Buying Gadgets and Tech
Finding the best laptops, cameras, camcorders, hard drives, and more...
I'm not going to say which brands or anything are the best (though they're usually the custom or off-brand ones
) because they're always changing. Below however are usually the sites I check to figure out what I'm buying before I buy them.Review and Information Sites
Anandtech.com - Reviews mainly for hardware such as drives and memory.
CamcorderInfo.com - Detailed reviews on the latest camcorders. Recently seems to be only reviewing a select few; hopefully they start reviewing more often again.
CDFreaks - Articles and a huge forum for tips on CDs, DVDs, and other media.
Digital Photography Review - Detailed reviews on cameras. Reviews are detailed, though also seems to be reviewing less often. However, statistics are always current. Most useful is pixel density; those with some experience will know that higher megapixels are only good if the sensor size also increases (otherwise it just means noisier images).
Notebook and Laptop Reviews - Detailed reviews on latest laptop computers, as well as articles on related items as well. Also a useful forum for further information if you're willing to dig for it.
slashCam Digital Videos - Side-by-side tests and comparisons of the latest camcorders.
Tom's Hardware - One of the best places to find reviews and articles in general. Their focus, however, is on computer hardware parts like hard drives and graphics cards. Very useful benchmarks, graphs, and more.
Techbargains - Would presume that even if you knew what to buy, you'd want it for cheap no? This site compiles a list of all sales ads relating to electronics and software.
CamcorderInfo.com - Detailed reviews on the latest camcorders. Recently seems to be only reviewing a select few; hopefully they start reviewing more often again.
CDFreaks - Articles and a huge forum for tips on CDs, DVDs, and other media.
Digital Photography Review - Detailed reviews on cameras. Reviews are detailed, though also seems to be reviewing less often. However, statistics are always current. Most useful is pixel density; those with some experience will know that higher megapixels are only good if the sensor size also increases (otherwise it just means noisier images).
Notebook and Laptop Reviews - Detailed reviews on latest laptop computers, as well as articles on related items as well. Also a useful forum for further information if you're willing to dig for it.
slashCam Digital Videos - Side-by-side tests and comparisons of the latest camcorders.
Tom's Hardware - One of the best places to find reviews and articles in general. Their focus, however, is on computer hardware parts like hard drives and graphics cards. Very useful benchmarks, graphs, and more.
Techbargains - Would presume that even if you knew what to buy, you'd want it for cheap no? This site compiles a list of all sales ads relating to electronics and software.
Suggested Brands
Sadly, this post would be pretty pointless if I didn't at least suggest my own biases.
Camera: Canon S90 IS - One of few cameras with high megapixel and large sensor. The sensor on this camera is the same used the larger G11 cameras, so quality is definitely top-notch. A rival camera is the Panosonic LX3 which is larger but also a bit worse on the noise and white balance (though more powerful and featured overall). Which you choose would depend if you want more pocketability (S90) or more functionality (LX3). See a Comparison at Hitokiri.com.
Camcorders: Sony XR500V - Usually Canon beats Sony in terms of image quality and Sony beats Canon in terms of being user-friendly. The lowlight for Sony this year, however, has much less noise due to the new technique with the sensor. In good lighting, the Canon is supposedly better, but both are high-end camcorders (meaning if the Sony is slightly worse, it'd still be much better than most camcorders). Last Updated 2009.
Camcorder Microphones: Rode VideoMic or Stereo VideoMic - assuming you're on a budget. If you had all the money to spend on microphones, you probably wouldn't be here. Also worth checking out Jack's Music Factory for buying microphones; very low prices for items they offer requests.
Earphones: Etymotic ER4 - Very high noise isolation (different from noise cancelling, no hissing sound) and one of the best sound quality. Some dislike how deep it goes into your ear (though I don't really notice) so you may want to check out the lesser ER6 as well - that would be more suitable to casual wear and it's lighter, less expensive. A competing brand would be Shure, which I've read is just as good if not better - definitely check those out as well.
Desktop Computers: Custom build it.
Notebook Computers: PowerNotebooks, XoticPC - Off-brand laptops, very popular with online community. Much cheaper than you pay for Sony etc and the story goes that these companies are actually what supply the larger corporations before the products are branded.
Notebook Bag/Storage: Tom Bihn, Waterfield - If you want premium storage for your computer, those are some of the top 2 brands. Waterfield seems to have cheaper/more reasonable prices but both are still quite expensive.
Hard Drive for Speed: Western Digital Velociraptor (10,000RPM), Intel X25-E or M SSD - Each one more expensive (Velociraptor being the cheapest per GB of space). They're all way faster than any traditional drive - depends just how fast you really want to go. Last Updated 2009.
Hard Drive for Storage: Western Digital Cavier GP (500GB, 1TB, etc) - These are designed to be energy-efficient and are rated to stay the coolest as well as consume the least power (energy savings). They also tend to go on sale alot and cost less than other drives.
MP3/Portable Media Players: Cowon D2 - No Ipod here... reasons I chose this instead include mainly the fact it accepts SD cards for storage and because it's supposedly most reknowned for sound quality (though you'd also need pretty good earphones). A competing brand that also is just as popular online is iRiver so that's another option to check out.
