Ask Engadget: Is it a good time to buy?

As evidenced by last week's Ask Engadget, it's pretty clear a few of you have an opinion on what to buy. But how about when? Ron wrote in wondering if the time is right for a new laptop:

"We're ready to replace our home laptop. Is it a good time to buy now or will there be many sales for Christmas time?"

Obviously plenty of sales are going to be cropping up around this time, but is he going to just end up with a dated clunker some big box was trying to clear its stock of? We suppose it differs between different tech categories. And for something like a laptop you've got to take into consideration generations of processor, graphics and connectivity technology -- if you're hoping to rock latest and greatest for any amount of time. Any tips for the man? And as always, you send in your questions to ask at engadget dawt com for your shot at harnessing the collective wisdom of Engadget's fine readers.

[RyanTV @ Nov 15th 2007 8:40PM]

depends on if you are looking for a high end or low end laptop. If you are going for a low end, then shop the sales. If you are looking for a high end/gaming laptop, then the prices dont vary all that much. find one that fists your needs and jump in.

Whatever you buy will essentially be 'obsolete' within a few weeks, but that's just the way computers go.

[Ken Wind @ Nov 15th 2007 8:57PM]

I agree. There are a lot of factors involved in the decision, but the main one is always price. If you need a laptop now, buy it now. If you can wait, there is always something better around the corner. Notebookreview.com is a good site for notebook reviews, so check it out for a specific recommendation.

http://www.notebookreview.com/

[Grant @ Nov 15th 2007 10:05PM]

agreed.

If you are looking on a budget, laptops are rarely a sale item. That is unless it is black friday and then EVERYTHING is a sale item!!!

If you are going high end, definitely shop around and read reviews, but try to stick to the most current ones. a 6 month old laptop review probably won't be relevant anymore.

[Will @ Nov 15th 2007 10:43PM]

"find one that fists your needs and jump in."
and that's what she said

[AJ in the East Bay @ Nov 16th 2007 1:33AM]

@Will:

LMFAO!!

[Mez Jr @ Nov 16th 2007 6:06PM]

"Whatever you buy will essentially be 'obsolete' within a few weeks, but that's just the way computers go."

That statement is a fallacy, "obsolete" means: 'no longer in use or no longer useful'. A more appropriate statement would be "within a few weeks the computer will no longer be cutting edge"

[M @ Dec 2nd 2007 6:13PM]

Mez Jr i completely agree, people need to get over saying Oh if i buy this it will become obsolete so soon, that's what mom's say before they go buy PCs at Walmart. That phrase has become cliche

I am a techy and still use a dell Inspiron 3700 from 2000. It is only now starting to get obsolete meaning i think it's time for a new one just to get some of the latest hardware - still works great though.

[RyanTV @ Dec 3rd 2007 8:34AM]

why do you idiots think i put the word in quotes?

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Nov 15th 2007 8:40PM]

all I reccomend:

black fridy.

Best time. I got an ipod 2g 4gb nano for 50 bucks and a vaio for 500

[IndiaTech @ Nov 15th 2007 10:21PM]

iPod nano for 50 bucks!!! Where?

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Nov 15th 2007 8:41PM]

Correction. I meant to say black friday

[Ravi Kapoor @ Nov 16th 2007 1:27AM]

Ohhhhhhh, THAT's what you meant! I thought you meant black freakmeontheeiffelday.

[Djreads @ Nov 15th 2007 8:48PM]

Depends on your thoughts but in another week or so big box retailers like Circuit City and Best Buy are going to start enacting their holiday return policy.... Meaning you can buy, and still have until the end of January to return it.... Also, both of those retailers have a 30 (or 60) day price match guarantee, so if the item goes down in price you get the lowest price....That being said, the 15% restocking fee on most laptops still applies however BBY and CCity most often wave that if you are getting another laptop. So if you're in the market for a laptop this Holiday Season, might as well go for it, if anything you can always just return it.

[artman1033 @ Nov 15th 2007 8:48PM]

google black friday.....You will come up with a number of web sites that show the ads for black friday....start comparing...

