If you are looking at Black Friday deals for either personal or professional use, the NCRA Technology Committee members are here to help by pointing you to several of their recommendations. The Committee looked at deals that have been published since earlier this month. Check out the following products that they’ve already purchased and recommend, or ones that they are planning to take advantage of themselves in the next few weeks. Happy shopping!
Give your hands a little relief this year with the Lifepro Hand Massager. Tech Committee member Andrea Kreutz, CLVS, a firm owner based in Des Moines, Iowa, has been researching these, and although they are not among the deals we found, it still is a good deal if you are looking for a hand massager.
Hector Cordova, CLVS, another member of the Technology Committee, said: “If you’re an Android user and in the Google ecosystem (you know, Gmail, Google Maps, etc.) then Google’s Pixel line of phones is one of my top recommendations for you to use. I don’t think it gets better than a Google Pixel 6A. It’s the phone I personally use.”
Cordova also noted that anyone in the court reporting industry would benefit from a smart watch. “A smart watch makes urgent calls and texts so much easier to handle (whether personal or work-related),” Cordova said, adding “The Apple Watch is the best smartwatch for iPhone users because of its ease of use and wide capability to see text messages and emails, answer texts and emails using voice, and even pick up phone calls when your iPhone is out of reach. The Apple Watch SE gives you all the major features of an Apple Watch at the lowest entry price. What’s not to like?”
Here’s a link to one for $169.99 (at Amazon), but look around for one you like, since Amazon has worked deals on a variety of Apple watches for you this year.
Kelli Ann Willis, RPR, CRR, an official court reporter based in Dallas, Texas, found several great Black Friday deals.
Apple AirPods Pro with MagSafe Charging Case:
From Walmart – 1st generation, $159
From Amazon – 2nd generation, $229
From Amazon – 3rd generation, $159
- Keurig K-Express Essentials Single Serve K-Cup Pod Coffee Maker, $35
- Instant Pot Duo 6-quart 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker, Rice Cooker, Steamer, Saute, Yogurt Maker, Warmer & Sterilizer, $76.04
- Fitbit Versa 2 Health & Fitness Smartwatch – Petal/Copper Rose Aluminum, $99
Alan Peacock, FAPR, RDR, CRR, CRC, spotted a few great deals too. His first was the Bose QuietComfort 45 Wireless Noise-Cancelling Headphones for $329. Peacock said: “Bose has always been the leader, in my opinion, in clear sound and lightweight headsets. The QC series is legendary. If you are captioning or providing CART and wearing headsets for 6 to 8 hours a day, then you want something of quality and VERY lightweight. These fill that bill!”
He also found the Samsung Bespoke Refrigerator. “We don’t think of refrigerators as high-tech, but the sale on these will make you think of shopping for a new one,” said Peacock. “The Samsung Bespoke are known for their design and ‘cool’ factor. You choose the colors that go on the front of each section. Each section can be regulated for its own temperature. The hidden water dispenser is an extra plus.”
“Want to charge your Qi-enabled phone, Apple Watch, and AirPods all at the same time without having to use three connections?” Peacock asked. His third suggestion was to check out the super convenient Satechi Trio Wireless Charger (for $119.99).
Suzanne Trimble, RPR, CRR, a federal official based in Sanford, Fla., and chair of the Committee, spied a great deal on an Apple 10.2 inch iPad through Amazon for $299. “This is too good of a deal to pass up!” she said.
She also said you can’t go wrong if you see a deal on Bose headphones. She pointed to deals such as these on Amazon:
If you are looking for a new computer, Sandy Mierop, FAPR, RPR, CRR, CRC, has some advice for you: “I took a seminar earlier this year, and one of the speakers said that one of the hottest, latest, coolest computers with all of the bells and whistles that stenographers would ever want was the 10th Generation ThinkPad X1 Carbon by Lenovo. It has the new 12th Generation processor, lots of RAM and SSD storage, and actually does not need an external microphone. Lo and behold, I turned on my computer earlier this week and Lenovo sent me an email with their Black Friday deals which included the 10th Gen ThinkPad X1 Carbon.”
Here’s the link: ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 10 Intel (14″) 30th Anniversary Edition – Black Carbon Fiber Woven Cover | Lenovo US (Sign up for the email, though, if you haven’t already, to get the best price. You can also try Amazon, which had a similar offer, if you don’t want any more emails and you already have an account there.)
“When I buy a new computer, I max out its options, and I also like to set it up myself,” continues Mierop. “I always learn something new, and doing the setup gives me that edge of confidence when troubleshooting while out in the field reporting. But John Everhart at eVerbatim offers a concierge setup service curated especially for court reporters, and he also sent out an email for his Black Friday deals, including ThinkPads.” (Missed the email from eVerbatim? Contact john.everhart@everbatimonline.net.)
One final recommendation came from Debbie Kriegshauser, FAPR, RMR, CRR, CRC, CLVS: “This is an upright vacuum that I absolutely love” – referring to a deal at Kohl’s on the Shark Rotator Powered Lift-Away TruePet Self-Powered Upright Bagless vacuum cleaner – “and I have been through many vacuum cleaners over my many years. I love how this one performs and turns and gets under things and comes apart to vacuum other areas. I highly recommend it!”
A few other items that you might need for your home office:
Aurora AU1220XA 12 Sheet Crosscut Paper and Credit Card Shredder with 5.2 gal Wastebasket
