Xmas Tech toys

[ElTaco]

All right, it is time to compare notes on what kind of Tech gadgets we want for the holidays? Is anyone going to pick up a Tablet or are you itching to get your hand on a new phone, maybe a new PC for gaming or a new TV?

I'm going to be aiming for a new phone and/or Tablet come January. I could probably try to upgrade right now, but that could be a mistake, as some new phones will be announced/released in early January. I may also be looking for some good deals on some web based tv products (Google TV) and will be looking to cancel my DirecTV package to save some $$$.

So what are your plans?

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

A couple of 2TB Seagate drives for the storage server.

Just bought a new writing tablet today 'cause it was on sale.

[jiminphilly]

PS3

possibly a new computer.

[Adelpiero]

thinking about getting Kinnect, for Xbox360.

looks pretty cool, especially how it scans the individual for gameplay, and reacts to your voice command.

[Adelpiero]

PS3

.

[jiminphilly]

PS3

.

Isn't any online gaming through X-Box subscription/pay based and PS3 free?

[Moby Dick]

Couldn't hang with cool fucks like us then.

360 is where It's at!

[ElTaco]

Don't listen to them. PS3 is still a great investment unless you are a hardcore gamer. Considering that you have neither system, I'm going to make a bet and say you aren't a hardcore console gamer (I know you play lots of PC games). The PS3 is a much better system to have in the living room, considering it has a blue-ray player and is compatible with a bunch of the online video (movie/TV) systems. The online play is free, but for the real version, it costs $50/yr, however, for now it is not nearly as good as the Xbox system.
Microsoft of course is trying to get deeper into the home entertainment market as well, but right now, in my opinion the PS3 is ahead. We default to it, except when it comes to going online to play with friends, which honestly, sadly, isn't happening too much these days thanks to the whole baby thing. Also with the big price drops, you can probably pick up a new PS3 and a used Xbox and play all the games on either system. That way you may even be able to do the PS3 for the family and keep the Xbox to yourself.
And while you are considering picking up the PS3, look for Little Big Planet 2 coming out in Jan. Should be awesome.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

Don't listen to them. PS3 is still a great investment...

Sony can suck my balls.
I swear, it's as if the have contempt for their customers.


I haven't forgotten the Sony Rootkit fiasco. Have you?

Fuck 'em.

[Dinsdale]

I may also be looking for some good deals on some web based tv products (Google TV)

I plan to avoid doing any business with the Evil Empire (google).

[indyfrisco]

I am getting an iPad with 3G. Not sure how much I need it since I have a blackberry w/unlimited internet. I've got a Dell Mini Netbook I use at home. Guess the iPad will come in handy if I want to watch a game or someting and I'm not at home.

[Dinsdale]

iPad

I just don't understand it.

Apple makes the biggest piles of garbage on the market, using the cheapest freaking parts they can get their hands on.


My friends could come up with about 200 pounds of dead cheap shit Apple stuff (mostly IPods, but dear god, their new generation computers are an absolute joke), yet the suckers of the world continue to pay about 3X as much as they would for a FAR superior product from the competitors.


I just don't get it.

[indyfrisco]

iPad

I just don't understand it.

Apple makes the biggest piles of garbage on the market, using the cheapest freaking parts they can get their hands on.


My friends could come up with about 200 pounds of dead cheap shit Apple stuff (mostly IPods, but dear god, their new generation computers are an absolute joke), yet the suckers of the world continue to pay about 3X as much as they would for a FAR superior product from the competitors.


I just don't get it.

I've never had an Apple anything. Always been a PC guy. My mother-in-law called me up and asked if I wanted an iPad for xmas along with 1 year of 3G service. I said sure. If it sucks, it sucks and will find its way into a trash can or the local charity bank for a deduction.

[indyfrisco]

Jsc, the netbook I have I actually got for my wife, but I use it. It is basically a little laptop that weight less than 3 lbs. It has a 10" screen and a keyboard about 75% the size of a regular laptop. It has Windows 7 on it and it is basically just a computer without steroids. You could call it Barry Bonds 1988. There's no CD/DVD drive, no mouse, etc. It has a USB port so that you can attach an external appliance such ad CD/DVD ROm, Hard Drive, Mouse, Monitor, etc. It is small enough to fit in a purse (for the wife) and it has Wi-Fi.

Nice little computer for $450. Wife loves it.

[Dinsdale]

The only thing a smartphone does better than a netbook is make phone calls.

