Ask the Readers: What Is Your Favorite Gadget?

Editor's Note: Congratulations to Francesco, Lynda, and Diana for winning this week's contest!

We're surrounded by gadgets, both high-tech and low, that usually aim to make our lives easier or better in some way. We all have our favorites — some are undeniably useful, while others are just plain cool.

What is your favorite gadget? Do you use it for work, pleasure, or everyday living? Has it improved your life in any surprising ways?

Tell us about your favorite gadget and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

Win 1 of 3 $20 Amazon Gift Cards

We're doing three giveaways — here's how you can win!

Mandatory Entry:

  • Post your answer in the comments below. One commenter will win a $20 Amazon Gift Card!

For extra entries:

  • You can tweet about our giveaway for an extra entry. Also, our Facebook fans can get an extra entry too! Use our Rafflecopter widget for your chance to win one of the other two Amazon Gift Cards:
  • a Rafflecopter giveaway

    If you're inspired to write a whole blog post OR you have a photo on flickr to share, please link to it in the comments or tweet it.

    Giveaway Rules:

    • Contest ends Monday, July 15th at 11:59 pm Pacific. Winners will be announced after July 15th on the original post. Winners will also be contacted via email.
    • You can enter all three drawings — once by leaving a comment, once by liking our Facebook update, and once by tweeting.
    • This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered, or associated with Facebook.
    • You must be 18 and US resident to enter. Void where prohibited.

Good Luck!

Disclaimer: The links and mentions on this site may be affiliate links. But they do not affect the actual opinions and recommendations of the authors.

Wise Bread is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.


Guest's picture
Varun

My current smartphone - a Nokia 808 PureView - its a camera, GPS, music player, and a phone all built in. Very sturdy and reliable too...

Guest's picture
Mary Happymommy

My laptop is my favorite gadget.

Guest's picture
Joel Whitaker

My favorite gadget? My iPad. It makes reading stuff -- books, magazines, newspapers, e-MAIL so much easier, and I do a lot of reading. It's lousy for writing, though. Somethings are better done on a conventional PC or laptop -- writing long pieces, spreadsheets, etc.

But for reading, my iPad is just wonderful.

Guest's picture
lani c

Honestly, I don't have a favorite gadget. And seeing everybody else with their noses in their phones, I kind of like it that way! :)

Guest's picture
Thomas

My favorite gadget at the moment is my MacBook. Not really using anything else at the moment. Thats where all the work and play takes place for right now.

Guest's picture
KF

My favorite gadget is my raspberry pi (http://www.raspberrypi.org/). I was able to make a cheap media player for less than $50.

Guest's picture
Elena

My favorite gadget is laptop. I use it for work and pleasure

Guest's picture

Fav High Tech Gadget - IPHONE

In my pocket and used all day long

Fav low tech object - Splitting Axe

For exercise I split wood every morning. Gives me exercise for free and heats my home all winter for free.

My iphone is in my pocket when I'm chopping wood. ;)

Guest's picture
lostannfound

If it's an electronic gadget, it would probably be my Kindle. I love being able to carry it in my bag or take it to the beach or camping and have a wide variety of books to choose from, depending on my mood.

For non-electronic/electrical, it would be my Swiss Army pocketknife. I have it on me all the time and it comes in handy in many different situations.

Guest's picture
Tyler

My Ipod Touch is my favorite gadget that I use everyday to check email, news, ect. I use a "dumb" phone in combination with my Ipod Touch to get the features that I would most want from an Iphone and save lots of money!

Guest's picture
Nancy

My favorite gadget is my GPS. I drive more safely because I don't have to look down at maps or printed Google directions. I set it to take the shortest route to save on gas. And I don't waste time and fuel driving around lost. I resisted buying one (as an unnecessary tech gadget) until I moved to a new town. Now I love the thing and use it on all but the most routine drives. Even on familiar longer journeys I still use it to remind me of upcoming interchanges and turns so that I don't accidently drive on by while thinking of something else (which I have been known to do in the past).

Guest's picture
Bethany

My new favorite gadget is the duck commander duck call. I know it's silly for a girl to love that, but it makes family walks to the pond exilerating!

Guest's picture
LAR Koslow

The food processor: it purees, shreds, & slices, and you don't have to scrape the end result of the blade as with a blender.

Guest's picture
Maria S

I love my generic ipod shuffle. I need music when I'm exercising, and I love the fact I didn't need to pay Apple's crazy prices, and it works just as good!

