ETS offers tips and SharePoint site for technology purchases
If technology purchases top your Christmas gift list, ITD’s Mark Borkowski has a few tips for stretching your holiday shopping dollars. He shared those tips during the annual Technology Buyers Guide presentation Tuesday in the Headquarters Auditorium. He also talked about a new self-service ETS SharePoint site, launched that same day, that provides ITD employees with links to technology support, top technology products and best buys.
Despite the rise of tablets and smart phones, the computer laptop is not dead. It is still a tool that people use for work. Faster I-5 and I-7 processors contribute to longer battery life for some laptops, but don’t expect to find many DVD and CD-ROM drives anymore as flash drives grow in popularity.
Borkowski dubbed Apple, Lenovo (formerly IBM) and Asus as the top laptops ranging from $1,500 to $1,800. He called the Hewlett Packard Pavilion and Samsung laptops good budget machines, ranging from $420 to $520.
Tablets continue to grow in popularity, but avoid those priced at less than $100. Most of the tablets run older versions of Android and won’t accept many of the newer applications. The screens also are not as good.
The Google Nexus 7 ($300) and the Kindle Fire ($140) are good Android-driven tablets. Dell Venue tablets ($200-$300) also come highly recommended.
Apple’s iPad is still a technology leader with its slimmer, faster iPad Air boasting great graphics and sharp text for about $499. Shrink the iPad Air’s screen from 10 inches to 8 inches and meet the iPad Mini. The newest Mini might prove hard to find this Christmas because they are going fast at $400 each.
Other technology to consider this Christmas might be a new Linksys or Apple wireless router with increased speed and greater range for $150-200. There are always newer cell phones available, such as the iPhone 5s, Lumia 1020 or Galaxy S4. Prices are about $200 with a two-year contract on many carriers.
Digital cameras remain popular, with point-and-shoot models available from $100 to $370, depending on features. Borkowski said to look for “optical” zoom, 1080p video and GPS capability in newer models.
Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) cameras are available with more features, such as the Nikon D5300 ($800) with built-in GPS, HD video, 24.2 megapixel resolution and WiFi that will automatically upload pictures and video to selected locations. A Canon Rebel 5Ti camera is available for about $650.
A new breed of “mirrorless” digital cameras is available that provides the simplicity of point-and-shoot camera technology and an ability to change lenses. Canon, Sony and Nikon models cost from $359 to $500.
Borkowski said most people do not buy digital video cameras anymore — except for one. GoPro has carved out a following because of its versatility and image quality. Prices are from $200 to $300, based on different levels of resolution available.
More technology suggestions and links to products are available under the “Technology Services” tab on the intranet home page.
Borkowski encouraged technology shoppers to decide and buy early because technology deals are some of the first to vanish after Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Published 11-29-13