I am not a big gadget lover. At least that is what I used to think of myself. But my friends think otherwise. Sometimes I even get few calls from friend's friends who want me to give a piece of advice on how a particular camcorder model works. While admitting I never bought a camcorder in my life till recently, I still do lot of research skimming through 100s of forum posts, reviews, blogs and suggest few best picks for them to choose. May be I am more curious of the specs of a piece of hardware than using that in real life. Coming to this post, I want to list the gear I purchased this year 2008 to see if I qualify to become one.
Lenovo S10 Netbook - This I should say I did not buy for myself. But I gifted this to my mummy. She wanted a light weight notebook and nothing seemed better than this. With 1 GB RAM, 1.6 GHz processor, I found it really sufficient for my everyday usage.
Canon HG-20 Like I said earlier, I do not have a camcorder (I dont want to consider my Casio Exilim which shoots some average video). My wife insisted that I should buy one. I found this Canon model has the best price-feature-convenience ratio amongst the consumer HD models. And it did not disappoint me. My only complaint about this model is video editing. All the three laptops I own cannot even open a 5 minute video shot at 24 MBPS - thanks to AVCHD.
iphone 3G I already blogged about this purchase. It is one product I found very useful, be it twitterrifc or Amazon or my banking app, working on iphone is a breeze. With it's superb Exchange ActiveSync, I could access all my work and personal email in one standard interface.
I also bought a new rucksack KATA DR-467 that will help me carry my SLR along with my laptop whereever I go. While I find my iphone 3G good for cool casual pictures, nothing like a Digital SLR with it's large lens and larger sensor. This Kata was available for 59$ instead of regular 79$ and free 2 day shipping by air. I could not resist the deal. It is superb quality bag and built like a tank. Interestingly, Kata has some roots in the same lab/group that developed millitary gear for special units.
This year is much better than last year where I went to but a HDMI cable and came home with a laptop and DVD player or 2004 when I went to Tampa Bay Downs, saw a Nikon D70S from my photographer friend Whillemina and ended up ordering myself. And dont even get started on my Panasonic HDTV 26" purchase in 2005, the same amount if I pay now, I will get a 42". (Is Moore's law applicable for HDTVs..I think so).
Coming into 2009, I do have some purchases planned. I want to upgrade my TV to a 50" HDTV. I also wish to get a home theater. May be Santa will listen to this.
