buying advice

iPad Mini, iPad, iPod Touch: Which iOS device should you buy?

Apple has unleashed a ton of new iOS devices this holiday season: no fewer than four new products, covering an entire range of sizes and uses. iPhone 5, fifth-gen iPod Touch, fourth-gen iPad with Retina Display, and, of course, the iPad Mini: these join other devices still sold by Apple including the fourth-gen iPod Touch, iPad 2, iPhone 4, and iPhone 4S.

Confusing, right? For the purposes of this article (and your sanity), I'm limiting the buying-guide analysis to the non-phone iOS gadgets: the iPods and iPads. It used to be that there was a huge gap between the 3.5-inch Touch and the 9.7-inch iPad. Now there's a spectrum: 4 inches, 7.9 inches, and 9.7 inches.

So, let's look at each one, starting with the newest.… Read more

Three tech items you should never buy refurbished

Here's a deal of the day that normally would make me sit up and take notice:

RedTag has the Proscan PLEDV2488A 24-inch LED HDTV with built-in DVD player for $169, plus $1.95 for shipping.

Just one problem: it's refurbished.

Surprised? Normally I'm a champion of refurbished gear. You'll often hear me touting deals on refurbished laptops, tablets, Blu-ray players, and the like. In fact, I think if you're shopping for any Apple product, you should go the refurb route every time.

But there are exceptions, starting with the aforementioned deal. Here's a rundown … Read more

Laptop buyers: Should you wait for Windows 8?

When should you buy a laptop? That's always a very difficult question--buy too soon after new technology hits, and you miss out on refinements and price drops. On the other hand, you certainly don't want to spend upwards of $1,000 on a device that feels outdated just months later. It's an even more difficult decision in the wake of Microsoft's look at Windows 8 in Barcelona, Spain.

For Mac users, the decision's generally simple: wait for the new version, and buy, buy, buy. MacBooks, like iPhones and iPads, only come in so many versions, and they rarely drop in price anywhere.

Windows PCs? Well, that's another story. … Read more

Four steps to the perfect camera purchase

Let's be clear about one thing: there is no "perfect" camera. What you're looking for is a camera that will do most of what you need, do it well, and make shooting enjoyable. Anything beyond that is a big bonus.

Why do I stress that? Because if you really go searching for the perfect camera, you'll end up with purchase paralysis, and miss lots of great photo opportunities along the way. My corollary to Chase Jarvis' maxim "The best camera is the one that's with you": The best camera is the one … Read more

Springtime laptop and tablet buying advice

There's never a bad time to update some basic laptop-buying advice, and with this spring's new crop of laptops and new components (and some left-field competition from Apple's iPad), we decided it was a good opportunity to create a new version of our laptop buying guide video. Think of this as a video compendium to our more-detailed Laptop Buying Guide, which covers the ins and outs of laptops across different size categories and price ranges.

To get into the laptop mood, we went down to the new Best Buy location in New York's Union Square (ironically, … Read more