(click on image for full view)Awards are a double edged sword. They can guide us to the right products but only if our requirements are more or less like those of the target consumers. The problem is we don't know for what sort of a consumer did a product win the award. To complicate matters further, the selection process may not have been altogether very scientific.
Best would be to first survey the options, then create a short list, then see if some of the options have been endorsed by those in the know. Also keep a tab on after sales service because even though electronics have become so reliable, a bit of mishandling or some spike in voltage can cause a lot of trouble. In general, we should stick with established brands for better third party support and resale value.
In notebooks, HP-Compaq, Dell, Lenovo, Sony and Apple are the premium brands with Acer, Toshiba, HCL, Zenith handling the volume end. Asus, Benq, Samsung and LG are the newcomers.
Among LCD monitors, a new trend is the Monitor-TV combo. Benq MK2432 (24", Rs 17,000) and LG M237WA (23", Rs 16,000) are notable combos with FullHD resolution. The Samsung P2370HD is not available in India yet.