[Student Driver @ Nov 15th 2007 9:11PM]

There are two times that are right for buying technology:

1. Now
2. Never

[Reader @ Nov 15th 2007 9:27PM]

Exactly, technology depreciates in value so fast you'll always be at a loss as soon as you buy it, so it's never really a good or bad time to buy.

[CUBSWILLWIN @ Nov 15th 2007 10:01PM]

You, my friend, are very accurate. Good thought

[Student Driver @ Nov 15th 2007 10:42PM]

:-)

I've been saying this for years and it keeps me from having buyer's remorse on a lot of things. If I want something, it's available, then I will get it. There are many times I've bought something while being told to "hold out" for something better, only to have nothing show up for months or more later. In the meantime, I get to enjoy what I bought and move on with my life.

[Brandon Z @ Nov 15th 2007 11:53PM]

Yes, this is sort of true...

if you need something now, buy it now. If you don't need it, then don't buy it at all.

However, in the case of replacing a laptop, unless it has fried its little brains out you can usually get away with waiting a little while, and certain times of year do seem to be better. For instance, shortly after MacWorld in January is a good time to buy whatever new goodies Steve Jobs has announced. If you're in the market for a new Dell, on the other hand, then the best time is #2: never.

[Daniel @ Nov 15th 2007 9:17PM]

Personally, I'd wait until the new 45nm chips are being put into laptops early '08. That way you have faster processing speed and longer battery life. But if you buy now, it will be really cheap!

[bigassmuffin @ Nov 15th 2007 9:18PM]

Engadget, is it a good time to buy?

[Tired_ @ Nov 15th 2007 9:27PM]

The best time to buy is when you can afford it. You can wait, and you might find a better deal on the same thing down the road, but then you'll be that much further from the latest technology at that point and closer to your next upgrade. And waiting for new technology is a losing game, since there is always something new coming Real Soon Now.

[Luckybob343 @ Nov 15th 2007 9:37PM]

For laptops, if you're just looking for an email/web machine, now is the time to buy. Whether you catch a doorbuster somewhere or pick up the Asus EEE, you can find something to suit your needs for under $500.

If you're more specific in your needs, the best time to buy depends on where you're looking. Apple will never drop their price on new products, so its refurb or nothing there. Buying from a big-box retailer may let you catch a good price if you find a good rebate, but you're generally not going to get a good price there.

Dell will not put out good holiday promotions for one reason: they don't have to. The best deals from direct-buy places like Dell and Gateway come from coupon combinations, which appear randomly throughout the year, and at the end of the fiscal year. I think Dell's fiscal year actually ends in February, so start watching their prices in the week's following the holidays.

As stated by others in here, if you're waiting for the latest and greatest, you will always be waiting. If you're looking for a good price, then you can be picky.

[Dan Parmelee @ Nov 15th 2007 9:42PM]

Christmas may have some extra incentives, but short of trying to get a Black Friday deal, this is a good time in general to buy. Laptops have dropped in price by a lot. $1000 gets you a pretty solid Dell/HP/name-brand laptop.

[rob @ Nov 15th 2007 10:01PM]

It is a little different if you are considering an Apple. The price drops and immediate obsolesence don't really apply in the same way. If buying an Apple, do it right after Steve announces a new thing (Jan 15th is the next likely time, at Macworld).

[Chris @ Nov 15th 2007 10:18PM]

It will be a good time to buy when the Zune80 goes BROWN!

[George McLachlan @ Nov 15th 2007 10:40PM]

With the US dollar dropping in value compared to other currencies waiting may cost you. What is on the shelves now may have been imported when the dollar was worth more...

[Kamokazi @ Nov 16th 2007 9:31AM]

The dollar is not dropping fast enough to have any sort of noticable effect on most consumer prices for at least several months (obvious exceptions include oil. And it's been declining for years now, this is not a new thing. Some things have been impacted, but with technology, the price of it drops much much faster than the dollar, so it's extremely unlikely that would have any impact on his purchase. (Nice try though, long live the American Empire!)

