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2010-11-11 07:54:45
By Ben Patterson ben Patterson Wed Nov 10, 11:57 am ET
There's a fine line between making a smart, satisfying purchase of a cutting-edge gadget and throwing your money away on an overpriced, unproven piece of technology. But there's an equally fine line between prudently saving your pennies and letting the best new gear pass you by.
In the second episode of Upgrade Your Life, Yahoo! News' Becky Worley gives us a guided tour of some of the hottest new gadgets on the market, offering advice on that most crucial of decisions when it comes to bleeding-edge tech products: Buy now, or wait?
Among the items on Becky's shopping list:
HDTVs
It wasn't all that long ago that a big-screen plasma or LCD TV was the ultimate luxury item, and even now that they've gone mainstream, HDTVs are among the priciest tech purchases most of us will ever make well, besides a new laptop or desktop PC.
But here's the good news. Thanks to a coming glut of flat-panel displays on the market, industry analysts are predicting lower HDTV prices this holiday season. Meanwhile, if you're in the market for something in the 40-inch range, you need not worry too much about any imminent HDTV technology coming along to make your new set look like yesterday's news. (The latest and greatest in TV tech usual finds its way into larger HDTVs first.) And if you're looking for something a little bigger, you'll find some excellent 55-inch-and-above HDTV bargains from the likes of Toshiba and Samsung.
The verdict: Buy now
3D TV
Well, OK there is one recent HDTV innovation that's been turning a lot of heads: 3D-ready LCD and plasma HDTVs, which made a big splash earlier this year at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Utilizing ultrafast refresh rates and battery-powered 3D glasses that sync to a display using a built-in infrared emitter, the latest wave of 3D HDTV sets rival the picture quality you'd see in a state-of-the-art movie theater.
But as Becky points out, most 3D-ready HDTV sets on the market today are still priced at a premium, and with only a handful of 3D TV networks and just a couple dozen 3D Blu-rays in stores, there simply isn't that much to watch in 3D right now. Besides, wouldn't it be nice to watch 3D at home without glasses one day?
The verdict: Wait
Xbox Kinect
Talk about cutting edge. Available only as of late last week, the plug-in Kinect accessory for the Xbox 360 turns your body into a controller with the help of two cameras, a quartet of microphones, and a motorized "head" that pivots to take in the entire room.
The downside of Kinect is that only about a dozen Kinect-ready games are currently available (17 should be available by the end of the year, Microsoft promises), and you still can't control such Xbox features as Netflix streaming and Twitter by waving your hand. The upside? As Becky says, bowling the virtual lanes in Kinect Sports and getting your groove on in Dance Central all without having to bother with a controller is just plain fun. And don't hold your breath for a holiday price drop, given the fact that Kinect is selling out fast, both in stores and online.
The verdict: Buy now
iPhone (on a carrier besides AT&T)
One of the most sought-after gadgets of the past few years is still only available from the much-reviled AT&T, which saw its network buckle under the strain of the initial waves of iPhone users. While AT&T has gone to great lengths to shore up its network capacity, many are waiting for another carrier namely Verizon Wireless to go the iPhone way.
Rumors of the iPhone going to Verizon and/or another carrier, like T-Mobile, have been swirling for years now, but the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and Fortune all say with certainty that it'll happen for real this time early next year. Now all we have to do is wait for Apple to make it so.
The verdict: Wait
Android phones
What with the arrival of such hot new handsets as the HTC Evo 4G on Sprint, the Motorola Droid X on Verizon, the MyTouch 4G on T-Mobile, and the Samsung Captivate on AT&T, it's safe to say that 2010 has been the year of Android, and even more bleeding-edge Android phones are due before the year is out.
But while there always seems to be a new Android phone just around the corner, there are plenty of great choices out right now and if you're willing to sign a contract through a wireless reseller, you'll find some great bargains on even the most recent handsets. Meanwhile, the Android Market recently got its 100,000th application, making it a worthy competitor to Apple's gigantic App Store.
The verdict: Buy now
The iPad
It's all about the iPad as far as recent tablet sales are concerned, but Apple is bound to announce a revamped version complete with a camera or two, and maybe even a price drop early next year. Oh, and don't forget the flood of Android tablets (including the existing Dell Streak and Samsung Galaxy Tab) that's expected to arrive in the coming months.
The verdict: Wait
Dedicated e-readers
Today's black-and-white, E Ink-powered e-reader devices like the Amazon Kindle, the Sony Reader, and the original Nook from Barnes & Noble offer razor-sharp, easy-to-ready displays, even in direct sunlight, and prices have finally fallen back to Earth.
The verdict: Buy now
Ben Patterson is a technology writer for Yahoo! News.