Making Informed Decisions on Buying The Right Phones, Laptops etc

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  iridiumstem on 06/07/2015 - 12:37

  +1

  I frankly stay away from those reviews (or just look at the benchmarks and spec and move on) and read up on forums to see what people's opinions are on the device I want. I tend to rely on benchmarks and specs and look for the flaws of the device on the forums, it's not a foolproof method but it has served me relatively well.

  I personally think it's bloody hard to find an unbiased review, let alone find something that's not trying to sell the device to you instead of reviewing.

  • 

    walugi on 06/07/2015 - 12:42

    I completely avoid some sites, which others are ok. That said I only buy Nexus devices these days.

    Laptop wise I use notebook review and stay away from cnet and the like. I find them to be utterly useless

• 

  nocure on 06/07/2015 - 12:39

  My decision ultimately comes down to specs such as ram , screen resolution and storage, price comes second.

  • 

    walugi on 06/07/2015 - 12:41

    How do you really know what the real life implications of 2gb vs 1.5gb ram is though. Ditto with CPU and GPU. Plus its then relative to the size of the screen it has to power etc. Awesome specs will also mean more battery being consumed etc

    Lot of shifting targets when deciding

    • 

      scrimshaw on 06/07/2015 - 12:46

      +1

      You can always upgrade the RAM in a notebook if your needs arise, but remember when you buy certain devices like Macbook Airs or Surface Pros, you need to choose the model carefully as the RAM is soldered onto the logic board (no upgrades).

      Laptops have to be specced for a few specific purposes and tasks, if you know you want a 'workhorse' laptop with plenty of CPU / GPU power, a high res display etc. you're looking at a massive tradeoff in system weight, thickness and battery life.

      Likewise if you want a system that's lightweight, portable, you're looking at losing the dedicated graphics chip and also possibly downgrading the processor to a much slower low voltage processor.

      For a gauge on performance, I usually look at two main things: the processor benchmarks on Geekbench. I usually set my desktop Core 2 Duo E8500 as a baseline and see how that stacks up against the newer chip. In most cases, I'd only look for the single core performance score and ignore the multi-thread performance.

      Second thing I'd consider is overall weight, many laptops weigh in around 2.2 KG for 15" model and 1.8" for 13.3" inch model. The lighter it is in that class the better.

      There are other things like screen quality and keyboard / touchpad quality — both very important for a laptop that's used for work, but you can't really test it without actually using it.

      • 

        walugi on 06/07/2015 - 12:56

        +1

        I think nocure and I were talking about phones but I take your point around laptops though.

        I have observed two things about what youve written though

        1) People who arent technical wont be able to make informed choices like you have
        2) A lot of catalogues we get from the main retailers dont even have that kinda info! I guess because most buyers wont get it. Does your average mum and dad buy purely off brand and looks?

        Honestly there must be heaps of people out there with crap phones and laptops which dont suit their needs

    • 

      nocure on 06/07/2015 - 12:47

      Unless your purchasing for the first time you use your past experiences.for example I have used tablets/phones with 2gb ram to my satisfaction so that then becomes my minimum spec.imo

      • 

        scrimshaw on 06/07/2015 - 13:08

        +1

        Once you've used a higher specced device it's very difficult to consider going for anything less. Because you'd also expect that once 1-2 years have passed since buying your device for $300 dollars, that same $300 again will buy you a phone that should also be as high spec, if not better specced than your current device.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 06/07/2015 - 13:19

        @scrimshaw: Pretty much this, also, I tend to stick to the flagships from the past. Last gen flagships tend to be better than the current gen budget phones at similar or cheaper price.

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  RockyRaccoon on 06/07/2015 - 13:27

  +1

  Honestly there must be heaps of people out there with crap phones and laptops which dont suit their needs

  Honestly there must be heaps of people out there with great phones and laptops which dont suit their needs, as well ! 🚴🏿

  Those who bought because some tech nerd thought it was great and they dont need the power or the whistles etc

  Cuts both ways.

  • 

    iridiumstem on 06/07/2015 - 13:41

    Don't forget, tech nerds are humans too (OK, that came out wrong).
    What I meant was, people tend to have some bias on their recommendations, I would never recommend LG laptops because I've got burnt by one of their top line laptop (literally and metaphorically). "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" as well. Knowing how to look at specs tend to lead to reliance on the specs.

    Also I tend to recommend devices that are "overpowered" for people's needs when they ask me for an advice, simply because:
    1. Overpowered means it's going to have a room for future usage
    2. People who ask me for those advices tend to not tweak things as much as I would, so they usually end up bloating the device
    3. Expensive ones tend to have better support from the manufacturer

    Though, this is simply from how I tend to think about things, therefore there is a bias there.

    • 

      RockyRaccoon on 06/07/2015 - 14:57

      Don't forget, tech nerds are humans too

      You're a human?

      Damn there goes another theory down the toilet 🚽

    • 

      elusive on 06/07/2015 - 18:37

      +1

      they usually end up bloating the device

      Unfortunately, no matter how much power you throw at it they'll still complain about it being too slow. Probably with half a dozen toolbars and "virus scanners" installed too.

      • 

        iridiumstem on 06/07/2015 - 18:42

        While having 30ish updates not installed as well. My mother's laptop was on Windows 8. Not 8.1, but 8. Gave up updating it since I didn't want to touch it and end up listening to her talking about how it is different.

  • 

    walugi on 06/07/2015 - 14:22

    Definitely.

    My dad was going to buy a $800 S6 when I stopped him and got him a 4G instead. $200.

    He likes it more due to dual sim and expandable storage.

    But 90% of the ads for mobiles are either S6 or iPhone it seems

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  retiredfeline on 06/07/2015 - 15:07

  I think the right way to read the reviews and experiences is to try to seek out features and user stories that match your needs. Starting from the specs of a previous purchase is also a good idea. Think about what features you hate, what features would like to keep and what features you would like to add. That will help you evaluate the offerings.

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  PVA on 06/07/2015 - 18:40

  I think a lot of people do not know what they really need or want and a lot buy purely on looks, price and 'street cred' (meaning they buy a name over any thing else).
  No necessarily ozbargain viewers or techy people, but more the other 90% of people.