This holiday season, as with previous years, the hottest gifts will be electronics, including video games, digital media players, gadgets and computer related equipment and software. Here are some tips for choosing the best electronics gifts for your loved ones:
Televisions
With prices continuing to fall, it seems everyone is upgrading to a new LCD or plasma HDTV. A brand new HDTV is a great gift idea for a wife to give to her husband or for adult children to get for their parents. Before jumping into such a large purchase, however, consider whether the home has HDTV access or whether you'll need to also upgrade to a better cable or satellite package or install an over the air antenna setup to receive HDTV signals. Also consider where the TV will be placed in the home, some homes may not have room on a wall for such a large screen. In this case, you may consider a smaller screen and also consider buying them a stand to place the TV on. Consider the size of the screen as well, HDTV's range from 32 inches, all the way up to 60 inches and higher. The larger the room, the larger the TV it will be able to accommodate. Top rated models include Samsung's LCD LN-T3253H (32"), Panasonic's plasma model TH-42PZ700U (42") and the Sony KDL-46XBR4 LCD (46").
Digital Media Players
Digital media players are certainly the hottest electronics gifts over the last few years. They have evolved from white plastic card deck style players that only played one type of media and that had clunky navigation and low battery life, to slender, sleek and sexy players with advanced navigation, superior ease of use and the ability to play or display many types of media, including music, movies, TV shows, games and photos. The most advanced type of player is the iPod Touch, which not only acts as a media player, but can also surf the web, play games, send email along with many other functions. However, the budget conscious gift giver is not left out, as with the innovations come price drops on earlier models. When choosing a digital media player, consider the tech savvy of the user. Will ease of use be a major concern? If it is, Apple's iPod line has the best reputation for ease of use. Also consider the size of the person's music library, will they have enough room should they want to place all their music on the player? If someone has a smaller music library, a 2-10 GB player should suffice. If they have a large music collection, consider getting them a roomier player, from 30GB and up. Consider the usage of the player, will the person be using it while running or exercising at the gym? Then consider a flash based player, like the iPod Shuffle, which will be sturdier than hard drive based players.
Video Game Systems
With video game systems, you have the big consoles, the XBOX 360, the Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii. You also have the handheld consoles, the Sony PSP and the Nintendo DS Lite. When choosing a video game system, consider the age of the recipient. For families, the best choice would be a Nintendo Wii, with it's abundance of family friendly games and ease of gameplay. For hardcore gamers, teens and older males, the choice would be either the XBOX 360 or the Playstation 3. With it's better range and availability of quality game titles, the XBOX 360 should be the choice for most people. For hardcore gamers, the Playstation 3 would likely be the better choice. For older gamers, puzzle enthusiasts, kids, and really, just about anyone, consider the Nintendo DS Lite. It has a vast selection of games appropriate for any age, tons of puzzle games, casino games, role playing games, racing games and much more. It's also easy to use. The Nintendo DS Lite is also an appropriate gift for seniors, with it's array of self improvement titles like Brain Age, Flash Focus, Big Brain Academy, among others. For teens, consider the PSP, with it's games and media capabilities.
Video Games
When you have chosen a video game console as a gift, don't forget to get them some games! Hot games for various consoles include Halo 3, Legend Of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass and BioShock among many others. Check reviews at sites like GameTab.com and make sure the game is age appropriate.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Purchase Electronics Through Online Discounting
So there you are, searching through the hundreds of online discount stores, seeking those low-priced electronics that you are longing for. You know, the latest cameras, computers, cell phones, games, and other toys. Your wife is dreaming of some new home décor lamps and art work, and you are dreaming of that new shotgun from the outdoors section. But, what about jewelry...and clothing? With all the low-priced e-malls out there, how to you know which ones to buy from?
Well, do some homework! Check out each one that carries the item, or items, that you want to compare the prices. If that digital camera is only $50 here, why is it $75 there? If the home décor piece that your wife is dreaming about is only $100 here, why would it be $200 there? While there might be a small fluctuation in price from site to site, a large variation is enough to raise suspicions on your part. Electronics are a big thing on discount sites, mostly because they are expensive new, and people don't want to pay top dollar for something that will be out of date in a week. So, check out all of their electronics before you buy. Seeing the condition of other electronics that are in the same category will help you to know the type of condition that one is in.
