Budget challenge provides incentive for deal-hunting

Dubai: What can you buy on a limited budget? Gulf News explores the possibilities at Gitex. You will be amazed by the options. This reporter has been given the lowest budget while Scott Shuey, Deputy Business Editor, got Dh10,000. See what the results were. 

Budget: Dh500

If you're on a bit of a budget and only have Dh500, there's still a lot of stuff out there. Head to Merlin, the quirky consumer electric brand and for Dh445 you can buy a USB to TV Android. The compact device turns any USB flash disk or hard disk into a digital media player so you're able to stream movies stored on any PC on to the TV. You can also install programmes like Skype and MSN to use with your TV.

If you're on the lookout for cheap mobiles Dh410 will get you a Nokia X3 from Jacky's Electronics. It comes with a 3.2 megapixel camera and up to 26 hours of music playback. For those who use their iPad primarily to play games, you can heighten your gaming experience with the iCade which is retailing at Dh370 with ThinkGeek. By just slipping your iPad in, you can play games using the joystick and buttons for a more retro game experience.

I know you wanted deals in the Dh100,000 range, but the most expensive I could find were in the Dh10,000-Dh30,000 range.

Credit clue

When buying electronics it's all about splashing out. You want a laptop, TV or camera that won't slow to a snail's pace or pack up only a couple of months after purchase. Gitex Shopper is the perfect place to ring up someone else's credit because the more you spend, the more freebies get thrown into the deal and the more chances you have of winning TVs, vouchers, motorbikes, you name it.

For those wanting the ultimate gaming experience, splash out the GT5 racing pod. This circular pod provides a 360-degree experience with the latest GT5 racing game. The steel and glass pods, retailing at Dh30,000 at Jumbo Electronics, come with a racing seat, logitech DFGT, playstation 3, a copy of GT5, a 40-inch 3D TV and a steering wheel. Who needs Formula One when you can have your own racetrack in your bedroom?

For camera professionals, Gitex is the place to part with your hard-earned cash. The Canon EOS Mark III which is a 21-mega pixel, full frame CMOS camera. It's being sold for Dh29,999 at Sharaf DG and you get a free LED TV worth Dh999 and a tripod thrown in.

If you're a PC person, the Sony Vaio Z Series are selling like hot cakes for Dh12,000 at Jumbo Electronics. The 13-inch VAIO Z Series is a three-pound, machine with the specs of a workstation. After parting with someone else's hard earned cash on these racy numbers you'll also stand a chance of winning one of 77 Apple iPad 2s in an hourly raffle.

More computing power in small form

Dubai: With a Dh10,000 budget, you can't get everything you ever dreamed of, but you can definitely get some heavy-duty hardware.

My first stop would be the CompuMe's Alienware stand to pick up the M14x. Alienware, owned by Dell, is a popular choice for high-end PCs both because of the components and the design. Their notebooks, designed for gamers but equally usable for high-definition video editing or other processing-intensive work, sports an Intel i7 processor running at 2.0 ghz, 8GB RAM, 750 GB of storage and an awesome 3GB Nvidia 67555M video card. For anyone who doesn't know what those numbers mean, it translates to a computer with more power than you will probably need, maybe.

The only thing negative I had to say about the M14x is the 14-inch screen, but the 17-inch pushes the price out of our Dh10,000 budget.

The M14x retails at Dh6,799, which means you can head over to the Razor booth. The Razor Mamba is a gaming mouse the retails for Dh535, which can switch from wireless to wired, and the Razor Ferox speakers offer 360-degree sound for Dh280. That still leaves Dh2,666 in our budget, which means it's smartphone time.

For Dh2,299 you can pick up the HTC Sensation, one of the best in the smart phone market. It has a 4.3-inch screen, an 8MP camera, powerful 1.2 ghz dual-core processors, and has all the cutting-edge features you'd expect for a top-of-the-line phone. That finally leaves you Dh87. Well, since you now expect to spend the night gaming, use that Dh87 to pick up some phone credit to call your friends and a case of Red Bull.

Surprise the gadget freak


Dubai: What do you buy the person who already has every electronic gadget on the market?

Gitex Shopper, it turns out, may just offer a few suggestions.

Budget: Dh2,500

Wandering around the first day of the event, I tripped over a curious exhibit inhabited by Tarsam Image, a small storehouse of quirky and practical electronic gizmos from around the globe.

With a Dh2,500 budget in mind, I immediately found the coolest gift for anyone who likes to travel in style — an Evo Powerboard electric scooter.

The 800-watt unit has oversized tyres, a very cool seat and is overbuilt for durability. Including three batteries, it can charge at home in three hours and has a top speed of 35 km/h.

Ahmad Abdul Wasea, chief operating officer of Tarsam Image, said the scooter is one of the hottest-selling items in his five stores in Dubai. "It's also very popular because it folds down and you can put it in your car," he said.

A consummate salesman, Abdul Wasea introduced me to a couple of other electronic oddities that I am sure will be a hit with Gitex shoppers this year — a touch lamp and alarm clock all in one and for Dh149 and a mini aquarium with changing colours that contains dancing faux jellyfish inside for Dh149.