Technology is all around us these days and many people rely on electronic devices to get them through their everyday lives. For those who are a bit less savvy when it comes to their technology, it can be a bit daunting to think about starting to use something like a computer or iPod when you have no idea how to use them.
Then there’s the issue of cost – surely all of these modern gadgets and gizmos cost a lot of money? Well, in fact, most of the following items are so ingrained in people’s daily lives and, with lots of competition competing for your business, the cost of them is also surprisingly low.
Freeview TVs
The digital switchover started many years ago now, but only finished last year as the last few regions in the UK turned off their analogue TV signals for good. Now you need to have some form of digital signal receiver in order to get your television to work. While many people choose to buy Freeview boxes, these can often be a bit unsightly and often unreliable if you don’t invest in getting an expensive piece of kit. Instead, most TV’s on sale now actually come with Freeview built in, so you don’t need to worry about the extra cost of buying a box. And, as it is a standard on TV’s now, the sets won’t cost any more money than you would expect.
Digital Radios
In a similar fashion to TV, there is much talk about the future of analogue radio signals and the future plans to switch over to digital-only receivers. [tp lang=”en” only=”y”]DAB radio sets[/tp][tp not_in=”en”]DAB radio sets[/tp] are becoming increasingly popular as people look to the future, but also want to benefit from the far greater sound quality and reliability that you can get from these devices. And as their popularity increases, so has the competition between manufacturers, meaning you can find a decent DAB radio for as little as £20.
MP3 Players
We’ve seen from the recent struggles of certain high-street music shop chains that physical copies of music, i.e. CD’s are quickly becoming a dying breed. Instead, people are turning to digital copies of their music as a way to save space and have the ability to take around their whole music collection wherever they go. While iPods are the best-known MP3 player you can find, there are many (and much more affordable) alternatives if you are looking to join the digital music revolution.
E-Readers
Items like the Kindle and Kobo received a bit of a mixed reception at first by book lovers, who claimed that the experience of reading would not be the same if they had to look at a screen rather than flick through the paper pages. However, the benefits of e-reader devices have been quickly noticed. Much like MP3 players, it’s possible to take around thousands of books on one, lightweight and portable device. Digital books are also generally much cheaper to purchase than the physical copies, meaning you save money in the long-run if you like to purchase lots of titles to read.