For Better or Worse, Online Computer Sales

Laptop Retailers vs Online stores

Online computer and laptop stores are in direct competition to bricks and mortar retail business, who are failing to keep up with the latest technological innovations. The growing trend in the online market is driving prices down and putting pressure on laptop prices, leading to smaller margins for retailers. This change is leading to complaints from some of the heavy weights of the retail industry who are complaining about these direct threats to their business operations. Retailers concerns are more about the threat to their bottom line, and less about their customers, despite what their marketing spin doctors shout out. 

While many customers are weary of buying from overseas retailers, the Australian online industry is providing many customers with a convenient online shopping experience, with a physical presence and actual street address, to provide substance to their business operations. The days of an online retailer being a mysterious entity hiding behind a PO Box and pre-recorded voice message promising someone to call you back is gone. While many online retailers are still different to a fully-fledged retail shop, many retailers offer pick up services from their physical warehouse direct or head office. Most have complete contact details and sales staff to help with pre and post sales. 

Company’s such as Overstocked Orders have built up a reputable online store in which is backed by their direct warehouse and sample showroom. While the showroom doesn't offer all items on display, it still provides a generous range of items to peruse, as well as the option to buy over the counter.

Other online retailers such as Bat Tech Express display an online showcase, offering its computer services and support division. In addition to their range of computers for sale, they also offer a broker like sales service. Customers fill out an online order form including budget, specifications, and other details, and then the sales team will arrange the best deal from their wholesalers and report back to the customer.

These online retailers have many great advantages from their bricks and mortar cousins. By not keeping large inventory stock, customers are getting the latest models, and generally not items that may have been sitting in a warehouse for 6 months. Margins are lower, leading to competitive pricing for consumers.

While bricks and mortar retailers will still be around for a while, issues such as the cost of commercial rents, staff costs in keeping a store open even if no customers are around, insurance and utility costs, location constraints, and even local Government laws are having a larger impact on retail businesses. An online retailer can maintain a smaller office, lower inventory, require less staff and have fewer outgoings, with the option to re-locate if location or local laws impact on their business without disrupting online operations. 

The customer may lose out on being able to physically inspect goods though and this is where physical retailers hold their largest advantage. As always though, being a fully-fledged physical retail outlet store, online only, or a hybrid of the two, will depend on the decisions and foresight of management. As is true on all walks of life, it is the organism that can adapt the best that will survive.

Bat Tech Express is a reputable online laptop store in Sydney providing 24/7 computer support, computer services and laptops for sale.

iPad 2 worth the upgrade?

The iPad was no doubt, the hottest new gadget of 2010. Thousands of Apple consumers who opened up their brand new iPad on Christmas morning were unimpressed to see that Apple has already released the iPad 2. If you’ve barely pulled the shrink wrap off your original iPad, is the upgrade to the iPad 2 worth it? We’ll take a look at the pros and cons.

Here’s a rundown of the new features: 

Dual Video (and still photo) Cameras

Everyone who owns or has seen the iPhone 4 knows exactly how the iPad 2’s dual cameras work. There’s a front-facing camera and a backwards-facing camera that allow you to take pictures of other people or of yourself without having to rotate the device. Thanks to these handy-dandy cameras, you can also run FaceTime and connect with other iPad 2 users for a cozy video chat. If you’re a heavy-duty FaceTime user, this is probably a welcome upgrade. After all, when it comes to screens, bigger is usually better.  If you’re not a FaceTime user, you may be left feeling a little “meh,” especially since the camera picture quality isn’t anywhere close to what you get from even the most inexpensive digital point and shoot camera.

Faster Processor

The iPad 2 has—oh yes—a dual processor, which means it’s capable of running more graphics-intensive and more complex apps at higher speeds. If you’re a hard-core gamer, you might really appreciate the upgrade. Meanwhile, very few people  have complained that the original iPad is slow. Once apps start expanding and begin outgrowing the original iPad, speed might be more of a gripe. But by then, Apple will probably be on to the iPad 3 or 4 anyway.

