but their products are so well thought through, easy to use, and efficient that it is impossible to find an alternative. The Gmail web client is the very best email client currently out there. If you disagree, you’re not using keyboard shortcuts, tags, or filters, and I would be happy to introduce you to it in order to make your life that one step easier 😉

EasySys

I found this (swiss) company by accident when I was evaluating different CRM/Billing/Invoicing/Quoting tools for our company and instantly fell in love with it. The application is very slick, easy to understand, and does exactly what (swiss) SME’s need for their daily business. Their regular updates introducing new features are so useful that I would pay extra for them. Lastly, their customer support is world-class!

Metanet

It’s just a web-hoster which is more Y2K and less cloud. Nonetheless, their customer support is phenomenal which is why I must mention them. I don’t know how they do it, but you can write them any time of day (from any time zone) and receive an email in response in less than 60 minutes. Excellent quality and service !

Timeless Products

Looking at the list above, I find that there is one thing missing. Not a 2013 purchase, but something I have appreciated every day for 7 years now, and one which I have never changed, upgraded, or bought a new version of. It was a present from my wonderful wife (she wasn’t my wife at the time) which she bought “just like that ™”: my IWC GST. Thanks, Bear 😉

Worst Product of the Year aka “Fehlkauf” 😉

My list of “Fehlkäufe” (“bad buys”) gets smaller every year. Maybe one of the upsides to getting older 😉

The Pebble smart watch (which I kickstarted)

This poor thing lasted exactly 90min (of which about 45 minutes were on my wrist), before I sold it to a friend. I don’t regret that I helped fund this product (although the would have managed without me), but the Pebble turned about to be useless for me. When I bought it I wasn’t thinking about the fact that this would mean I would not be able to wear my IWC anymore. And that was a situation I only was able to live with for… well… 90 minutes 😉