Usually I’m broke. However, leading to this holiday season I’ve been saving some money and have a list of items I’d like to buy. My list does not have clothes, never has, doesn’t have shoes, they’re on hold, has no ties, I don’t have a corp job. My list has gadgets. A splurge has been pending for a while. So here’s what I have in mind:
Microsoft Surface RT: Expected subsidized price of $199 on a 2 year contract or $600 outright; this purchase is a no-brainer.
Nokia Lumia 920: It’s either this or an HTC phone. Nokia’s Windows Phone ecosystem is more powerful and lucrative than anyone else’s. ($199 AT&T upgrade.)
An Android camera: It’s either the Nikon Coolpix 800c or the Samsung Galaxy Camera, price determines which one. ($500+)
iPad 7″ or Nexus 7: I’m looking for a 7″ dedicated reading device for my RSS. I don’t read books but subscribe to hundreds of websites, and a light weight dedicated reading device would be a great companion. The Kindle Fire doesn’t have the official Google Reader app and I suspect the iPad 7″ will have several good ones, such as Reeder. Yes, I am looking for a glorified RSS Reader & Twitter client. (~$199)
2TB USB External Storage: To backup data from all these devices. (Western Digital ~$180)
Grand total: Anywhere between $1,300 to $1,800.
Conventional wisdom suggests 7″ tablet and the Surface RT make no sense given that I also own a MacBook Air. However, the glorified RSS reader will be a lot more convenient device to hold in one hand while traveling. The Air can remain in the bag till I need a PC and the Surface RT seems to be more capable than the 7″ tablets. (Yes, it’ll be far more capable than Apple’s first generation product.) These devices in addition with the Kodak travel USB charger will make sure I don’t run out of battery.
SkyDrive is on all devices and so is Spotify, maybe I will bite the bullet and buy Spotify Premium.
PS: I might end up buying just one of the 5 devices listed or all of them, I don’t know. But I’d sure love to own all these by November.