HDMI Video Output

If you’ve ever been lounging around watching video on your iPad and wished you could hook it up to your big screen, the iPad2 is for you. Its new HDMI video output will let you do just that. Now you can use your iPad to stream Netflix or other movies right to your television. Granted, if you already have a Wii or an internet-enabled television, this won’t seem like that much of a benefit. But if you don’t, you’ve now got the hook-up.
A Lighter and Thinner Design
The iPad 2 is a few millimeters thinner than the original model and is also a whopping 15% lighter. In other words, the old iPad weighed 1.5 pounds while the new one weighs only 1.2. If that leaves you underwhelmed, you’re not alone. Yes, it’s cool that the new model is thinner and lighter while still managing to pack in more features than the original. However, the savings of a few millimeters and a third of a pound is not enough to make an upgrade mandatory. It’s just not that much of a difference.

So what’s not to like?

Still won’t Play Flash Video

iPad lovers everywhere seem to agree that the machine’s one serious drawback is its lack of support for Flash video. With more people spending more time on Facebook than Google these days, it’s no wonder people are irritated. If you’re browsing Facebook on your iPad and want to play a video one of your friends shared. . .  you can’t. Too bad. The same thing goes for Twitter.  The even worse news is that thanks to a feud between Apple and Adobe, support for Flash is unlikely to be available anytime soon. Meanwhile, competing companies are gearing up to release Android-powered tablets, and you can bet those machines will be Flash-enabled.  So if this is an important feature for you, you might want to consider ditching the iPad for something else when it’s time to upgrade.

The iPad is Still Relatively Expensive

iPad detractors are also not fans of the tablet’s price. The entry level iPad2 goes for $500, and better models go up from there. Critics say that much more powerful laptops are available for less than $500 and are a more practical choice. Sure, the iPad 2 is much cooler looking and has a sleek touch screen, but as an actual computing tool, it comes up short. Industry experts are expecting competing tablets to debut at a more affordable price point.

What do you think? Is it worth it to upgrade to the iPad 2?

For more information on iPads, iPhone repairs, iPad support go to Fix My iPhone Repairs Sydney.

Hard Drive Repair, Recover Hard Drive Data

In this age of digital world, almost everybody relies on their computer and hard drive to store their important files. Some even store their important memories like pictures of the first time their daughter walked on their hard drive.  The danger of storing files in your hard drive is that it isn’t safe at all. In as brief as an instant, the worst can happen and files can be accidentally deleted.  And if it does happen and you feel that all is lost, data recovery will still give you a glimmer of hope.

It’s good to know that even though a major crash happened to your computer, most of the time the data or files can still be found on your hard drive. The question for many is how to recover these deleted files in the hard drive? Basically, you have two options to choose from. The first one is always the safest way and that is to let the experts handle the job. Bring your hard drive to a data recovery center and let them do the hard work. Data recovery is a very difficult task which would require the knowledge of experts in data recovery. This offers less risk in recovering and restoring your important files.

The second option is by doing the data recovery yourself. For someone who is good on computers and can follow instructions, this is a cheaper option as they don’t have to pay the service fee of the experts. Unfortunately not everybody who is good on computer can perform the difficult task of recovering deleted files. The danger of doing data recovery by yourself is losing your file permanently. In the end instead of helping yourself get the files that you want, you end up doing more damage and lose files permanently. This is an important consideration that you should bear in mind when performing data recovery.

After thinking it through and you decided that you are able to perform the recovery of deleted files from your hard drive, the next step is to find a program that will help you perform this tricky task. There are programs and freeware that can be downloaded through the internet. Some programs are free but the more complex ones come with a fee. The advantage of using these programs is it will save you some money as you don’t have to hire or pay a data recovery specialist to recover deleted files from your hard drive.  For many, this is a smart idea since the programs can perform almost the same service as the specialist does.

But then again, it should be emphasized that recovering deleted files from your hard drive is a tricky and risky business. A person who is not good or adept with computers should try to stay away or shun away from delving into the big task of data recovery. Also not all programs for do it yourself data recovery can be used for all types of data loss or deleted files. Examples of which is when the hard drive is physically damaged. But for simple matters of recovering deleted files from a perfectly good hard drive, most software is able to work. You just have to be very careful when performing the data recovery by yourself to avoid further damaging your disk which will make it even harder to recover deleted files or it could even turn for the worst of losing your files permanently.

For more information on data recovery services or for hard drive recovery repairs go to Drive Data Recovery.