Buyers' Guide for Late Year 2008 and the Holidays

There are only two times to buy technology: now or never -- with a few caveats!

Mid Summer is always an exciting time for technology as the manufacturers rush to get their products to market before the crazed Holiday shopping season.  This year is no exception, as Intel is rushing to get their new Nehalen processors out, ATI and Nvidia churn out their next generation of graphics, and Google spars with Apple as they try and get out their Android phone before Christmas to compete with the iPhone 2.0.

For tech consumers, it's an exciting time but also a confusing one, filled with trepidation about buying a product that might not look so hot as soon as the latest gadget comes out to replace it.  Last year, anyone who purchased a HD-DVD player was almost immedietely slammed with a case of buyers' remorse as Blu-Ray quickly overtook HD-DVD as the next format of choice for all the major Holywood studios.  Muddying the waters, it wasn't at all clear, even with a good amount of research, exactly what type of DVD player was going to win. 

This year doesn't have any epic battles like HD-DVD vs Blu-Ray, but as always, it's best to do your homework before making any major decisions.  Regardless of what you purchase this year, remember to always follow this creed: the time to buy tech is now or never.  There will always be a better product down the road, and waiting and waiting and waiting is an endless feedback loop that will always leave you unsatisified.  It's best to do your research and pull the trigger immediately.

Here are a view general tips on making good decisions as the holiday season approaches:

Computer Buyers:

First, I would avoid buying non-Intel based computers for now. Intel has a leg up on AMD at this point, both in value and raw power. Intel might not always play fair, but their chip design is 2nd to none.  Laptops and PCs buyers alike should stick to Intel until AMD can regroup.

Intel will be making a major upgrade to their processor lineup when they release their "Nehalen" chips later this year.  Prices of existing dual and quad core chips should go down, and in my opinion, if you've waited this long to buy a new computer you should probably wait another couple of months until Nehalen has hit the market.  Nahalen promises to be a revolutionary  design as Intel has totally redesigned the chip, along with manufacturing it on their 45nm process that proved so successful when introduced earlier this year. (importantly, smaller design process equals less power consumption and thus less heat). 

For gamers, it's an exciting time as Nvidia and ATI both made new releases to their lineups this month.  Nvidia released their GTX200 series, which are not really relevent to 99% of the computer buying world (with prices well over $300) and only modest improvement on their exisiting high end market products. Nvidia is hyping the cards' use as more than gaming devices (such as for solving complex protein folding operations and 3D medical rendering), and while these attempts to put the power of graphics cards into life-saving applications is laudable -- who is going to spend $400 to process a few more protein folds on their home computer?  Eventually Nvidia's efforts might pay off, but it seems they may have jumped the gun a bit here in favor of form over (for now) function.

More relevent is the release of the 4800 series from ATI. Starting at $199 the cards offer bleeding edge performance (Crysis DX10 smooth as glass anyone?) at a relatively affordable price.  ATI has made itself relevent again as at this pricepoint it smashes the current offerings from Nvidia.  If you've got a desire to play the latest games and have $200 laying around give your money to ATI.

Phone Buyers:

I don't think you can go wrong with the iPhone 2.0.  Google's phone will probably not be ready much before Christmas, and then probably only for T-Mobile customers.  For $199 the 4GB iPhone is a hell of lot of product.  Other phones aren't really even worth mentioning -- the Blackberry lineup got a refresh with the "Bold" this spring but it isn't really aimed at the same market (as of now at least) as the iPhone.  Most Blackberry users use them because their companies like the secure email features and the relatively low cost compared to the iPhone.

Video Came Console Buyers:

Most analysts are predicting the usual Holiday price drops for the now mature next generation console market.  I would recommend waiting until after T-Day to ensure the lowest possible prices on these units. Availability shouldn't be a concern for any of the systems.  Know thought that you won't really see any of these systems shine unless you hook it up to an HDTV.

HDTV and Blu-Ray Buyers:

BUY!  HDTV is something that just doesn't make sense to wait on. The technology is relatively mature at this point and there won't be any sudden "upgrades" to the exisiting tech anytime soon.  Much hyped "organic LCDs" are still years away from actual marketshare.  Unlike a phone or video game system, most people excpect a TV purchase to last awhile -- so do your research and make sure you're getting a TV that you won't mind keeping for at least 5 years or so.  I still consider the $400 I paid for my 27" HDTV LCD last August one of the best purchases I've ever made.  Now, you can get 32" screens for as low as $400.

Other Gadgets:

One product I really like is the Kindle from Amazon.  It's basically a revolutionary "e-book" that Amazon can't keep in stock.  If you see this product available on Amazon and you like it's features be sure to snap it up ASAP.

Otherwise nobody is making much noise on new gadgets.  Digital audio devices, Digicams and everything else will continue to get cheaper the longer you wait, but there isn't anything really worth waiting for right now.

In summary:

Remember the axiom that the time to buy tech is now or never and you'll rarely be dissapointed.  Make your purchase and dont' sweat when you see it on sale next week or a new better product comes out.  It's the nature of the tech market that it moves quickly.  Waiting for tommorow will simply leave you unsatisfied as you see everyone else snap up the hot new gadgets.  Sometimes, like as in the case of the Intel launch later this year, it might make sense to wait for a groundbreaking release, as it will drive down prices to a point worth waiting for -- besides the fact that (for this nerd at least) owning a Nehalen processor will be really, really, really awesome.

Comments

[Joe]

dude i think you're right about nehalen as it's going to kick some butt but whtt abt when AMD comes back with there new chips?

lol, i guess that's the point that you shoudl jus buy what is out at the time and not worry bout it!

[Travis]

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Travis Melvin
http://www.iccrents.com