[AJ in the East Bay @ Nov 16th 2007 1:41AM]

No kidding. I had the chance to buy the $350 Acer laptop at Wally World's "almost Black Friday" three weeks ago. I got the HD DVD player, passed on the laptop...

...I'm still regretting not getting the laptop.

[AJ in the East Bay @ Nov 16th 2007 1:43AM]

Oops, my comment above was meant as a reply to "Student Driver", not the article.

[shaliron @ Nov 16th 2007 1:55AM]

Well the Macbooks were just upgraded with new processors, Santa Rosa 2.2GHZ, which means they are just as powerful as the (base) Macbook Pros. Should buy it now if you are considering a Mac.

[Pretol @ Nov 16th 2007 2:07AM]

These questions usually have an answer beyond a scope of a smartass response. It all depends on what you want out of your laptop. For internet usage a 2 year old laptop (even a P4 laptop with 512mb) works great. Another problem is that most people plague their computers with JUNK and their only solution is to buy a new one. So solution could be as simple as take your old laptop and reinstall, and then don't install junk on it.

[Scott @ Nov 16th 2007 2:07AM]

I think almost anytime of the year is an alright time to buy a laptop. Now, I'm talking about a DECENT laptop.

I've worked at Circuit City as a PC technician for 2 years now and really nice laptops go on sale in February as much as they do in the holiday season. I honestly don't see what people get so worked up over black friday for. It's all junk that's on sale.

I think its just the rush middle-aged people get for getting that 'deal', but in all honestly its not a 'deal' its companies cutting their losses and letting their crap merchandise go at low prices so they can free up inventory space. Last year, we had a piece of junk poloroid camera that was 4 mp, no optical zoom, and was made of plastic that was FREE after rebate on black friday. It was only 30 bucks every other day of the year and I can't remember selling a single one, but on black friday people were going crazy over it.

[Scooter @ Nov 16th 2007 2:48AM]

I have been laptop window-shopping for many years and prices have been reasonably stable (with specials, sales and coupons always clouding the issue). Over time there have been steady increases in RAM, HDD space and processor speed. That will continue of course, but you have to dive in sometime if you really need the device. If you can wait, do so (it means you don't really NEED it).
I'm buying a Dell laptop for xmas: Dell for the sake of customisation and xmas for the giving season.
The old one is 8 years old and can't cope with the latest software (256MB max. RAM only goes so far - I already upgraded the RAM and HDD a couple of years ago). It will do fine as a quiet little media server in the living room, and it means I don't need another low-end device. $500-ish laptops are tempting but the joy would fade fast.

[Eran @ Nov 16th 2007 2:51AM]

buy it in two weeks, or buy it after January
prices go up in december.

Many businesses, institutions, groups etc. have yearly budgets. Portion not used has to be returned to government, funder etc. Easiest way to spend that money is on computers and office supplies. And these people in general do not hunt for bargains, since it is "[b]someone else[\b]"s money

[Pro7 @ Nov 16th 2007 5:36AM]

It is a good time to get a hardware update. The only thing I would recommend is to look for a notebook with XP if you are a gamer...

[TRAFFICBLOWS @ Nov 16th 2007 6:38AM]

35 days ago it was a good day to buy a HP... 30% off coupons abounded :p

if you *need* one buy now... otherwise wait it out.

[Rex @ Nov 16th 2007 7:12AM]

um somebody answer me a couple of things:
1-what is the time period between a PC of x,y,z specification, and a laptop of that same specification? coz that is a good gauge of timing...
2-um, what is black friday? i am a foreigner, so please humor me...
3-online, or direct from store, which is cheaper AND better?

[Mehool @ Dec 1st 2007 6:37PM]

black friday is a big shopping day in the US. It is the day after Thanksgiving (answers.com if you don't know that one). that friday pretty much signifies the start of the holiday shopping season.

It's more of a shopping and retailer thing not at all an official holiday or anything

[Paul @ Nov 16th 2007 9:23AM]

If you really want a new laptop on sale. There probably isnt a better time to buy than now. However, black Friday is probably the day you wanna get one if your really looking to save some cabbage. I know for example that Best Buy has a couple of Sony Vaio's on sale.

