The best gadgets to buy this festive season 2015

One of the leading techbloggers from Bangalore and my friend Giridhar presents to you the best gadgets to buy this festive season. Here it is...

Festive season is the best time of the year to buy new stuff. Be it sweets, clothes or gadgets, shopping is always fun. This is the season when people are looking to buy things which they have been wanting to own. When it comes to gadgets, there are many who ask me for suggestions and then I thought of putting my recommendations together so that it would be useful for many more, than a handful of my acquaintances. 

Best Mobile to buy under Rs 10,000:

This is the segment of mobiles that has seen some fierce competition this year. A large chunk of the devices launched this year belong in this segment. Also with the increasing adoption rate of 4G across the nation, mobile manufacturers have been introducing affordable mobiles with 4G capabilities. Frankly almost all the mobiles in this segment were failures but for a handful. Mobiles manufactures don't care, because mobiles are like bollywood movies. Movies make profit in the first 2 weeks in the box office, before people realize its worth. With the flash sales model, mobiles are sold in lakhs within few minutes of its launch before buyers realize its worth. But as I said, a handful of the lot came out truly victorious. The Lenovo K3 Note is the best mobile under Rs 10,000. I personally have got it for my sister and I can vouch for it with confidence. The K3 Note offers the best in all dimensions of a smartphone in this price range. Lumia 640 would be my suggestion if you are looking to buy a Windows mobiles. If you are really constrained in budget, the Redmi 2 prime is the mobile you should get and you will be spending just Rs 6999 for this little beauty. 

K3 Note Review Link http://www.giridhar.co.in/blog/phonelicous/reviews/lenovo-k3-note-review/

Redmi 2 Review Link http://www.giridhar.co.in/blog/phonelicous/redmi-2-it-just-got-better/

Lumia 640 Review Link http://www.gadgetdetail.com/microsoft-lumia-640-better-got-even-better/

Best Flagship device:

The term flagship has been grossly misunderstood by many. Lenovo even called the A7000 as the flagship of the masses. Let me give you my interpretation of a flagship device. A flagship device must have the best of both software and hardware that the manufacturer can offer with no compromise. OnePlus 2 is the best flagship device that I would recommend. The Oneplus 2 offers top notch hardware and amazing camera capability. It would cost you less than Rs 25000 and you can be rest assured that you will not look to buy another mobile for two years. But if you want the best camera mobile with no compromise on hardware spec, the LG G4 is the one you must own. The Sony Z5 is another fantastic device this year has given us, but its a bit expensive. Ofcourse, if you know me, I wouldn't recommend any Samsung mobile, so lets stay out of that conversation. 

LG G4 Review Link www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMX5n0fPsXc

OnePlus 2 Review Link http://www.giridhar.co.in/blog/phonelicous/my-thoughts-on-the-oneplus-2/

Best Fitness band:

Fitness band is the growing fad and this festive season, you must definitely gift yourself one. Fitbit has made their grand entry into Indian market. I have used the FitBit Flex for over an year in 2014 and then I moved on to the Mi Band. The Fitbit flex was not a well built band and it gave away within 3 months of usage. Fitbit USA offered me a replacement free of cost, but am not sure if you wil ge the same level of service in India. Fitness bands are known for their erratic behaviour and people complain that it counts their steps even while on flight. Well, they are nothing but glorified pedometers and any movement of your hand would be counted as a step. Of all the bands available in India, the Mi Band is the best. It costs just Rs 799 and a single charge would last for 100 days. 

Mi band review link: http://www.giridhar.co.in/blog/phonelicous/mi-fit-band-the-12-marvel/

Best Smartwatch:

Moto 360 was launched last year in India and it was a huge success. Though not sold in volumes, the Moto 360 was successfull in defining smartwatch to the Indian consumers. This year the Moto 360 2 is expected to be launched soon. I also got a chance to play with the Apple Watch and Sony Smartwatch 2. Finally I decided that smartwatches are not for me, yet! Smartwatches are unnecessary intrusion and a nagging mini mobile cuffed to your hands. If you really want a smartwatch, go for the Pebble time or the Moto 360 2.

Best compact camera:

Without any second thought, I would recommend the Sony Cybershot RX100 Mach II. Only the Mach 4 excels the Mach II, but its very expensive. The Mach II has got the best imaging capability for a compact camera. It may not offer you good zoom, but it is best suited for family, kids and vacation shoots. If you are thinking that only DSLRs give good quality images, you haven't tried the RX 100 M2 yet. If you are looking for a cheaper option, then the Nikon Coolpix s9700 should be good. 

Best DSLR:

If you are still convinced that you need to buy a DSLR, go for mirrorless cameras. I have made the shift from a regular DSLR to mirrorless DSLR and I thoroughly enjoy the experience. A mirrorless DSLR is much more compact than a regular DSLR. Though the lenses are expensive, if you know the range of lenses you need, look no beyond. I would strongly recommend the Sony A6000 with 3 lenses. The kit lens, 35 mm f1.8 prime and a 55-200 tele zoom lens. This package would cost you about Rs 1 lakh. On the other hand, if you are looking to learn photography grab the Nikon D3300 and slowly you can graduate to full frame DSLRs like the D810E. But before you make the decision, do think your motive and double think your commitment to photography. 

I have given you the cream of the suggestions and if you have any other questions on the above recommendations do reach out to me. If you need recommendations on buying any other gadgets, you can always ping me on twitter @cgiridhar and I would more than happy to help if its within my capacity. I thank my friend Tiger for letting me share this post in his blog. 

About Giridhar

Giridhar is a User Experience Designer by profession. He works for a software firm, based out of Bangalore. He is a film buff and recenlty he got addicted to TV episodes like Big Bang Theory, How I met your mother, Mentalist, Marvels series and more recently Heros Reborn. He has been blogging about gadgets for over 12 years now. He writes for his own blog www.phonelicious.in and also reviews gadgets onwww.gadgetdetail.com and www.mobigyaan.com.