Each year, we set aside a budget to acquire and purchase gadgets so we can review them early and share them with you before you decide to buy them yourselves. It was no different in 2013 as we continue to deliver fresh and original content by buying our own gadgets.
Acer Aspire S7. This was our first purchase of the year — an 11.6-inch Aspire S7. Acer gave me a discount and a free extended battery and I’ve been using it for more than 9 months before the battery conked out. Fortunately, I got the new 13-inch Aspire S7 which was running Haswell and the battery life has tremendously improved.
Sony HDR C630 Handycam. We got this from Best Buy in the US so we could use it for Team Tech Squad when we went to Taiwan for Computex.
Google Chromecast. We initially bought two of these and got three more. It’s been one of the most useful gadgets in the house right now.
Canon EOS M. We’ve been using an Olympus OMD and Sony NEX-3F so we decided it’s time to get the EOS M. The price also went down from the original SRP so it was a good deal altogether.
Lenovo K900. This was the very first smartphone I bought for the year. It was powered by an Intel Atom so I was intrigued by the performance and the design. Only drawback is that it’s not LTE-capable.
Sony Xperia Tablet Z. The Xperia Tablet Z might be expensive but it’s worth it — sexy and waterproof.
Google Nexus 7 2013. One of our must-buys every year.
HTC One (Red). I already own the 64GB silver color but the red one is so enticing I just had to buy it too.
iPhone 5S. We had this bought from Hong Kong the first day it was available there. And it was very expensive, about 45k for the 32GB variant.
iPhone 5C. Along with the iPhone 5S, we just have to buy the 5C as well.
Microsoft XBox One. We had this pre-ordered from Microsoft.com and got it first week of December. However, the 110V problem delayed our review.
Go Pro Hero 3+. We already have the Go Pro Hero 3 but the Hero 3+ was so tempting we also got it.
iPad Mini 2 (Retina Display). We were choosing between the iPad Air or the iPad Mini Retina Display. We went with the latter.
Dell Venue 8 Pro. We got this around the Black Friday Sale last November. It’s the laptop-replacement we’ve been looking for.
27-inch Apple iMac. Got this around October and used it in the office. Still trying to get the review out.
NVidia Shield. Our latest toy from our Hong Kong trip a couple of weeks ago.
We also had custom-built a gaming PC that @paultan15 and I assembled and costs around Php100k although I only sent about Php50k cash and the other half was sponsored.
All in all, we probably spent over Php500k for the entire year just to get the new products ahead of time and review them for you (although some of the reviews are not yet out).
Do share with us in the comments which gadgets you bought in 2013.
YugaTech.com is the largest and longest-running technology site in the Philippines. Originally established in October 2002, the site was transformed into a full-fledged technology platform in 2005.
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mc says:
Do u have a link on your 100k pc build? Im building my own rig for gaming and have a budget of 75k. Would be interesting to see your choice of parts. Thanks!
weryou@ says:
GoPro! bestfriend ng lahat ng outdoor enthusiasts.
bariles says:
Grabe Abe! How do you find time to use all these? Do you still have a love life? lol
Bought a brand new MacBook Air 13 inch last November and I am soo loving it. In August, I was gifted with a Samsung Galaxy S4 and I am using it along with my old Blackberry Curve (which runs on Sun postpaid).
Now that you’ve reviewed Google Nexus in another article, hope to score one this year. That will be bye Blackberry since my contract with its provider will expire soon.
Thanks for a year full of very valuable reviews Abe. Looking forward to more of the same in the year of the Wooden Horse. Hiya! Tigidig-Tigidig.
Regards from your SoCCSkSarGen Blogger friends and fans! See you in these parts.
X5Eric says:
Hi Abe.
For the Acer Aspire S7.. Do you think it’s normal for the battery to last only 9 months before it needs replacement? For me I expect it to be working for at least 2 years…
Abe Olandres says:
No it’s not but the laptop was running like 24/7 and thus the battery degraded so fast.
rey says:
kuya may review po ba kayo ng CM Snap?
tao says:
hey just wondering, where or how do you get the money to buy all of this? i would be very happy if you answer or just give us a hint. thanks!
Abe Olandres says:
Oh, believe me, many of them tried. We just don’t give in to the temptation.
tao says:
^oh so its still advertising, i thought tech companies bribe your company to have good reviews of their products hihihihi
Abe Olandres says:
Google Adsense
abuzalzal says:
Boss Abe, pustahan tayo dust collector na yang K900 mo lololz
Calvin says:
surprisingly, for a techie guy, i didn’t buy anything this year… unbelievable. iba talaga pag may baby na… diapers and bottles ang binibili hindi gadgets. hahaha.
Louie Diangson says:
Haha. I feel you Calvs. I think first and last purchase ko si QX10 for 2013.
Snap Torbs says:
Sir, any idea where can i buy NVidia Shield here in Manila, Philippines. Dami ko na kasi napagtanungan at eh wala daw, saka ni-rerecommend sa akin kung ano-ano. Thanks and happy new year!
Jose Miguel says:
SIR, baka pwede mu naman gawan ng review ang GoPro. I’m so interested in getting one and your review will be a big factor. Thanks.
Raphael Fernandez says:
Just ordered yesterday the Nexus 7 16GB for a mere 199 USD from Best Buy and will be brought here by a friend in the Philippines in February. Can’t wait for it. All in all, I just paid Php9,727 including tax. The first thing I’ll do is root it and flash a custom ROM.