If you buy your gizmos based solely on the salesman’s spiel, you are likely to end up with features you don’t really need, at a price you’d rather not spend. If, however, you want to make your money go far, align your purchase with your requirements. Scan the essential features of some electronic gadgets to ensure you don’t make an expensive mistake.
MOBILE PHONES
Camera: Pick an 8 MP or a 12 MP phone only if you plan to dispose of your professional camera. For impulse shots, low resolution works. Samsung Pixon (8 MP camera) costs around Rs 22,000, while the 3 MP S5233 comes for Rs 9,500.
Music player: Most people use their PCs or iPods to store music; phones are for music on the go. Does it make sense to pay Rs 20,000 for a fancy Walkman phone, when half this amount will get you a decent phone that stores 50-odd songs?
Mail: Will life come to a halt if you don’t read and respond to mails immediately? If yes, you need a BlackBerry (Javelin costs Rs 26,000). If you have to check mail occasionally, any GPRS phone will do (Nokia E50 costs less than Rs 8,000).
CAMERAS
Resolution: Today, entry-level cameras come with good resolution. Kodak EasyShare C140, for instance, offers 8 MP at Rs 7,000.
Zoom: A 3x optical zoom is usually enough — and cheap — like the Kodak C160. The ZD710 (10x zoom) costs Rs 10,000, while the Olympus SP565 UZ (20x) can be had for Rs 23,000.
Memory: Look for a camera that has an in-built memory as well as provision for expansion. A Sandisk 2 GB memory stick costs around Rs 4,000 while a Sony stick costs a little more.
TELEVISIONS
Type: Plasma, LCD or the ubiquitous ‘flat screen’? The last is the cheapest. Videocon’s Jumbo 25” flat screen costs Rs 13,000. A Samsung 26” LCD TV, meanwhile, comes for around Rs 27,000, and a 42” plasma screen, the smallest size in plasma TVs, will leave your wallet lighter by Rs 48,000.
Size: Choose the screen size depending on your room dimensions. In general, a 25” TV will be right for an average 10’x12’ room. A 32” Onida LCD TV costs Rs 34,000, while a 46” one costs over Rs 1 lakh.
Pixels: You don’t have to consider the total number of pixels, just those in a single row and column. While smaller LCDs and cheaper plasma TVs have a resolution of 1366 x 768, a resolution of 1920 x 1080 is best suited for Blu-Ray players.
COMPUTERS
Processor: Buying the fastest processor might be necessary for techies, but if you use the computer only for basic spreadsheet and word processing, you don’t need high speeds. An Intel Dual Core 2.2 GHz processor costs around Rs 3,000, while a Core 2 Quad 3.0 GHz costs over Rs 17,000.
Capacity: The good news is that hard disk prices are reducing drastically. A 160 GB Seagate hard disk costs around Rs 1,700. If you’re the anal kind, who hates to delete, get a 1 terabyte hard disk for around Rs 7,000.
Monitor: A bigger monitor means reduction in eye strain. So, even though you get 17” LCD monitors for under Rs 10,000, most of us are tempted to buy the 22” screens. This size increase, however, comes for a cost: close to Rs 17,000 (Viewsonic).
MUSIC SYSTEMS
PMPO: The peak music power output is the most misused and misunderstood acronym. Advertisers and salesmen tend to use it to quantify peak volume, but audiophiles say it is a dubious measurement and should not be taken seriously.
Stereo vs home theatre: For eliminating background ‘white noise’, Philips and Sony have good stereo systems for around Rs 6,000. However, if you’re serious about your music, look for systems like Sony’s MHC GN1100D, which will burn a Rs 37,000 hole in your pocket.
Size: Some believe that the larger the speakers, the better the sound. Others cite Bose to refute it. It’s a system so small as to be overlooked, but with phenomenal sound. However, the Bose Acoustimass 3 Series speaker system alone costs over Rs 13,000. Entry-level stereos (deck and speakers) cost less.
