How to select the best gadget to buy for the holidays?
A complete guide of how, what and why should you buy these gadgets for different people.
Preface In today’s world, many people are looking for gadgets. Whether it be simple gadgets such as MP3 players or external hard drives, or more complicated gadget such as phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, graphics and more. We rely on an almost Internet-based world today, with exception of certain parts in the world that still are not relying on these more advanced technologies. Looking at our past Internet usage patterns, we have developed quite a bit in the last few decades. Sure, the bandwidth of our connection has improved significantly from the past, and in more and more countries, they started to deploy LTE (Long-Term Evolution) network, which is the nextgeneration wireless network. Meanwhile, Internet usage patterns have changed quite significantly, too. People are now sharing more on various social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and much more, and the “instant-sharing” feature is really touted in a lot of places today. So, if Internet connectivity and usage are not a part of the problem, then what is the problem? Well, that is the gadget that people are choosing today. It is great that in today’s market, there are options in terms of device selection. In fact, there is a wide range of them. Ranging from Apple, which is the most renowned company as well as the richest company ever in American history, to little manufacturers such as Asus, Acer and XiaoMi, there are tons of manufacturers producing gadgets. However, it is very evident from market researches conducted by ABC News and PC Magazine that people are not treating these gadgets as gadgets – rather, they are more like toys. Children tends to have gadgets that they will never touch in months, women have gadgets that they do not like, and they are spending money on gadgets that they do not need. In this how-to guide, we are going to explore how to select the best gadget for the upcoming holidays, which includes Christmas and Chinese New Year, and see which will be the best value amongst the crowded market now.
Content Section 1
Demographic ................................................................................................
4
Section 2 Deciding on Budget ......................................................................................
Section 3
Buying the Right Gadget – Guide ................................................................
Section 4
Wrap-Up .......................................................................................................
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Section 1: Demographic If you are going to buy a gadget, look at WHO needs it, and then decide. The most important thing when buying gadgets is choosing / selecting demographic. Who is it that needs it? What might they be looking for? More importantly, are they going to enjoy the experience of the gadget? The first step towards buying gadget is selecting demographic. Here are a few tips and choices that you can make towards few different demographics:
Child
Children have the characteristic of not having any wish to buy gadget. This is a generalization of the market today, though. This may not apply to every child, but in general, children do not want gadgets – they want their toys. This may change as time goes on, but this is certainly true for now. Considering this analogy, it is best to save money to buy toys for children – not toys. If you have any thought about buying gadgets for children, throw that out of the window right now. They do not need gadgets. However, if you want to buy gadgets for your children, it is best to buy any toy-related or game-related products. For example, there are tablets on the market that are education-orientated, meaning that on the tablet, there are applications that are purely education based. As another possibility, you can buy other simple gadgets such as MP3 players, and again, they are cheap and not costly. For children, they do not need gadgets – at least, gadgets are not necessary for most.
My suggestion: Do not buy any gadgets for these children. One, they do not need this; Two, gadgets might weaken their eyesight, and it is not good health-wise.
Normally, for eye protection and growth issue associated with tiny gadgets, children are kept far away from gadgets in general. However, if you really want your children to own a gadget to show off or he/she shows desperateness towards owning one, it is best go big- like a tablet or computer.
Teens
Well folks, time has changed. Teens are into gadgets. In our world today, where Internet connectivity is not an issue, teens are carrying laptops, phones and even tablets to school everyday for learning (lesser with the latter). Gadgets have become some teens’ everyday life- from typing up emails to documents to socialize online and playing online games such as Diablo III, teens are enjoying the experience of using gadgets. Now, if software or the back-end (Internet connection) is not the problem, then what is it? The answer is simple: Hardware. Teens now are in need of good hardware because of the world we live in. They need good hardware to work properly, such as working with movie clips, word processing, constructing websites and a lot more, mostly for school purposes. Also, they need to stay connected with friends, which is a tendency we are seeing nowadays. A phone (or even smartphone) is almost a necessity for teenagers, however, it is not an absolute must-need for teens.