Make sure that the item is the same, not bigger or fancier, and make sure that you are looking at the real thing. Check to see if these are new or used items. If they are used and are selling for the same price as new items on another e-mall, you're better off to go to the other e-mall! Jewelry is another big challenge. Make sure that you are seeing a picture of the actual item that you are buying. If you aren't comfortable, don't buy!
From outdoors equipment to electronics, eBay, and companies like it will have what you are looking for. If the other e-malls are turning you off by their high prices, click on over to eBay or another site like it to check their merchandise and pricing. You might just find that new video game a lot cheaper here than the site you were just on. Also, most people who sell on eBay or other similar sites have to go through a process just to sell their things here, new or used. There is also a return policy in place, so if you aren't happy, you can return it. eBay is a great place to find everything that you could want, jewelry included.
You can even find some one of a kind jewelry items here that will wow her when you give them. You will still need to make sure that you are seeing the actual item, and not a pretty picture.
While there are hundreds of low-price, high quality, e-malls out there, there are also the high-price, bad quality ones as well. You can always look through their "About Us" information to get a good idea of what the company or site is about. If they don't have a lot of information, or it's sketchy, you might consider emailing them with questions or just don't purchase from them. You can also look in the "Contact Us" section and email them with any questions that you might have about their company or products. Ask as many questions as you want until you feel comfortable with them.
Also, don't give out your credit card number anywhere on any site unless you are purchasing an item or two and they have a secure site so hackers can't get to your card number as easily.
Basically, just make sure that you check a site out completely before you jump in and buy from them. You should be able to tell right away from the look and feel of the site if it is a company that you would like to do business with or not. If they advertise millions of items and then only carry three, you might consider searching somewhere else. Also, if their shipping isn't through a major carrier, there is another red flag that you need to head on to the next e-mall! Use your common sense and have fun seeking out that new "toy" that you want.
Well, do some homework! Check out each one that carries the item, or items, that you want to compare the prices. If that digital camera is only $50 here, why is it $75 there? If the home décor piece that your wife is dreaming about is only $100 here, why would it be $200 there? While there might be a small fluctuation in price from site to site, a large variation is enough to raise suspicions on your part. Electronics are a big thing on discount sites, mostly because they are expensive new, and people don't want to pay top dollar for something that will be out of date in a week. So, check out all of their electronics before you buy. Seeing the condition of other electronics that are in the same category will help you to know the type of condition that one is in.
Make sure that the item is the same, not bigger or fancier, and make sure that you are looking at the real thing. Check to see if these are new or used items. If they are used and are selling for the same price as new items on another e-mall, you're better off to go to the other e-mall! Jewelry is another big challenge. Make sure that you are seeing a picture of the actual item that you are buying. If you aren't comfortable, don't buy!
From outdoors equipment to electronics, eBay, and companies like it will have what you are looking for. If the other e-malls are turning you off by their high prices, click on over to eBay or another site like it to check their merchandise and pricing. You might just find that new video game a lot cheaper here than the site you were just on. Also, most people who sell on eBay or other similar sites have to go through a process just to sell their things here, new or used. There is also a return policy in place, so if you aren't happy, you can return it. eBay is a great place to find everything that you could want, jewelry included.
You can even find some one of a kind jewelry items here that will wow her when you give them. You will still need to make sure that you are seeing the actual item, and not a pretty picture.
While there are hundreds of low-price, high quality, e-malls out there, there are also the high-price, bad quality ones as well. You can always look through their "About Us" information to get a good idea of what the company or site is about. If they don't have a lot of information, or it's sketchy, you might consider emailing them with questions or just don't purchase from them. You can also look in the "Contact Us" section and email them with any questions that you might have about their company or products. Ask as many questions as you want until you feel comfortable with them.
Also, don't give out your credit card number anywhere on any site unless you are purchasing an item or two and they have a secure site so hackers can't get to your card number as easily.
Basically, just make sure that you check a site out completely before you jump in and buy from them. You should be able to tell right away from the look and feel of the site if it is a company that you would like to do business with or not. If they advertise millions of items and then only carry three, you might consider searching somewhere else. Also, if their shipping isn't through a major carrier, there is another red flag that you need to head on to the next e-mall! Use your common sense and have fun seeking out that new "toy" that you want.
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