12 Must Have Gadgets You Can Probably Live Without But Wouldn't Want To

These desirable devices are clamoring for a place on your shelf, in your pocket, and in your home.

OK, technically we'd survive without these "must-have" gadgets, but when so much of our day is spent with devices that tell us where to go and what to do, the entertain and inform us, track our health and manage our minutes, it seems impossible to think of life without them. Technically, we could get on without cute cat videos too, but what kind of existence would that be?
We're so increasingly dependent on our electronic companions that they don't just live with us, they live on us. Wearable tech can deliver messages from friends, tell you when to pack an umbrella, and even manage music. Singularly health-minded devices count both your steps and your calories. Tech may feel inescapable, but there is a measure of reassurance in it taking care of us.
For all our gadgets do for us, we certainly repay them with loyalty, for a while at least. When something new comes along—and something new always comes along—we feel that same pull we felt toward our now-timeworn device just a year or two before. At first we tell ourselves the tech we have is enough, that we can admire without acquiring. But we inevitably give in.
Phones are the gadgets most subject to our wayward affection. Their appeal lasts a year or so until a suitably advanced and desirable new model is introduced (witness the success of the iPhone 5s in its first weekend). After that, we fantasize about life with the latest object of lust until we're freed from the chains of a two-year service agreement. Whole categories of tech sometimes rise and fall within that span of time. Netbooks were the next big thing until they were literally too big, quickly replaced by tablets that go everywhere from the train to the couch.
Check out these cool gadgets du jour clamoring for your attention.