Guest's picture
Betsy Barnes

Right now, my laptop is my favorite. We were able to get rid of cable and have saved tons of money. We watch our favorite shows on each network website and movies on Netflix. We have connected my laptop to our tv, so we can watch shows on the big screen.

Guest's picture
Diana Foster

My favorite gadget would be my laptop computer. I love surfing the web while watching television. I use it more than any other electronic device I own!

Guest's picture
Debbie

My favorite gadget for the summer is our Magic Bullet. It makes a mean smoothie in the hot weather, cleans up easily and will even chop nuts or things for salads. We've had our for a number of years and it is a family favorite!

Guest's picture

My iphone is my one and only gadget! It does everything as most of us all know!

Guest's picture
Bev

My solar powered iphone charger!

Guest's picture
Betty D.

My iPad is my favorite gadget by far. It's almost attached to me. Initially I hesitated to get one, thinking what would I do with it. Little did I know it would become my new addiction. If this one broke, I'd replace it the same day.

Guest's picture
Catherine

Maybe a bit old fashioned, but I like my iPod. It helps pass the time on the bus and gets me energized at work.

Guest's picture
Shannon

My favorite is the baby monitor, I love being able to take a look at my son without sneaking in a waking him up

Guest's picture
Cassie B

I love my iPad, it's so easy to carry around when I don't feel like a bringing a laptop with me.

Guest's picture
jperry

My all time favorite gadget is my pressure cooker! It can cook a great meal in less then an hour! It comes in handy especially when I dont feel like cooking being a stay at home mom, wife and mother my time is always very valuable! I can throw and quick meal in less then 10 minutes and start the timer when I come back the meals already done! Its a lifesaver!

Guest's picture
Diane

It's a tie between my iphone & my ipad mini! If I had to choose just one, I guess it would be the iphone 5, because in addition to the basic uses of phone calls & text messages it takes AWESOME photos! Plus I can read on it and surf the web~ just wish the screen was a little bigger.

The ipad mini is also awesome ~ better for reading, web surfing & email because of the screen size. But the camera is not as good and of course it doesn't make calls or send texts.

Guest's picture
KelR1

My favorite gadget is my iPod. I like being able to bring a lot of music with me wherever I go. It's so nice to not have to depend on bad local radio or carrying around physical CDs anymore.

Guest's picture
Tiffany

My favorite gadget is my smartphone like others - mine is the Samsung Note II. I don't know what I did before Smartphones, but now I am super organized and pulled together and I can look up facts/prices/comments quickly on the go.

Guest's picture
Vero

I think my favorite "gadget" would have to be my DSLR. Don't know what I'd do without photography in my life!!

Guest's picture
kristina

My smartphone.

Guest's picture
Kim

I love my iPad mini. It's great to work on, but small enough to carry around.

Guest's picture
Amy S.

My favorite gadget is my Garmin Nuvi GPS.
My car got broken into in broad daylight at work and the theives got away with my Tomtom I had for many years a few years back.
For a Christmas present, my brother gave me a Garmin as a gift. I am so happy with it! It really does a great job with voice commands and taking you where you need to go. The functionality of finding a gas station, restaurants, or local tourist attractions keeps me finding new places even around my city. My boyfriend and I take it every time we travel... Indiana, Las Vegas, Minnesota, Iowa, Los Angeles -- hopefully many more to come!

Guest's picture
Basha

My favorite gadget is my laptop.

Guest's picture
Therese

My iPhone is always with me.

Guest's picture
Kay

My laptop!

Guest's picture
MELISSA HANSSON

I really don't know how I would get by without my iphone. My little pocket computer, phone, camera, MP3 player, gaming unit, GPS, miracle.

Guest's picture
Meghan

My favorite gadget is my laptop (and wifi). I can use it as entertainment, to learn, for work, and to keep in touch with family and friends. And it helps me save money by comparing prices easily and giving me access to coupon codes.

Guest's picture
Ro

My favorite gadget is a manually operated jar opener made in the 1960s

Guest's picture
Liisa

my laptop, hands down. :)

Guest's picture
Jag M

My Samsung Note II. Look what this gadget does for me - E-mail, social media, note taking, scanner, phone, my personal assistant, alarm boy, my banker, my gps, my health tracker, credit monitor, bill reminder and garage opener. Can your gadget do this ?

Guest's picture
maureen g.

