Written by Tuckerson, Year 12 Intern for the Tech Section
It's that time of year again; the time to spend your hard earned pennies on your loved (or not-so loved, but still obliged to buy for) ones. You may dread that trip to the shops, not knowing what to buy. Now I have made it easy for you (in the tech department, anyway) with my what to buy, and what not to buy guide for Christmas 2011.
What to Avoid (these are worse than coal):
1. A Cheap Android Tablet – Seriously, these are like inverse presents—nobody wants to receive one. Recipients open up the box, see a shiny looking new tablet and then notice it’s using a horrible, old operating system on a touch screen that barely works. Just don’t do it, please, I wouldn’t wish this upon even my greatest enemy.
2. Netbook – Okay, think about it—who wants a tiny laptop running sub-par hardware when they can get themselves a sweet Android (higher end) or Apple tablet that runs smoothly, that is more convenient and easier to use. The answer? Nobody.
3. A Feature Phone – No child this Christmas will be asking the fat man for the latest Nokia 2690. They want a device that can update their
facetubewitter and can play Angry Birds. So please; avoid these devices, let them die and never come back because we’ve moved on.
Do it for the kids!
4. An iPod Touch –
An Apple product I should avoid at Christmas; does such a device exist? Yes, yes it does! The current iPod Touch is filled with old hardware, which will inevitably be updated very, very soon. No body wants to be stuck with last year’s technology… maybe for a birthday present next early next year?
5. A Digital Photo Frame – What ever happened to a good old printed photo? They have unlimited battery, cost next to nothing and won’t make you look like a total tool by having one. Please don’t buy a digital photo frame.
What to Buy:
1. Amazon Kindle – I am in love with these things, the screen is amazing in the sun and on your eyes and I can store 1400 of my favourite books on the go and it weighs less than 1, it has a battery life of one month, and you can now get one for less than $130. What’s not to love?
2. Samsung Galaxy S II – You would have to be the most stubborn of stubborn Apple Fan Boys to not admit that the GSII was a major leader in smartphones in 2011. It’s truly an amazing device, with a stellar camera, performance and brilliant software. To top it off, also, the price has now dropped significantly. If you’re not buying one for a loved one, buy one for yourself.
3. A Pair of Sennheiser Headphones – Sometimes with the world of iPod headphones, we forget how music is supposed to sound. So do somebody a favour and buy him or her a good pair of Sennheiser’s; it will change their life.
[Tuckerson, I’m assuming you’re considering chaos theory here. Ed]
4. Xbox Kinect – This gadget is just cool, I love it. It’s the future of video games, so why not get started? With the latest Xbox + Kinect bundles at an affordable price, they make an excellent present.
5. Apple iPad 2 – even though the iPad 3 is a few months away, this is still the best tablet on the market. It just works, is easy to use and has a massive app catalogue, which most Android tablets are lacking. If you’re going to buy someone a tablet this year, make it an iPad.