Adults are the complete contrary of children. The reason behind this theory is because of work. Adults at work are constantly pulling emails, browsing certain websites, responding to emails and creating documents and spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. Also, for certain workers, they need computers to do professional movie editing, photo processing and even working with servers. These tasks require large amount of computing power, and this is why they need more gadgets to get work done. Also, all workers (nowadays) are all required to connect with each other anytime (at least, big corporations require their workers to do this). Phone is required for this. Smartphone has also been on many people’s holiday to-buy list because they have great processing power, more functionalities with the help of third-party applications such as Viber and WhatsApp. There is a rising need for gadgets for adults, especially ones who work at big corporations and certain enterprises.
Adults
Elderly  Adults Â
After retirement, most adults, especially ones who worked for more than 30, 40 years, would want to rest for the rest of his/her life (most probably). Gadgets, though, they might not want much, but maybe computer and phone would suffice enough. However, there are even more elderly adults in the market, such as people who are over 70 years old. Those people wouldn’t necessarily want a computer (or even a phone), but maybe they want something between a computer and a phone. The best option is a tablet. There are a lot of elderly adults who own tablets because they do not have televisions at home, neither do they have computers. This is a great option for a lot of elderly adults. A television would be great for them, as they can turn it on everyday to listen to news, and more importantly, entertain themselves with some programs playing. Last but not least, though many will not find them useful, but get them some phones. This will be good enough for any elderly adults to get connected with each other (family members, friends and more).
Bottom Line To properly assess your demographic, you need to look at how the person is like (whether he/she likes/dislikes gadgets) because this varies between different people. The descriptions above are just brief descriptions of (generally) how each demographic wants, but take that as a suggestion to how to approach to how people are like.
Section 2: Deciding on Budget If you have chosen WHO needs it, now you should assess HOW MUCH you want to spend and WHAT you should expect in terms of pricing of gadgets nowadays. Let’s be realistic here: No one wants to spend a lot of money on gadgets, unless one is a diehard fan of gadgets. Also, money is hard to earn these days, and it is very fitting that any ordinary person will not want to spend an-arm-and-a-leg on gadgets. The second step towards buying gadget is deciding on budget.
Children They’ve got no money whatsoever. Does this mean if they want something, they can’t get it? Obviously, NO. It is quite obvious that parents will spend money to buy gadget(s) for them (but this would only be true if the parents are in a position in which they are capable of buying things for them). So, how much should one spend on buying gadget(s) for their child(ren)? Well, the answer really depends on you. If you happen to be someone who is not very wealthy (or simply do not have much budget), you best bet for a child under 12 years old would be 50 dollars to 100 dollars. Yes, this may not sound like a lot, but it is plenty enough for any children. For example, an MP3 player (rather high-end ones) from SanDisk that has
4GB onboard storage costs $29.99 on Amazon. This is one of the better gadgets that you can get for children-- something they can listen to music to on-the-go as well as play around with in the lecture time. This is only 30 dollars! For children, it is best to buy something simple, and yet they will cherish. MP3 player can get the job done and don’t aim high if you don’t have a lot of money On the other hand, if you have a lot of money to spare, you can go for 100 dollars to 200 dollars (max). You really don’t need to spend so much on buying gadgets for children. This amount of money can get a child really good education-orientated tablet or a kid-only tablet, as well as a refurbished/lastgeneration iPod Touch (iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle, too).
Teens
In this case, I would suggest upwards to $1,500 max, but there is a reason behind this. There are a lot of schools around the world where they have started to employ use of computers in school. This makes laptops important and essential to every student. Some schools are even forcing students to own Mac for various reasons, such as better applications for education purposes. Macs are not cheap. Not right now. An entry-level (though it does not look like it) 11.6-inch MacBook Air costs $999 right off the bat. Similarly, an entry-level 13.3-inch
MacBook Pro costs $1,199, and both are at the default specifications. These are pretty steep prices for a lot of parents to spend and invest on their children. Moreover, if teenagers want a smartphone, they are not cheap (and of course, older ones would cost less). An Apple iPhone 5, for example, costs $649 dollars (unlocked, 16GB). Samsung’s Galaxy S III’s price fluctuates depending on the country, but you will still be looking at about $630 (unlocked, 16GB), whereas their Galaxy Note II would cost roundabout $763 (unlocked, 16GB). These
mainstream smartphones are not cheap by any means. This is why I say upwards to $1,500 max if you really need to. For most, just get your teen child(ren) a phone (so that you can
contact your child(ren) if you need to), and possibly a tablet for them to enjoy a larger experience of viewing content on-the-go. Of course, you should get them a computer so they can do their school work.
