New Products - My Head Is Spinning!

[Tiger7Moth]

At present I own a 5 year old laptop and the least expensive Nokia mobile phone. My laptop is on it's last legs. My Nokia "only does phone calls".

I will be visiting family in the US in a couple of months - good time to buy whatever technology products I feel I would like.

So, I have been looking into products and my head is spinning.

My first idea was to replace my laptop with a netbook (and external DVD drive). Then, someone told me about the Incredible mobile phone. Heck, why do I need a netbook - I can access the internet using the Incredible when sitting in Starbucks and purchase a cheap laptop as a home replacement for my old laptop. To make things more complicated, someone, Dell, I think, has announced a device sort of in between, smaller than the Netbook, larger than the Incredible - a bit awkward and silly looking (due to size) as a mobile phone (but, so what, consider all it can do).

But, wait, what about the iPad and its competitors. I am not overly impressed with the iPad but Dell has come out with a competitive product and some company, ASUS, I think, has announced a product which is sort of like both an iPad and a laptop (two screens, one of which provides a touch screen keyboard with a sort of keyboard feel).

But, I am also interested in e-book readers and many say the Kindle is much easier on the eyes than the iPad and others. Kindle has just upgraded the DX model and reduced it's price. But, Kindle 3 supposed to come out in August. Of course, many e-book competitors to Kindle (not to mention that the iPad and its competitors function as e-book readers as well).

But, the longer I am in paralysis by analysis, products keep getting better and cheaper. Maybe I should do nothing and hope a family member gives me a Christmas present and the decision will be made for me.

OK, half joking aside, I will be in the US and the more I look at products available, announced, rumored - the more the products overlap in functionality, the more confused I get.

How about you guys? What products are you buying?

[Musongman]

Technology is the work of the Devil and should be ignored!!!! LOL !!!!!

[george]

Have a look at BlackBerry?

[jfchandler]

It's good advice above... But I'd add, think about what you want to DO....with whatever devices you get.

If you want to edit and save and manage digital photos and/or music, a smart phone isn't the ideal place for that...

If you just want to check email and chat, maybe a good, newer smart phone would suffice.

What about where you live? Do you have access to a good 3G service that would give you sufficient speed on a smart phone. Or do you live outside a 3G area and need to rely on DSL, in which case, a laptop or netbook makes more sense.

Do you want to (and have budget to) buy only one device or two? The best of the smart phones can double as a small kind of netbook... But a netbook or laptop can't really replace a mobile phone for calling purposes..

Where do you do most of your technology stuff now? At home, or away from home? That might begin to give you an idea of which kind of device to prioritize for.

Pricewise, these days, new laptops of good specs can be almost the same price at the latest smart phones, unless you're buying the smart phone with a U.S. mobile service contract, which someone living in Thailand would have little use for... Without the service contracts, the smart phone certainly are more expensive than the typical netbook.

[Tiger7Moth]

It's good advice above... But I'd add, think about what you want to DO....with whatever devices you get.

If you want to edit and save and manage digital photos and/or music, a smart phone isn't the ideal place for that...

If you just want to check email and chat, maybe a good, newer smart phone would suffice.

What about where you live? Do you have access to a good 3G service that would give you sufficient speed on a smart phone. Or do you live outside a 3G area and need to rely on DSL, in which case, a laptop or netbook makes more sense.

Do you want to (and have budget to) buy only one device or two? The best of the smart phones can double as a small kind of netbook... But a netbook or laptop can't really replace a mobile phone for calling purposes..

Where do you do most of your technology stuff now? At home, or away from home? That might begin to give you an idea of which kind of device to prioritize for.

Pricewise, these days, new laptops of good specs can be almost the same price at the latest smart phones, unless you're buying the smart phone with a U.S. mobile service contract, which someone living in Thailand would have little use for... Without the service contracts, the smart phone certainly are more expensive than the typical netbook.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Good points about the smart phones and cost relative to Netbook/Laptop since I am in Thailand.

[astral]

A lot depends on what you want.

The Blackberry is a very capable phone/computer, but a tiny screen and keyboard.

The Ipad is a superb piece of technology, but very limited storage and no external disks or usb.

A decent notebook is much more bulky, but has the storage you may need?

Horses for courses............