[Paul @ Nov 16th 2007 9:26AM]

Ok and for anyone who doesn't know...Black Friday is the day after thanksgiving in which everyone waits outside of stores for hours (usually the night before) for ridiculous sales that all the stores have.

[Doz @ Nov 16th 2007 11:48AM]

I actually have been looking into getting a laptop this holiday season but I decided to just save and wait for a faster one around $1000. If you're just looking for something basic though, just about every retailer has a decent looking laptop for $400 on black friday this year. Really depends what you want. Another thing to add, you can find similar deals randomly through the year but typically the black friday ones are with instant rebates rather than mail-in so, aside from the lines, much less hassle.

[EBone @ Nov 16th 2007 12:32PM]

Keep your eye on www.techbargains.com

Two weeks ago they had a $500 off coupon code for Dell Inspiron laptops. My wife needed a new laptop and I configured a nice one.

[Leslie @ Nov 16th 2007 7:43PM]

I would like to get a Mac Book Pro for someone's birthday on December 1st. Would i save a lot of money if i waited until jan?

[tzvibish @ Nov 17th 2007 6:54PM]

no

[funktastic @ Nov 17th 2007 6:57PM]

sorry about that repeat comment. Please forgive me...

[Stollie @ Nov 17th 2007 6:59PM]

Hi Leslie,

Since those were recently updated, I would say you won't see a price drop in January. You never know for sure, but I would say go for it.

[funktastic @ Nov 17th 2007 6:53PM]

If I can add my humble wisdom here:

I have an Acer Aspire 3003Wlci, Sempron M, 512GB RAM (upgraded to a gig and 1/2), 80 GB HDD, and integrated SiS 128MB graphics (In other words, complete garbage).

I got this two years ago after the holidays for 600, which, at the time, was a great price. It still runs fine and speedy wit multiple programs (web, word processing, itunes, etc.) with the RAM upgrade. By comparison, my brother just got the COMPAQ that was selling for 450 at CC a few months back (AThlon 64x2 (1.7 Ghz), 2GB RAM (upgraded), vista premium, 80 GB HDD, and low end NVIDIA integrated card). I honestly can't tell the difference as far as multi-tasking and basic consumer use. Then, of course, vista may be the culprit here. However, I believe that hardware is being upgraded much faster than the applications that require it. Any computer with a dual core processor and at least a gig of RAM should run any consumer program you'd ever need very fast for at least 2 years, assuming you clean up your system and are decently smart about wat you put on it. The fact that desktops are now coming with 3GB RAM is mind-blowing to me. Who, except for hard-core graphics people, would ever need that much RAM?? So, on that count , I say wait for black friday and grab the cheapest laptop money can buy.

However, games are a different story. If you're going to even play a little bit of 3d games, the black friday laptops simply aren't going to cut it. And those applications tend to upgrade faster than the hardware does. Furthermore, you generally can't upgrade laptop graphics. So, as far as games go, you really need to be careful which laptop you're getting. I'm not going to start a 3d acceleration class here, but I say wait until Directx10 support becomes standard before you buy (at least). That will probably happen in the first quarter '08 IMO.

[Robert Gerrity @ Nov 23rd 2007 2:27PM]

I've been watching Dell laptop prices for a while, and the prices now are quite good (at least through the educational student purchase program--a $2100 Inspiron 1520 for $1580 plus a $200 dell gift card), but my laptop is still limping along and could make it until the next wave of new chips come out in early '08. Can anyone speak to the likely benefits of waiting for these 45nm chips?

Additionally, I like to play games on my laptop and I'm currently looking at getting the 256MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8600M GT in a Dell Inspiron 1520. Is there a better laptop card out there now, or is a better card anticipated to arrive in Jan/Feb 2008?

[andy @ Nov 29th 2007 7:43AM]

does anyone know where i can buy Bang & Olufsen Form 2 headphones in the uk? i can only find them in the us amazon and apple stores.. and they ofcource donot chip to the uk? can anyone help?