Adults My suggestion: Upward to $2,000 max. For many workers, they are not even looking at this section because they know they cannot spend so much on gadgets (especially for themselves). They would rather spend $600 on a computer that is thick and heavy and call it a day. However, avoid this if possible (for many, I know it is not an option to consider at all). However, if you happen to be deeppocketed (or support from your company), I would suggest buying upwards to $2,000. I would say anymore than $2,000 is too much money to spend on buying gadgets, unless your work requires you to do so. If you are an international jetsetter and travels hundreds of thousands of miles per year, you should look into laptops more than phones. You should be looking for any gadget that can keep you powered and working on-the-go, and in this case, I would suggest you invest
more. For example, if your company can help you with buying laptops, you should look for any laptop that costs between $1,200 and $1,700. In the exact same scenario, you should look for smartphone (to stay connected on-the-go with workers and bosses and work partners) that costs between $300 and $800. This will be good enough for any modern, businessman/businesswoman. On the other hand, if you happen to be a professional worker in editing multimedia/technology specialist (for instance, professional studio photographer, movie editor for companies or IT techguy), you would still want to look at a maximum of $2,000, but more would be fine (this is the only exception to the rule). A professional-grade DSLR costs about $2,999 to even more than $6,000! In this case, it really depends on what work you do, but again, spend no more than $2,000 would be ideal.
Elderly Adults Maximum: $1,000 (again, this depends). My suggestion is really simple: If you retire from a company and happen to have a great deal of pension, get a nice television, computer or something so you can enjoy your post-work life. If you do not have a lot of money, then you really should not spend
money on any gadgets. You should be look for other aspects of life that is worth spending money on. That said, you should get a cheap phone even if you do not have a lot of money to spend. It is really important to stay connected with your family members.
Q&A: Q: If I am less budget-restricted, can I spend more money on buying gadgets?
A: Yes. However, do not break your bank by buying these gadgets. All the figures described above are not only for consideration, but they are based on market researches and personal opinion based on average income of different countries as well as prices and gadgets. Q: If I have multiple children, does that mean I have to spend $1,500 on each one? A: Absolutely no. This does not mean you should spend $1,500 on each one, but I am not stopping from whatever you are doing. I suggest $1,500 because you really do not need to spend much on these things, and again, based on what teens need in school, $1,500 is more than enough to get the job done. If you want to spend more, go for it. I just think it is not necessary to do so.
Bottom Line Although my suggestions may not be applicable to some of you, but it really depends on how much money you have and how much you are willing to spend. However, all values suggested above are there so that you do not break your bank when buying these gadgets, so take a second, hard look at them.
Section 3: Buying the Right Gadget-Guide Now, hopefully you have distinguished both the demographic and your preferred budget, and it’s device selection time! In this step, I will first identify the types of gadgets the demographic wants (in accordance to research data in the past). Then, I will suggest different gadgets for you to buy, and just briefly tell you what you can expect. You will find out which is the best for your demographic.
Children
MP3 Players Best Value: SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip ($35.99) For les than $50, you get a MP3 player that plays most audio formats such as AAC, MP3, WMA, DRM-WMA, FLAC, Ogg Vorbis and Audible files. You also get audiobook support, voice recording capabilities and it also acts as a FM radio. This is a killer product for the price, and is a stupefying value for its features, as well as a practical clip-on design.
You Might Also Consider: iPod Nano (2012, 7th generation) ($149) Yes, most might not swallow the newest iPod Nano’s price tag, which is rather sky-high at $149 (of course, you can find it cheaper in third-party retailers). However, what you get is a gym-friendly, compact and fully functional music player. There are downsides, though. You get a poorly manufactured display, lack in video camcorder functionality, and a Lightning connector, which breaks apart from any iPhones you own (before iPhone 5) and other older iOS devices.
