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Posts Tagged ‘Gadgets’

Choosing a gadget can be a complicated task. There are a huge number of gadget retailers, both online and off, and they offer a numbing array of items. If you’re looking to buy someone a gadget, a lot of your decision will depend on how much money you plan on spending. There are gadgets for every budget, and for every season.

Here’s a few gadgets that may be of interest:

Smartphones: Smartphones are just that, phones with a whole lot of additional smart features. SmartPhones are a new generation of handheld devices which allow you to make cellular and data calls with ease. More powerful than some PDAs, SmartPhones threaten the entire PDA business. The Palm Treo is a notable brand.

UMPCs – Ultra Mobile Personal Computers, also known as the Origami Form factor are geared for the market between PDAs and Laptops. Smaller than laptops, they boast of longer lasting battery life and more software. In fact, one of the main selling points of UMPCs is the fact they run Windows Tablet OS and are compatible with Office. Microsoft and Intel championed the UMPC form factor initially to be offered in the $500-$1000 price range. The reality is, the units will be closer to $1200. Samsung is the first OEM to market with its’innovative Q1 UMPC. They plan on offering it for sale in the US and most of the world in May 2006.

Robots – Domesticated robots like the Roomba are quite a sensation. People are definitely interested in the potential time saving qualities of robots. Robots that mow the lawn and clean the house are now a reality. In the future, more tasks will be assigned to robotic helpers.

Cameras and Camcorders – Sony Handycam has a very hot offering right now with it’s MiniDV Digital Video Recorders. The units have excellent picture quality and shoot straight to mini-DVDs, which should play anywhere. For the price, the HandyCam MiniDV has a rich feature set, which allows for flicker-free filming. You can’t beat a camcorder for capturing precious moments.

Tablet PCs and PDAs – Although feeling pressure from the UMPCs and SmartPhones, PDAs and Tablet PCs are still a popular item.

Blackberry and Palms are still extremely popular PDAs, and Blackberry has over 2 million people using its’ commercial email service. Tablet PCs carry a hefty price-tag, but have excellent features like hand-writing recognition. In fact, use of the stylus is natural, and anyone with an artistic bent would seemingly love this device.

Any of the above items would make an excellent gift for a gadget enthusiast. The main thing to do is consider the person’s lifestyle before making a purchase. Since almost all gadgets carry relatively high price tags, it’s worth finding out for sure what the person wants, or you run the risk of making an expensive mistake. Check all gadgets for the presence of extras, such as service plans, that aren’t included in the purchase price.

Since the day mobile gadgets were invented, they were never envisioned to perform just basic functions. Manufacturers of mobile devices are more than aware of this phenomenon. So they have invested a lot of time and energy into developing and designing the coolest mobile gadgets that consumers would want.

The challenge has always been to find the right balance between power, features, and design. For example, to stay competitive, laptop manufacturers are forever looking at ways to produce slimmer machines. Mobile phone manufacturers are forever looking at ways to improve the designs of their products so that their products look “cool”.

For sure, their efforts may be part of a complex business strategy. After all, it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate products based on hardware specifications or software features. Such elements can be easily duplicated by the competition. So if another company launches a more powerful machine, a product line may be dead in the water. To avoid this problem, manufacturers have learned to create loyalty. How? By improvising on their designs.

Apple is very good at creating loyal customers for their products. Take a look at the Apple 2G iPhone. Everyone wants to get their hands on an iPhone, even though Apple has an exclusive contract with AT&T that allows users to connect only with the giant telecommunications company. But the product is so successful that Apple fans are looking at different methods that allow them to unlock their iPhones so that they can use the gadget with their existing carriers. Obviously, there are some legal concerns. But that is not the point here. The point here is that when there is a loyal following for a popular product, the business will be successful.

After the success of the 2G iPhones, along come the next generation of iPhones – the 3G iPhones. Since the formula has been working so well for Apple, there is little change to the look and feel of the 3G iPhone. The main difference lies in the high speed connection that the 3G iPhone offers. 2G iPhones only offer low speed Internet connections. But with high speed connections opened up, the 3G iPhone is able to support a plethora of new applications. For example, downloading maps for navigation is now possible on the 3G iPhone. If you attempt to run the same application on the 2G iPhone, it would take ages!

Because of the presence of more applications, this has an adverse impact on the battery life of the iPhone 3G. Obviously, the more powerful the applications, the more power it consumes. Hence, the shorter battery life. Still, that does not deter thousands and thousands of Apple fans from getting their hands on a 3G iPhone.

Mobile gadgets have never been about power alone. They are lifestyle gadgets, and they will be part of the social experience of their owners. Perhaps you too would like to show off your new 3G iPhone to your peers.