These days there are so many electronic products that are being marketed to us consumers that it's becoming more and more difficult to say no and not get tempted by most of them. I myself am constantly choosing whether or not to upgrade my items and if I should buy premium ones on my future purchases, so I just try and stay calm and remind myself that I should make sure each of my purchasing decisions should be rooted in practicality and not just out of want. I do still try and indulge sometimes and buy for luxury, just so I don't feel like I'm depriving myself too much, but for the most part I always try to base my decisions on whether or not I will really need the extras I'd get for paying a lot more and if it really is worth it for me. How do you guys decide on whether or not to splurge on certain electronics? Would you spend a lot on a good sound system and consider it as an investment in your relaxation, for example, or would you still much rather buy mid range products despite being an enthusiast? What current technological items do you think are overhyped and mostly unnecessary for the price they are being sold for?
It's all about priorities. Since I do spend most of my time listening to music, I definitely am planning to buy as good monitor speakers as I can afford. But for other stuff I don't use that much, phones for example, I wouldn't spend much.
I'm one of those 'boring' people, I suppose, who just stays with what works - or what has been working - for as long as possible, until forced to upgrade. The gadgets that I consider to be worth my purchase are the ones that offer the most appealing features, for the most reasonable price. I don't necessarily feel like the gadgets must be cheap, because that rarely means good quality. But just a reasonable price, for a reasonable product.
I'm all about the reviews from tech websites. I read tons of them before I buy a given gadget, and I only buy devices that will either save me time throughout the day or increase my entertainment (for watching TV and movies or whatever). If it's wireless, then that's even better, but I'm not picky as long as the device provides value compared to its price tag.
I also read tons of reviews. For device upgrades, like a phone, I only do it when there's a significant improvement over my previous device AND they're improvements that matter to me. They have to improve my experience with the device, not just add features I won't use or don't care about. For new items, we weight how much of a difference there will be between low, mid, and high range items. Then we consider how important that difference is to us. My boyfriend is a gamer so his computer and accessories are high-end expensive; it significantly improves his gaming experience and he takes good care of his electronics. I'm hard on electronics and don't demand much power wise to write, surf the net, and post on forums. My most important features in a computer are battery life and portability. Plus, I'm hard on my electronics so I want something that I don't have to feel bad if I destroy it. I went with a used 10" netbook from craigslist for under $100 and it works fine for my needs. I can totally understand a music enthusiast going with high end speakers.
It really depends on your personal preference. If you enjoy playing games, then a console or a gaming rig ( like they call those expensive $3,000 computers ) would definitely suit you better. If you like to listen to music, a next-gen MP3 would suit you. If you have a different approach to watches and prefer them more tecnologically-advanced, a smartwatch, preferably from Samsung or Apple, would be suitable. It all depends on your preferences! I personally prefer a more enjoyable gaming experience, so I go for a console as I don't have the money for a gaming rig.
I'm fine with what I have and do not need upgrades unless any of my devices start to be inadequate (it was the case for my camera, so I got a new one from Craiglist which had the features I wanted and a few extra, though it was not the best in its category). My laptop is becoming more and more troublesome and there will be a time when I need to change it (so far, I've had to change the harddrive once because it failed, but the rest of it is still sufficient) To convince me to buy a gadget's update for something I'm still satisfied in, it'd need to be something that when I hear of it, I'm like "WOAH why was that not existing before? I need that!" (and not "oh I could enjoy that") For instance I just saw a "Shower Thought" on Reddit wondering why there was no "People are sleeping!" mode to quiet the beeping down. I'd be all over that.