Teens
Laptops Best Value: MacBook Air (2012, 13-inch) ($1,199, $1,499 and configurable up to $2,488- just purely hardware wise) Why MacBook Air? Why not MacBook Pro? You might be asking these questions to yourself. The truth is, for something that you are carrying to school or travelling everyday, you do not want it to break your back. MacBook Air, 2012
edition, packs significantly better CPU (1.8GHz intel Core i5 ULV, 3rd generation), more RAM as well as better Intel HD 4000 graphics. Although this will not play Diablo III or Battlefield 2 well, but at least this is a solid work machine that students will enjoy using day-to-day, especially when you consider the good looking display.
You Might Also Consider: HP EliteBook Folio 9470 ($999, $1,099) Of course, if your heart is set on Apple’s darlings, you will go for MacBook Air or Pro. However, if you want to buy a laptop with Windows 8, Microsoft’s latest desktop operating system, go and buy the HP EliteBook Folio 9470. This is one of the best ultrabooks to date. Cameras Best Value: Sony CyberShot DSC-RX100 ($579.99) In 2012, the go-to camera if you are just an amateur in photography or simply want a compact camera that produces thrilling images is the CyberShot DSCRX100. What makes this compact point-andshoot stand out is its 1-inch optical sensor, which is larger than 1/2.33-inch sensors in other point-and-shoots. Also, the large aperture (f/1.8) makes the camera super-fast Smartphones Best Value: HTC One X ($630) This is the best smartphone manufactured in 2012. The reason is simple: you get a better package for your money with HTC One X. Their new One series is awesome, with good specifications on paper and good real world performance. On top of all these, you get a stupendous looking screen and good battery life. What is there to complain about? You Might Also Consider: Samsung Galaxy S III ($650)
Ultrabook refers to any laptops that are thinner than 0.8in (20mm) and sells for under $1000 (U.S. dollars). HP’s darling here sells for $999, and packs a decent display, good processor (1.8GHz Core i5 ULV with Intel HD 4000), good keyboard, and long battery life. This is a great device for any student to go through the whole day with. in capturing moments in low-light conditions. Since this is Sony, they have Exmor CMOS sensor, and is great in all lighting conditions. And best of all -- you get great images and videos, and is very speedy. All of these factors combined makes RX100 the best value in terms of point-and-shoots (albeit, this is really expensive). You Might Also Consider: Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS20 ($349.99) Being a point-and-shoot, you get a stellar package from the Panasonic Lumix ZS20. Not only can you zoom in 20x (from 24mm to 480mm), but you get GPS, manual-shooting modes, and fast performance as well as great photo quality. Also, you get an excellent design that is easy to grip. All in all, this proves to be a great option. Samsung has produced an excellent piece of hardware, too. Their Galaxy S III proves that they can manufacture great software features, such as Smart Stay, motion features and a slew of features on top of Android. However, the hardware is disappointing, and is not something that looks like a $650 gadget. Also, its AMOLED display is not ideal for viewing photos and colour purists, so this is the closest runner-up this year.
Tablets Best Value: Apple iPad (Late 2012) ($499 ~ $829) Tablets are not supposed to be computerreplacements (though for some, it may be the case). Instead, this is an on-the-go solution to get some work done, viewing webpages and documents, and of course, viewing multimedia. The Apple iPad (late 2012) has a wondrous-looking display, thin body, and great processing power. Also, you get Apple’s great ecosystem in terms of apps selection and media content. This is a great tablet, but its cost may be a… fun-sucker.
You Might Also Consider: Google Nexus 7 ($199 ~ $299) If you want to go small (from 10-inch to 7inch), Google’s Nexus 7 is a great option. It has a relatively high-res display, great processing power, and has Google’s ecosystem with Gmail, Google Calendar, contacts and more built-in. This is a no-brainer to purchase if you are heavily invested into Google’s ecosystem just because it costs $200 only. This is less than half of the price of Apple iPad.
