2003 Tech Buying Guide

Perhaps you’re a true technophile — the kind who shows off that new Palm tip-calculator software at parties. Or you may be the technophobe who clutches a circa 1995 Filofax as firmly as his first teddy bear. Either way, your business technology budget is probably shrinking. Goldman Sachs projects that decrease will average about 10% in 2003. Concurring with this forecast, Kevin Burden, analyst at tech research firm IDC, says that pared-down IT budgets are being devoted to critical purchases such as PCs and laptops. But there are ways to have your gadgets, too. For example, a $199 handheld unit such as the Palm i705 can hold your client contacts, keep track of your appointments, and even send and receive e-mail.

This survey addresses the categories that keep you plugged in to the office while you’re out and about — laptops, handhelds, cell phones/PDA combos, Wi-Fi networks, digital cameras, and videoconferencing setups. We’ve presented Case In Point, profiles of businesspeople like yourself who’ve enhanced their work lives by making wise tech-buying decisions. Also included is a Market Report, which gives a brief overview of each category and a sampling of products at three levels of price and/or functionality. Finally, What To Ask suggests key areas to investigate before you plunk down the plastic.

2003 Tech Buying Guide
Laptops ^[1]
Handhelds ^[2]
Hybrids ^[3]
Cell Phones ^[4]
Wi-Fi Networks ^[5]
Digital Cameras ^[6]
Videoconferencing Setups ^[7]
Shopping Tips ^[8]

Log On and Be Counted
In recent weeks, visitors to Inc.com have been sharing some of their tech-buying strategies with other readers by taking our buyer’s guide poll ^[9]. Take the quick survey yourself, then see how others are thinking about the product areas covered in this story.

Please E-mail your comments to editors@inc.com ^[10].