And they can usually be had for about $300.

Don't sweat the brand name too much, since they all have the same processor and memory (Intel only makes one netbook processor, last I heard). Acer, Dell, and a couple of others make nice netbooks.


Plenty fast for everything except playing fancy games.

The 10" screen can be a little annoying.

But for portability, they can't be beat.

[Shlomart Ben Yisrael]

I bought a 8.9" Acer netbook about a year ago for $200 CDN.
The first thing I did when I got it home was image the drive (Windows XP Home with crappy Acer software add-ons), wipe it...and then install Ubuntu Linux.

I fucking love that thing. It's not the number-cruncher that my desktop is, but I can surf, email, Skype and have audio and video streamed from my server.

My only regret was that I went cheap and got the 3-cell battery version (about 150-160 min.) instead of the 6-cell version.
For 200 bucks, I can't complain.

[Go Coogs']

I bought LG's 60" Plasma 3d. LG was way behind Panasonic and Samsung for years when it came to the Plasmas, but they finally caught up this year with their black filtering technology. I also read Panasonic, although having the best black levels and picture quality on the market, their black levels began to fade after 1000 hours of usage. They wouldn't admit to this for the longest time, but CNET finally made them spill the beans this year. Samsung's white's and bright colors beat Pansonic and LG hands down, but their black levels were just as bad as LG's for the longest time.

I took a long, hard look at the following TV's at Best Buy...


Panasonic 58" 3d Latest and greatest - 3399.99 (Included Blu-Ray player and four pairs of glasses)
Samsung 63" 3d Latest and greatest - 3199.99 (Included Blu-Ray player and four pairs of glasses)
LG 60" 3d Latest and greatest - 2599.99 (Included Blu-Ray player and four pairs of glasses)

Conn's had a price on the LG 60" for 1599.99 that included two pair of 3d glasses (no blu-ray). Well, I hate Conn's protection plan, so as tempted as I was to pay cash for the LG at Conn's, I still wanted to go through Best Buy or Amazon.

Amazon had the LG listed for 1799.99 and they don't negotiate, so I was off to Best Buy with Conn's ad. Best Buy offered me 1999.99 with the Blu-Ray player. No fucking way. I was ready to walk out. They asked me what I wanted, so I told them I would take the TV for 1699.99 as long as they offered me LG's best Blu-ray and surround system package for half price. Boom...done.

I got the LG for 1699.99 with a four year protection plan at just under $300 and their LHB535 Blu-ray player w/ an 1100 watt 6-speaker surround sound system for $250 which is regularly priced at $500. I also got them to throw in a two-year protection plan for free on the Blu-ray home theatre system.

I'm sure if I shopped for everything online individually, then I would have save $150 on this deal, but you can't beat Best Buy's protection plan IMO.

I ended up upgrading my router to the Cisco-Linksys E3000. I'm going to store it on top of an armoire where all the eltronic shit is going (xbox, blu-ray, and dvr) meaning I'll have lan connections on all those devices except for the TV, desktop and laptops. The router got shitty reviews from advanced network users due to a bad guest setup and advanced setting issues, but I'm not one of those people so fuck them.

I'll post a before and after picture when everything is setup. TV is going above the fireplace and no wires will be visible when all is said and done. This should be a fun project.

[ElTaco]

The new tablets are interesting for doing the same as a netbook - I'm just wondering when one of the manufacturers will bring a decent phone app with bluetooth to add on (if there isn't one already)

In Europe/Asia, (outside of the US specifically) some tablets have radios in them for phones. Unfortunately in the US, the providers take them out. I think its a shame because some people would get them no doubt. Maybe when Cisco releases theirs, they'll leave it in there.

[ElTaco]

So to follow up on this question, now that xmas, and other similar holidays have passed, besides the usual clothes, socks, ties, etc... I scored COD: Black Ops and Heavy Rain, both of which are supposed to be very awesome games. I also scored a Beer brew kit so in a few weeks i'm hoping to sample the first ever beer I brewed, hopefully it will have enough alcohol to make up for the not so good taste and I got enough gift cards to go and get some new android phone tomorrow when my 2 year plan is up. I'll probably go and pick up the Droid X tomorrow, but I will be ready to use my 30 day return option in case HTC, LG or Moto come out with a new awesome phone at CES and it is available within the 30 day window. In addition, we ended up trading in my car for something with a bit more space. Over all a fairly good score, although Santa screwed me on the car since I will now have to make payments for the next 4 or 5 years.