Adults
Laptops Best Value: Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch ($1,399 ~ $1,499) Not many companies today require their employees to own an Apple laptop. However, companies and enterprises want their employees to carry laptops to work, and Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch is a great option. You get a large 14-inch 1600 x 900 resolution display, fast Intel core i5 or i7 professionalgrade processors, 8GB RAM, 3G connectivity (HSPA+), and packs a touchscreen display for Windows 8. However, there is one catch: you need have deep pockets, because this machine costs a hefty $1,399. Smartphones Best Value: HTC One X ($630) This is the best smartphone manufactured in 2012. The reason is simple: you get a better package for your money with HTC One X. Their new One series is awesome, with good specifications on paper and good real world performance. On top of all
You Might Also Consider: MacBook Pro with Retina Display (2012, 15-inch) ($2,199, $2,799 and configurable up to $4,098) Remember the time where you are so upclose with your computer’s display and saw little dots? Those are pixels, and sometimes those can be very hurtful to eyes. However, with MacBook Pro with Retina Display, you will not see any pixels. Period. It is just so sharp. Also, you get desktop-grade CPU and CPU, Mac OS X Mountain Lion, and best-inclass battery life, keyboard and trackpad. This can definitely keep users working for the whole day, without looking for an outlet. But again, these technology advances come at a… cost.
these, you get a stupendous looking screen and good battery life. What is there to complain about? You Might Also Consider: Samsung Galaxy Note II ($760) In these days, for anything: Go large. Go for the best
possible. Galaxy Note II is a great example of this statement. Not only is Galaxy Note II better than its predecessor in terms of specifications, display size and processing power, you get a better camera and an
improved S-Pen. The only thing stopping it to be the best-value smartphone is its size. I wager that most people will be distracted by the enormous size of the Galaxy Note II, though this is its selling point.
Camera (This section is dedicated to professional-grade consumers, meaning professional photographers, studio photographers and more. If you are not a professional consumer on cameras, refer to the cameras section under teens) Best Value: Canon EOS Rebel T3i ($899.99) You Might Also Consider: Nikon D5100 Look no further. If you want one of the best($799.95) in-class DSLRs with great image and video Again, you get excellent photo and video quality, and excellent manual modes for both, quality here with Nikon’s offering. You also this is it. You get wondrous and exceptional get a streamlined design for both photo and quality with both photos and videos. video. However, despite its newer processor, Moreover, it has great design with articulating D5100’s performance lags behind in LCD, great lens (29mm to 88m, f/3.5) and nighttime. Therefore, unlike Canon’s offering, good body design. you are slightly downgraded with this DSLR. Camcorders Best Value: Sony Handycam HDR-CX130 (black) ($449.99) Here, you get wide-angle lens, built-in USB cable, and consistently great audio quality along with decent-at-best video quality. It also does on-the-go and sports videography nicely. However, you do get some noise once you shoot videos in poorly lit areas, as it exhibits more noise. However, for the price, you get a good offering. Televisions Best Value: Vizio M3D0KD 55” LED 3D HDTV ($1,275) For your precious $1,300, you get the most accurate looking colours from the LED panel in Vizio M3D0KD. This is a bargain by itself. Also, there is a Smart TV suite that provides plenty of content and the remote has a lot of
You Might Also Consider: Canon Vixia HF G10 ($1,499.99) / HF M400 (black) ($649.99) These two products are for professional videographers. They are packed with a lot of design features, quick adjustments, and you get absolutely wonderful video quality. Since these are for professional consumers, their price tags are not very friendly. functionalities. In addition, you have 3D capability with the included 3D glasses out-ofthe-box. However, Vizio needs to work on their panel’s quality, as there seems to be some blooming on certain colours from what I have seen. You Might Also Consider: LG LM7600 47” LED 3D HDTV ($925) This television set offers great overall picture quality and nice display. This is a matte panel, too, so reflection levels are reduced for better viewing pleasure, and it is thin and relatively light. 3D glasses also come out-of-the-box. However, screen quality needs to be improved, too, and colour accuracy has been significantly downgraded from the best-value television set.
Elderly Adults Televisions Best Value: Vizio M3D0KD 55” LED 3D HDTV ($1,275) For your precious $1,300, you get the most accurate looking colours from the LED panel in Vizio M3D0KD. This is a bargain by itself. Also, there is a Smart TV suite that provides plenty of content and the remote has a lot of functionalities. In addition, you have 3D capability with the included 3D glasses out-of-thebox. However, Vizio needs to work on their panel’s quality, as there seems to be some blooming on certain colours from what I have seen. Smartphones Best Value: Apple iPhone 5 ($649, $749, $849) iOS has always been user-friendly in terms of UI. It is just so simple. Also, you have iPhone’s unique features. You get a nice display (now larger at 4-inch), great camera, great ecosystem with apps and music/videos/podcasts/books, and is just so compact in the hands. This is a great phone for elderly who does not necessarily want to fiddle around with phones.