I have to honestly say that my iphone is my favorite gadget only because I can take it anywhere with me. I somehow wonder how I ever got by without it! How spoiled we become with technology lol

Guest's picture
Rusty

I love my laptop. i'm always discovering new features to use.

Guest's picture
Happy Love

I'm loving my iPod touch. It's been great since my son was born for taking pictures and video of him to share with family on FaceBook in addition to playing music and podcasts.

Guest's picture
Monique

I love kitchen gadgets. I have a great pastry scraper that is very versatile, though simple.

Guest's picture
Joan Varner

It's my Kindle. I have a book to read where ever I am because it fits in my purse.

Guest's picture
Sara C

Love my Kindle!

Guest's picture
Kristine R.

I LOVE my ipad. I use it for work, news, play, games, and my daughter is learning to read by using the apps.

Guest's picture
michelle

Definitely my iphone!

Guest's picture
Marcio1853

I can't live without my iPad.

Guest's picture

my favorite gadget is my Ipad - although my xbox runs a close second ;)

Guest's picture
Danielle

My favorite gadget at the moment is my new iPod nano. I'm not a huge technology person, but having a great jam list for when I'm running or being able to listen to NPR on my commute makes my day.

Guest's picture
Toni

I love my laptop and my paper shredder. They are two of the most-used items in my home.

Guest's picture
Guest

iTouch. perfect for reading/listening to music anywhere.

Guest's picture
Diane

Definitely my iPad! Great for keeping up with blogs, email, social media, and reading books and magazines. It's hard to remember life before it.

Guest's picture
Lynda

my smartphone (iphone 4s)

Guest's picture
Lisa Yarnell

By far my favorite is the ipad. It has streamlines and organized my life like no other device. I have all but given up on my laptop!

Guest's picture
Tabathia B

My absolute favorite is my kindle because I am a big reader and I can always use it to go online also

Guest's picture
Carol

This is hard because I have several favorite gadgets that I use every day. If there were one particular item I just couldn't part with it'd be my iPod Touch. I'm old school and don't have an iPhone because I prefer my old faithful flip phone with actual buttons but I use my iPod for music and basically as a pocket organizer.

Guest's picture
Guest

My Kindle. It's a great way to take along a lot of books wherever you go.

Guest's picture
BRB

My favorite gadget, if that's what it counts as, would be my garlic press, use it a lot.

Guest's picture
mc6

I dig my Macbook Pro that I'm writing on right now! I would be so lost without it! Bill paying, Facebooking, Tweeting, emailing, managing my budget, taking/sending pics to family--all done right here!

Guest's picture
Kristi F

I'd say my smart phone... I use it for everything; shopping, work, navigation, keeping up with the news, entertainment, etc.

Guest's picture
Linda

I love my BlackBerry Z10 smartphone!! The web browser is great. The OS is simple and I learned it really quickly. The typing experience is the best touch keyboard I've ever used. The feel of it is fantastic. The keyboard is superb. I've typed book reviews, blog entries, and of course, emails and text messages on it. The word predictors are so good; they really help make typing much faster and better.

Guest's picture
DeeDee

My vegtable steamer

Guest's picture
Carmen

My Fitbit One. It tracks not only my steps, but estimates calories burned, miles walked, stairs climbed and will even track my sleep

Guest's picture
Rebecca B. A. R.

My husband won me a Kindle Touch that I absolutely love! I never would have bought one for myself, but I'm so glad the I have one now! The free classic books are the best!

Guest's picture
Francesco

iPhone 5: portable phone, email, weather, Audible books, itunes music, Kindle app, and 30 others in my pocket, with a clean UI and a superb screen.

Guest's picture
Susan D.

My Chromebook. It's great for taking on vacation and for just flopping on the sofa in the evenings. I love having a keyboard so I can write easily--that's why I didn't get a tablet.

Guest's picture
Amanda H

It's a low-tech gadget, but my pressure cooker makes it SO easy to make a big batch of beans and freeze part of them.

Guest's picture

By far and away my Garmin Forerunner 10 watch. I'm a runner and this is one gadget I can no longer imagine living without.

Guest's picture
Paul

My favorite gadget has to be my cellphone - a cheap Nokia push-button phone. Cellphones ten years ago were few and far between, but it's amazing how many of us use them and take them for granted now. Think about how you used your cellphone when your car broke down, when you had to call your Dad about that important question you thought up, or when you called your sister in Europe when she was travelling. Cellphones were the beginning of our major work on communication that continues to this day with technology and "smart" gadgets