Answer to all your queries on
what to buy this Diwali
Are the online Diwali sales genuine?
How dare you? Where’s your
nationalistic pride? These online buying portals are making world headlines
every day about how much more each founder is now worth and you dare question
their ethics! Do you know how hard these people work to increase their valuations...
errr... I mean give you things at a discount! Do you see a conspiracy theory in
all things? So what if you found hundreds of things at twice the actual price
and then discounted to 50 per cent! So what if most of the cool stuff showed up
as sold out in eight seconds flat? So what if things were cheaper at other
online stores that hadn’t spent 200 crores in advertising on every front page,
TV channel, website and app? Applaud the effort and the money spent in making
you believe that this was the best thing to happen to you, and not the sale or
whether it’s genuine or not. You should be ashamed of yourself and made to
stand in a corner with every shopping app open on your phone, and forced to
order every crappy item that hasn’t sold a single piece in two years and is now
almost completely sold out with a 75 per cent off red star next to it.
I’m looking at something quirky this
year.
Great! I get your drift
and I’m happy to help. Here are things that are different and will also improve
your standing as a cool person with friends and family. A DJI Phantom 3 Quad
Copter is uber cool, very easy to fly and something that takes hobby flying and
photography to new levels. It’s illegal to fly one right now but a new set of
rules for that should be out by the time this column is out.
Then there’s this new
thing that just launched in India. It’s called a Gocycle and its new version,
the G2 is here. This is a semi-powered battery-enabled electric cycle that is
super light, easily packs away in two seconds, has an app that gives you full
control over it, looks very sci-fi, has no gear, no chain and no oil to mess
you up, and is actually a dream to ride. Look out for a more detailed review
from me soon.
And if you’re the kind
that has always looked at a Segway with a lustful eye – then the new
hoverboards are something you must look at. Unlike Segway, these have no handle
and no bank that you must rob to own one. All you do is balance yourself on one
and then with the slightest shift of weight these little marvels take off like
a rocket (actually at 10kmph, but it feels really fast). Most people are
experts in about three minutes. Lots of choices here, but the BirdBoard and the
upcoming Xiaomi Ninebot Mini are the best in their class.
You missed out on telling us which
laptop to buy, since there are such good deals out there.
I didn’t miss out, I
avoided it. Somehow I don’t think this time of light and love lends itself well
to notebooks and laptops. But since you insist, here it is.
The best deals seem to be
on the Macbook Air series mainly because it’s actually quite an old product
with some new hardware within its slim chassis. But at prices as low as `
45,000, these thin old warhorses are quite a buy. Just remember that the screen
on these look a little antiquated, but the build and battery life are truly
awesome. Other choices are the super pretty and very powerful Acer S7 and the
Asus Zenbook UX 305 (if you can find one). Another interesting choice are
laptops and Chromebooks from companies that are more in the mobile space.
Laptops from Spice, Micromax and Xolo priced at ` 12,000 or so are quite
compelling and
actually work very well.
Shouldn’t a smartwatch be on my list?
No!
What about a fitness band
to melt off all the Diwali mithai?
Choose between a GoQii
with a live coach (at ` 999 it’s a no brainer) or a Fitbit Charge HR. Anything
else isn’t the full package right now.
Is there one thing that I
shouldn’t miss out on this shopping season?
Yes, quite a few things.
It’s a good time to stock up on microSD cards, USB drives and portable hard
drives. The prices are shockingly low if you aren’t looking at high-end
capacity levels. Another great buy is the SanDisk Connect Wireless Stick which
can give a second lease of life to a tablet or phone that can’t add any further
storage. Also, if you’ve got uncle ji or massi or bhai coming down from foreign
lands to spend Diwali with you, then the Amazon Echo (detailed review coming up
on this one too) may well be a great Diwali stocking stuffer to get for
yourself.
HTBR
8NOV15
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