You Might Also Consider: Philips PFL5907 46” LED HDTV ($799.99) This is a great television set- for elderly adult because this is astoundingly easy to control. The remote control is graced with some userfriendly controls, and there is even an iPhone app to control the TV set! Moreover, you get impressive picture quality for the price and have deep black colours. The natural colour palette is also a plus. However, you get poor viewing angels, and colour saturation needs some work from pictures taken by CNET. LG is great at making user-friendly UI, almost tailor-made for newbies to smartphones. This is a great option, too, for elderly who does not want to play around with all the settings on the phone for the whole day.
You Might Also Consider: LG Optimus G ($820) LG has not been the go-to phone manufacturer for a lot of people, but at least now, they have a compelling offering with LG Optimus G. You get great processing power (that will never slow you down), great looking display, good battery life, and you also get a user-friendly UI (despite it still being Android). Q&A: Q: Which type of gadget should I choose for my demographic? A: That really depends on WHO your demographic is. This is why you first identify whom you are buying gadgets for, because this is important towards how much you would want to prepare and spend on these gadgets. From there, you need to think about few things: What is his/her profession (photographer, businessman/businesswomen, artist…)? What is he/she looking for in gadgets? After all these considerations, you can then decide what type of gadget you should buy for your demographic. Q: These products that you recommended are too expensive for me. Are there alternative options other than these gadgets?
A: Yes. In this section, I recommend these gadgets based on their prices and usability, and general “hype� of the gadget from users. These are top-notch devices, and of course, I consider their price tags, too. I know for mainstream consumers, price always comes first (before anything else). This is why I think these products are great, because they have the best of both worlds: Great prices that normal people can afford, and great usability and experience people can get out of them. If you think they are too expensive, of course, you can look elsewhere. There are alternative options -- but just know about them before you buy them.
Bottom Line Suggestions above are just based on my personal opinion. They should be just some ideas about what you can buy, but of course, like I said earlier, research more before you make the final decision. These are just some of the best gadgets that you can buy, but they are not necessarily the best for you.
Section 4: Wrap-Up You should now be ready to go shopping, but just one last question to answer. Okay, so by now, you should (hopefully) selected the demographic and followed all three steps above. The real question is: Do you really need these gadgets? Well, to some, this may seem like a redundant question. However, I asked this for a reason. For some people, they buy gadgets because they need it. There is an increasing trend, though, on people buying gadgets just because they want to keep up with the world of technology. In that case, you don’t really need it- you just want it. This is simply a way to… waste money. So, now you should ask yourself: Do you really need these gadgets? If your answer is “yes”, then just go out and buy the gadget of your choice. If your answer is “no”, then you better save the money for other things. Also, you should spend some time with the gadget you intend to buy (if possible). You can try out some phones in various stores or shopping malls; you can try out some cameras if your friends happen to own them, and the reason to try them out is because you need to see whether the design is good for you or not. For example, one may prefer the design of this computer, while another may dislike the design of the same piece of gadget. This is personal preference, not something one could say succinctly. Therefore, you should get some hands-on time with the gadgets if you can. The last thing you should be thinking about is do you think the gadget worth your hard-earned money. The market today is very widespread in terms of all the options available for purchases. There are entrylevel gadgets, which are often packed with low-end specifications as well as cheap prices. However, there are mid-range and high-end gadgets, too. They have more functionality, but come at a “cost”. You need to assess whether the gadget that you are going to buy is worth the money you pay. If you think it is… reasonable, just go for it. If not, then think twice.
Bottom Line If you think are fine with the price given by the manufacturer (of the gadget you are going to buy), you really need the gadget for work or any other probable reasons, and you think it is going to live around you for the next few years (or months) just fine, you are more than good enough to buy the gadget. Just go for it.