When Do You Purchase Technology?

[A Link In Time]

Well…The Technology sub forum is as dead as ever. Go figure. I thought I’d sprinkle this place with some very general easy to answer in tech threads so as to lighten the place up.

With the recent explosion in telecommunications in recent years, it’s easy for a consumer to be overwhelmed in the marketplace. What’s worse improvements of the same successful product are released year after year with minor “must have upgrades.”

Everyone advertises their product to be “the next big thing.” While the 21st century hasn’t been as major a tech boom as the 20th, it certainly has refined past advancements.

With a dearth of “wow” products, purchases ultimately come down to individual desires and commodities which would make one’s life easier. All things considered, there is also the question of price which may lead to the turning down of some fancy gadgets.

The overarching question of this thread is: When? When do you purchase new tech products? With new ones released frequently and expensive mark ups on recent shipments, the question of whether to buy now or wait until later can be difficult.

 

[Linknerd09]

My family and I buy new technology when it's a special occasion, like a birthday or Christmas. Mainly those two. I don't buy new technology because I want to. We don't even have the money to do it. We can sometimes buy it if anything happens to the technology by breaking or not working anymore. We like to wait more later so that it can at least drop or post discount on the price of the new technology.

 

[sailorgirl221]

I don't usually buy new technology until either A: my computer is so out dated it's damn near impossible to do day to day tasks anymore. and B: a new game system is out that i want like the WiiU though I won't be able to afford that for a while.

 

[Justac00lguy]

Technology and me never seem to get along....My laptop and IPod always seem to break not to mention how many times I have got my phone fixed :/ So I purchase technology when my technology breaks I guess and thats pretty regularly

 

[Koosholts]

I purchase new technology when I know that it will be a good long-term investment, and when I know I will get a lot of use out of it. For example, I just purchased the iPad 4; that will be useful to me for the upcoming four years of college.

 

[Kazumi]

I purchase technology when there is a significant need for it, even if it means having to restrain myself. For example, I built my new PC last summer when my old one just wasn't cutting it any more and there wasn't really any room for upgrading. Additionally, I tend to purchase a new console when there are a good amount of games out that I really want to play on it, or it happens to fit in with my budget.

I have had to restrain myself for quite a while from buying a tablet though, because while they look like incredibly fun and fairly convenient toys, I don't really have the money to spend on something like that right now, especially when it's not all that useful.

 

[Not Take Mirror]

I usually wait at least a few months until after a new device has come out on the market before purchasing it. Wait long enough and the price will often decrease considerably. Plus I want to take time to consider if the technology will be a worthwhile purchase for me.

 

[Austin]

When I have the money, mostly. I have a whole list of upgrades I want.

 

[Ventus]

I...typically don't purchase new technology. I receive most stuff as gifts. The last bit of tech I bought was my Nintendo 3DS, and boy was that a terrible purchase (all the games I want to play currently are available on better systems, are going to be available on better systems, or pale in comparison to previous entries).

I technically bought my brother's PC from him, but it's rather old. I will not be upgrading it as PC gaming sucks in my opinion.

Technology jsut doesn't appeal to me any more.

 

[Djinn]

I'm kind of in the middle here. Mostly because it does not interest me to spend insane amounts of money on the latest gadgets the very second they come out just to have that amazing new thing before everyone else. I knew someone that did this and she was perpetually broke from always wanting the newest phone each time there was a newest phone. I do like to wait a bit and see if it will either go down in price, remain used and not dropped in the future (gfjgfdfhgfhf Zune....) However I was raised in a house with people that love really old things and somewhat take insult at the concept of replacing anything with a new version or innovation. Mostly the place was filled with antiques and every single piece of furniture had some century old story attached to it so none of us were allowed to touch it. Whole place was like a weird museum. My parents had a stereo from the 70's that they continued to use well into the 00's. In light of that I have a profound love of all things new and innovative that make life that much easier for the convenience and not kept around because some rich guy in England had one decades ago.

So anywhere in the area of 1-2 years after it comes out mostly unless we are talking blue ray which I still have not considered in the least. Yaay it looks pretty, I'll go watch the pretty picture over at someone else's house.

 

[Xinnamin]

I didn't have a smart phone until just last year. I think that speaks for itself.

 

[bunny]

I really only buy new tech stuff when my old things break. I still have my 3rd generation iPod Touch, and I just got it last year. People always ask me, "Your iPod doesn't have a camera on it?!" Nope. I don't plan on getting a new one, either. Not until my old one stops working, at least. Same goes for all my other tech stuff.

 

[Killjoy262]

For me, it depends on if I really want it and have the money for it(left over from Christmas/birthdays.)