Cheap Gadgets
Low budget Wal-Mart and drug store brand gizmos. When will they ever learn?
Would you like to see your latest gizmo end up in the local landfill in a month or two, and help deplete non-renewable resources and waste money doing it? If this is your objective, buy consumer electronics at deep discount prices from brands you've never heard of at places like grocery stores, drug stores and Wal-Mart. We've all seen them on the shelves for too-good-to-be-true prices. The names of some of these brands include: K-Group, Teen-Tech and even Apex.
These fly-by-night companies are gadget brokers. They're not involved in research and development and don't design or manufacturing anything. The company logo is just a name to stick on the front of gadgets and other discount electronics that are contracted to the lowest-bidding factories in countries like China.
In worst case scenarios, some companies may consciously choose to break the law by underselling products or may find patent loopholes that preclude them from having to pay royalties to the patent holder. The lawsuits that result from this form of patent infringement clog our court system and waste our tax dollars. When the patent infringement litigation finally hits the fan, the no-name company can just close up shop with the profits safely stashed away.
Consumer electronic firms in this fly-by-night category have no reputation to uphold. In December, 2004 business practices caught up with Apex in a big way: co-founder David Ji was arrested in China for failing to pay a Chinese manufacturer called Sichuan Changhong Electric Appliance Co. for making televisions under the Apex name. The Chinese authorities allege that Apex owes this Chinese hundreds of millions of US dollars.
Some of the budget prices are shocking--portable DVD players for under $100 USD are a surprise to any consumer. These devices have a mobile LCD screen and a DVD player that let you watch a movie on the go. Powered by internal rechargeable batteries, you must rely on their batteries energy life to watch any movie. If you are considering purchasing one these budget portable DVD players, read the fine print and find out if the energy life of the batteries will last long enough to get through a movie.
These little devices are rated to only run for one hour on a single charge, and take an hour to charge. The user feedback found on Amazon from users of this K-Group Portable DVD Player sums up the whole story of purchasing these budget products.
Instead of spending $100 (or less) on a portable DVD player; why not save that $100? Eventually, you'll get a few more C-notes together and can then purchase a decent portable DVD player is larger, brighter, has a better looking LCD screen, and runs longer than the average Hollywood movie off a single charge. Or, and this is a revolutionary idea, simply do without a portable DVD player. If you are only willing to spend a small amount of money on these pieces of equipment, it's obviously not a priority for you to own one. Save your money and purchase something you really want!
The cheapest devices have shorter charges and are made with cheap electronics. The LCD screens are less efficient and run hotter off the battery, which ultimately will shorten the life of the entire unit. Beware of the bargain players. If you buy a budget device make sure they have a return policy of at least 90 days. There is no shortcut to getting into the latest gizmos and gadgets: nobody makes quality at shockingly low prices. Remember, eventually the price on all the technologies will come down as the new ones are developed. It's no crime to be patient and wait for the backside of the technology curve to buy the gadget you want. If $100 for a no-brand looks good to you for a portable DVD Player, but you would never spend $300 on the same item, then you probably don't really want the item. In a few short years, the state of LCD and LCoS technology will bring cheap micro displays, so sub $100 DVD or other media playback devices are inevitable and they'll be made by the familiar manufacturers like Tosshiba, RCA, and Sony. A few years ago nobody could get an MP3 player for under $300, now it's easy to find a good quality one for less than $50.
At this point in technology market, a portable DVD player with a mobile LCD screen costs about $300 or more. If you spent significantly less, you're not really getting a portable DVD player. Instead you're getting a toy and a sloppy rendition of what that technology has to really offer.