Appearances, as the saying goes, can be deceiving. That’s certainly been the case with technology this year. While few breakout products have emerged over the past 12 months, R&D departments have hardly been idle. What we’ve seen, instead, are low-key but high-value improvements to technologies already important in our professional and personal lives (and often both simultaneously). For lawyers, this is particularly good news, as many of the most significant upgrades have been for gear they’ve grown to embrace and rely on. The following products may have appeared on the scene quietly, but make no mistake: They warrant the spotlight.
• QuietComfort 20/20i Noise-Canceling Headphones (Bose, $299). Two things identify a seasoned flyer: liquids in a Ziploc and noise-canceling headphones. Bose has long made what has arguably been the premier noise-canceling gear, and there’s nothing quite like flipping a switch and experiencing the magic disappearance of engine noise (the technology dramatically reduces steady sounds like the humming of machinery, but is less effective on voices). Wearing a pair of these headphones can mean the difference between sleeping on a flight or staring at the seatback for six hours.
