Anne's Holiday Tech Buying Tips for my Friends
OK, let me make something clear: this is not for the general public. This is a list of things that my friends and people like me should consider spending money on in regards to technology this coming holiday season. Most of my friends being working adults, married with no kids or with young children, and on a bit of a budget (some more than others), and almost all of us having bills to pay.
November, December and January are great times to buy technology because 1) prices drop, 2) new products are released, and 3) there is a wealth of information out there to help you decide what you need versus what you want.
So, here we go:
1) Buy a hard drive TODAY: You may not know this, but half of all hard drives are made in Thailand. Recent flooding has closed factories and ruined stores of drives, and by the time we hit January, prices will have skyrocketed. If you are looking to upgrade your PC or expand external storage, you should have bought a hard drive yesterday. This may seem like a minor issue, but considering how much we use our hard drives, it may be a year or more before production is back to normal levels, so pick up a 1 TB internal or external before things get messy. If you are fine on storage (I have some 6 TB of storage space laying around), then this does not apply to you, obviously. :)
2) Do not pay more than $350 for a Tablet: Originally, I was going to write "Do not buy a tablet," but after watching CNET's review of the Kindle Fire, I think that people should consider non-iPad options for the market. You can read back through my Tablet Buying Guide to help you choose what kind of tablet you need, but make sure you are buying it to fill a need. I am holding firm on my stance that I will not buy a tablet for at least another two years, possibly longer. Bottom line, don't over pay for this. For those who do want an iPad? Shop around! You can find iPad 1s, which are still pretty good, for much cheaper than the iPad 2. Think before you buy!
3) Do buy a $79 Kindle or Nook: Let's do some math. Say you want to read a bunch of old books that you don't have copies of, because, like me, you are an English Major. Well, at about $5 a piece, you can get nice copies of those books. So for $80 (not including sales tax), you can have sixteen books. For $79, you can get the closest thing to paper in the e-ink display, and EVERY book written before 1924 can be yours. Not to mention, both Kindle and Nook are a lot lighter than carrying around sixteen books. I'm not saying it's time to give up on paper completely, but with library lending and the vast amount of free and cheap e-books, this is a really good buy.
4) Upgrade your phone: This is, if you can. For those of you who want a tablet but cannot find a need for it, there is an argument to be made for a solid smartphone as opposed to a tablet for most of what people use tablets for (reading, watching videos, listening to music, taking pictures, etc). Plus, with the iPhone 4S having come out, the price of the iPhone 4 will have dropped significantly, and let's be honest: Siri is a toy that may turn into a useful feature some day, but it is not today. If possible, try to make sure that your contract always runs out around this time, so you can take advantage of the deals with smartphones.
5) Hook a streaming device to your TV: There are two Rokus, $49 and $99; there is Apple TV, $99; there are a wealth of media PC options. Between Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime, the time has come to give the cable and satellite companies the finger, and most modern TVs are easy to hook up. An initial investment will allow you to shut off a $60+ cable TV bill, keep your internet, and just watch the offerings from the internet, and between the three major services, everything that is on TV can be had online.
Finally, Remember the rule in WoW - Need before Greed: Anyone, even a jaded bitch like me, can get carried away with the shopping frenzy of the season. While this is a good time to upgrade because of the low prices on technology, ask yourself whether or not you need to upgrade. Two years ago, I upgraded my old HP laptop for a $400 Acer, and frankly, it is a superior machine to the old HP which had all sorts of issues with it. If you need a new piece of technology, then by all means, shop. If you just want something, think about it first. Around the same time, I also ended up buying a Wii, because I wanted it, and I cannot tell you just how little I play it. So, that new TV might be really shiny and bright, but if your old one is still working fine, wait.
So, that's it! Happy shopping and fuck the holidays! Also, no Black Friday bullshit people. Do not spend Thanksgiving waiting in line like a moron outside of Best Buy, and on Black Friday, stay home.
November, December and January are great times to buy technology because 1) prices drop, 2) new products are released, and 3) there is a wealth of information out there to help you decide what you need versus what you want.
So, here we go:
1) Buy a hard drive TODAY: You may not know this, but half of all hard drives are made in Thailand. Recent flooding has closed factories and ruined stores of drives, and by the time we hit January, prices will have skyrocketed. If you are looking to upgrade your PC or expand external storage, you should have bought a hard drive yesterday. This may seem like a minor issue, but considering how much we use our hard drives, it may be a year or more before production is back to normal levels, so pick up a 1 TB internal or external before things get messy. If you are fine on storage (I have some 6 TB of storage space laying around), then this does not apply to you, obviously. :)
2) Do not pay more than $350 for a Tablet: Originally, I was going to write "Do not buy a tablet," but after watching CNET's review of the Kindle Fire, I think that people should consider non-iPad options for the market. You can read back through my Tablet Buying Guide to help you choose what kind of tablet you need, but make sure you are buying it to fill a need. I am holding firm on my stance that I will not buy a tablet for at least another two years, possibly longer. Bottom line, don't over pay for this. For those who do want an iPad? Shop around! You can find iPad 1s, which are still pretty good, for much cheaper than the iPad 2. Think before you buy!
3) Do buy a $79 Kindle or Nook: Let's do some math. Say you want to read a bunch of old books that you don't have copies of, because, like me, you are an English Major. Well, at about $5 a piece, you can get nice copies of those books. So for $80 (not including sales tax), you can have sixteen books. For $79, you can get the closest thing to paper in the e-ink display, and EVERY book written before 1924 can be yours. Not to mention, both Kindle and Nook are a lot lighter than carrying around sixteen books. I'm not saying it's time to give up on paper completely, but with library lending and the vast amount of free and cheap e-books, this is a really good buy.
4) Upgrade your phone: This is, if you can. For those of you who want a tablet but cannot find a need for it, there is an argument to be made for a solid smartphone as opposed to a tablet for most of what people use tablets for (reading, watching videos, listening to music, taking pictures, etc). Plus, with the iPhone 4S having come out, the price of the iPhone 4 will have dropped significantly, and let's be honest: Siri is a toy that may turn into a useful feature some day, but it is not today. If possible, try to make sure that your contract always runs out around this time, so you can take advantage of the deals with smartphones.
5) Hook a streaming device to your TV: There are two Rokus, $49 and $99; there is Apple TV, $99; there are a wealth of media PC options. Between Netflix, Hulu Plus, and Amazon Prime, the time has come to give the cable and satellite companies the finger, and most modern TVs are easy to hook up. An initial investment will allow you to shut off a $60+ cable TV bill, keep your internet, and just watch the offerings from the internet, and between the three major services, everything that is on TV can be had online.
Finally, Remember the rule in WoW - Need before Greed: Anyone, even a jaded bitch like me, can get carried away with the shopping frenzy of the season. While this is a good time to upgrade because of the low prices on technology, ask yourself whether or not you need to upgrade. Two years ago, I upgraded my old HP laptop for a $400 Acer, and frankly, it is a superior machine to the old HP which had all sorts of issues with it. If you need a new piece of technology, then by all means, shop. If you just want something, think about it first. Around the same time, I also ended up buying a Wii, because I wanted it, and I cannot tell you just how little I play it. So, that new TV might be really shiny and bright, but if your old one is still working fine, wait.
So, that's it! Happy shopping and fuck the holidays! Also, no Black Friday bullshit people. Do not spend Thanksgiving waiting in line like a moron outside of Best Buy, and on Black Friday, stay home.