Just like the run-in to Christmas, the onslaught of computer specials hasn't eventuated - just a couple of good ones here and there, led by retailer Dick Smith.
We woke up this Boxing Day morning with great expectations about amazing post-Christmas sales today, but it seems the big retailer sales are happening mostly in areas other than computing. That's not to say there are no good tech bargains, but it's really only Dick Smith doing the running, while retailer Retravision in WA, VIC and TAS has thrown in a great deal on a Motorola Xoom tablet.
So, below are some highlights of the post Xmas sales in Australia, and if this reads like a Dick Smith commercial, then other retailers have only themselves to blame (although we have a sneaking suspicion they will unleash their post-Xmas sales sooner rather than later):
ASUS G74SX Gaming laptop for AU$1,874
This portable gaming machine normally retails for over $2,000 so it's a good deal. You might think it pricey for a laptop but gaming notebooks are in a completely different league to normal laptops when it comes to power and specs. This ASUS has a kick-ass Intel Core-i7 processor, a massive 8GBs of RAM and a high-end NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M graphics card that will run the most intensive PC games at high to ultra-high details. And it comes with a Blu-ray player/burner that will play Blu-ray movies on its excellent full HD (1920 x1080) screen.
Read more about the ASUS at our Hunter site.
Motorola Xoom Wi-Fi tablet for AU$298
Along with Dick Smith, retailer Retravision (those in WA, VIC and TAS) makes it a post-Xmas party of two, with this excellent special on the 10in Xoom Android 3.2 tablet. Seriously, prices of Android tablets are getting ridiculously low. For AU$298 you would be lucky to get a clone tablet from the Shenzhen District, let alone a premium Android tablet that hit the market last year costing more than $700. Admittedly, the Xoom's hefty 730 gram weight marks it as a first-generation tablet, but that's because it feels like it was built from armour plate and glass, from the days when tablet makers thought you differentiated from the iPad by making your tablet feel more substantial. Performance-wise the Xoom is in the top tier of Android tablets, alongside the Acer Iconias, Toshiba AT100s, Lenovo IdeaPad tablets, and as an overall offering is just shaded by the Sony Tablet S and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 (the last two are on another level when it comes to weight and consumer appeal).
Read more about the Xoom on Hunter.
Apple MacBooks for 10% less
A discount of 10% doesn't sound like much, but it's massive for Apple products. In fact, we can't remember seeing any better deals on Apple products for a long time. Dick Smith has taken 10% off the entire range of MacBooks, so if you're looking to buy an Apple product this is a good time to do it.
One of our picks for best MacBook bargain is the MacBook Pro 5in for $1889.10.
The great value, no-nonsense HP notebook for AU$592
If you're not looking for a gaming machine or a tablet or an Apple but just want a great, all-round, no-nonsense laptop from a big, reputable brand, the 15.6in HP Pavilion G6-1210tx is one of the picks of the post-Christmas sales, a 15.6in notebook with a powerful Intel 2nd gen Core i5 processor, useful amount of RAM and good 640GB hard drive for just $592.
It's a good, well-specced affordable notebook with more than enough power to do all your daily computing tasks. And, even better, it looks good and weighs only 2.3kg; which is very light for a notebook with a 15.6in screen. Technically this machine is an allrounder rather than a basic notebook because it comes with a discrete graphics card, although it's a low-end one that won’t be much better than the integrated graphics (ie on-CPU) graphics of basic notebooks.
If you're looking for a solid can-do laptop, this is a great one for the price.
More details on Hunter