Korean Job Discussion Forums

[seonsengnimble]

I'm bored, so I'll list some companies whose products I like.

Digital Cameras: Panasonic Lumix
Pretty decent cameras with some decent quality photos for a reasonable price. They have a pretty intuitional layout, come with lithium batteries, and are relatively small. The only regret I have about mine is the curved sides. To take a photo of yourself or yourself and friends, you're stuck with a landscape view instead of a profile. (I'm no photographer, so forgive me if the terminology for long and wide are incorrect.)

laptops/notebooks Lenovo
I've had a few laptops in my time, and have now gotten over the idea that I'm going back home soon, so I should have a laptop. Out of the three companies I've purchased laptops from, my Lenovo was the best. No hardware problems ever. It started up in under 30 seconds, and never got hot. I ended up selling it and "upgrading" to a laptop with dedicated video so I could play games, but I had many issues with it. Same thing for my next laptop, a toshiba, which had a great processor and video card, but a dvd drive that died within a few months and no heat regulation whatsoever. After a few months, flash videos overheated it to the point it had to shutdown.

portable media players samsung y9

There are probably many greater ones out there by now, but this guy has treated me pretty well. It's only 2gigs, and the video conversion is a bit of a pain, but I've been pretty happy with it for the price. No bs itunes, and you can charge it with a cell phone charger.

computer peripherals Anything by logitech

They're moderately priced, they work pretty well, they look decent, and they last. I currently have five seperate logitech devices for my computer, and none of them have had any problems. My favorite is the speakers. I've gone through maybe 6 sets of cheap to mid-range computer speakers in Korea, but all of them have started rattling or adding strange sounds. My logitech ones have lasted a little over a year and are still doing just fine, even after two moves and being stored in a below freezing room for three weeks.

cell phones no clue

I haven't had any real problems with any phones I bought in Korea since I've been here. I liked my previous phone more than my current phone, but KTF went crazy and wouldn't let me add minutes, so I had to switch providers. My current phone is sexier than my previous phone, but my previous phone had a better dictionary and was completely English. My current one, a motorola(forgot the model) has many English menus, but the whole im section is entirely in Korean.

Finally, desktop parts/manufacturers The place in Yongsan where there's sort of an outside market in front of a series of winding tunnels. I gave them a list of parts, and now have a computer that cost 450,000 won and runs most current games at high settings. It cost 10,000won to build it and took one hour.

[eamo]

I don't have any brand loyalty. I'll buy whatever has the functionality I want at the price I'm willing to pay......

Mainstream electronics companies are all getting very samey nowadays. Everything's made in China. There are minor differences when it comes to design, but, even that doesn't really matter because if one company makes a breakthrough product then 50 other companies will just copy it within 6 months.

I do have a Selmer 50w guitar amp made in the 70's which still sounds great today even though I gave it hell for years when I was younger. I wish modern electronics were built like that. Of course, when you get into the real high-end, like $5000 hi-fi amps, they are built like that.

[seonsengnimble]

[Demophobe]

As seonsengnimble said, some things are pretty much the same, but for many things, they simply are not created equal.

ATI and Nvidia are good examples. They farm out their production ,and while they undoubtedly look for a good price, they also have their reputation on the line. So, they also have a keen eye on quality. This just isn't the case with many companies, where they aren't big enough to care, in a sense. Anyone want an IMTech GeForce? No thanks. Warranty is another good reason to go with a reputable brand.

There are also many small differences between even seemingly 'samey' products. MP3 players are a good example of this. Features and functions aside (though a good argument could be made based on this alone), some simply sound better than other due to simple design tweaks.

I have a Sandisk Sansa MP3 player and bought it after it was unanimously agreed upon (internet review sites) that the sound is unbeatable in the price range. Apparently this is partially due to the decision to put a shielding plate inside the player, to limit any interference between sections of the player. Competitors don't do this, as it of course, increases production cost. So,small things can mean a lot, and only research can bring these things to light.

Read before you buy.