Pocket Projector: Optoma PK301 - It is still an LED projector, meaning you have to focus the image, but its brightness goes up to 50 lumens, which beats any other pocket projector so far. Ideally, a laser projector such as Microvision ShowWX or AAXA L1 would be better to avoid needing to focus the image, but the current ones only go up to about 10-20 lumens and are $500 or more. Last Updated 2010.
Portable Speaker: IceTech Duette Speaker - Very small and very loud speaker. Charges by USB and lasts up to a week. The front side can also pop out to provide more base.
Printer and Ink: Ink Republic - Pretty much the only place I go for ink. If you have a printer they support, you almost never run out of ink.
Camcorders: Sony XR500V - Usually Canon beats Sony in terms of image quality and Sony beats Canon in terms of being user-friendly. The lowlight for Sony this year, however, has much less noise due to the new technique with the sensor. In good lighting, the Canon is supposedly better, but both are high-end camcorders (meaning if the Sony is slightly worse, it'd still be much better than most camcorders). Last Updated 2009.
Camcorder Microphones: Rode VideoMic or Stereo VideoMic - assuming you're on a budget. If you had all the money to spend on microphones, you probably wouldn't be here.
Also worth checking out Jack's Music Factory for buying microphones; very low prices for items they offer requests.Earphones: Etymotic ER4 - Very high noise isolation (different from noise cancelling, no hissing sound) and one of the best sound quality. Some dislike how deep it goes into your ear (though I don't really notice) so you may want to check out the lesser ER6 as well - that would be more suitable to casual wear and it's lighter, less expensive. A competing brand would be Shure, which I've read is just as good if not better - definitely check those out as well.
Desktop Computers: Custom build it.
Notebook Computers: PowerNotebooks, XoticPC - Off-brand laptops, very popular with online community. Much cheaper than you pay for Sony etc and the story goes that these companies are actually what supply the larger corporations before the products are branded.
Notebook Bag/Storage: Tom Bihn, Waterfield - If you want premium storage for your computer, those are some of the top 2 brands. Waterfield seems to have cheaper/more reasonable prices but both are still quite expensive.
Hard Drive for Speed: Western Digital Velociraptor (10,000RPM), Intel X25-E or M SSD - Each one more expensive (Velociraptor being the cheapest per GB of space). They're all way faster than any traditional drive - depends just how fast you really want to go. Last Updated 2009.
Hard Drive for Storage: Western Digital Cavier GP (500GB, 1TB, etc) - These are designed to be energy-efficient and are rated to stay the coolest as well as consume the least power (energy savings). They also tend to go on sale alot and cost less than other drives.
MP3/Portable Media Players: Cowon D2 - No Ipod here... reasons I chose this instead include mainly the fact it accepts SD cards for storage and because it's supposedly most reknowned for sound quality (though you'd also need pretty good earphones). A competing brand that also is just as popular online is iRiver so that's another option to check out.
Pocket Projector: Optoma PK301 - It is still an LED projector, meaning you have to focus the image, but its brightness goes up to 50 lumens, which beats any other pocket projector so far. Ideally, a laser projector such as Microvision ShowWX or AAXA L1 would be better to avoid needing to focus the image, but the current ones only go up to about 10-20 lumens and are $500 or more. Last Updated 2010.
Portable Speaker: IceTech Duette Speaker - Very small and very loud speaker. Charges by USB and lasts up to a week. The front side can also pop out to provide more base.
Printer and Ink: Ink Republic - Pretty much the only place I go for ink. If you have a printer they support, you almost never run out of ink.
Suggested Stores
Places to buy from... there are probably more on the list but these are ones I generally look at first.
Amazon.com - More general products and generally safer to buy from, although they have relatively good deals as well.
B&H Photo Video - Ideal place for anything related to photography and film, including camcorders, cameras, photo paper, memory cards, etc.
Newegg.com - Almost strictly computer-related products and electronics, relatively low price and good reputation for returns etc.
Supermediastore.com - Good for DVDs, CDs, and other media, especially Taiyo Yuden.
ZipZoomfly.com - Electronics-based store, similar to Newegg. Some say it's the "new" Newegg.com because it sometimes has lower prices and more products.
B&H Photo Video - Ideal place for anything related to photography and film, including camcorders, cameras, photo paper, memory cards, etc.
Newegg.com - Almost strictly computer-related products and electronics, relatively low price and good reputation for returns etc.
Supermediastore.com - Good for DVDs, CDs, and other media, especially Taiyo Yuden.
ZipZoomfly.com - Electronics-based store, similar to Newegg. Some say it's the "new" Newegg.com because it sometimes has lower prices and more products.
Misc
After buying, you may also find these links useful.
Dell Vista Reinstall Guide - Remove bloatware and junk from new Dell laptops by reinstalling in this manner.
Windows 7 SSD Optimizating Tweaks - Settings to apply after installing Windows 7 to maximize your solid state drive speed.
Windows 7 SSD Optimizating Tweaks - Settings to apply after installing Windows 7 to maximize your solid state drive speed.
Last Updated Aug 15, 2010
May-08-2009, 07:31pm
nktvnvn says...
Ah, I want that IceTech Duette Speaker. Simply cute. Thanks.