REQUIEM FOR A DEAL

Martin has made sacrifices to stay on top of technology

LONGTIME FANS KNOW THAT, while I love my gadgets, I don’t think it’s a good idea to buy the latest, greatest technology. Early adopters pay the highest prices for technology, and I think it’s better to let manufacturers work the bugs out first, make improvements, and bring the price down.

But that’s definitely not the approach of Martin Smentczak, who thinks cutting-edge technology is the way to go. And he’s a big fan of Apple products.

Martin, twenty-five, owns or has owned an iMac (2008) with most of the upgrades they offered back then, iPad (first generation), iPad Mini, iPod Touch, Apple TV, iPhone 1, iPhone 4, and iPhone 5. He has an “air-print” compatible HP printer that lets him print directly from any iDevice, and he has preordered a Lockitron, which will make it possible to have your front door unlock automatically when it senses your iPhone via Bluetooth. He also had an iPod/iPhone compatible stereo installed in his Toyota Prius.

Martin would like to buy the Nest, the thermostat that was created by one of the inventors of the iPod.

“I also have a Dyson vacuum, if that counts.”

Martin makes about $33,000 a year working in the operations department for a bank called BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust). He lives with his boyfriend, Josh, in an $800 a month apartment in Concord, North Carolina, near Charlotte. He balances out the amount of money he spends on technology by cutting back on his spending in other areas.

“My wardrobe could use some updating once in a while, but I get more excitement from buying a new gadget versus some new shoes or a button-up shirt,” Martin said. “Also, I keep a limited social life, because that can get really expensive! But again, it’s just who I am—gadgets versus a night out with friends? I would rather have the tangible item.”

So why is it so important for Martin to own the newest stuff?

“I try to justify it to myself like this,” Martin said. “The world is moving into a ‘technology only’ society. You will not be able to function without the knowledge of how to work the stuff and what it does or can do.”

For example, Martin explained, a man in the early 1900s who refused to learn how to drive a car and instead stayed with his horse might not seem that odd at first. But thirty-five years later, it would be bizarre.

And technology is evolving much faster than it did one hundred years ago.

“Taking just a year off from technology will set you back further than it would have last century. This is the reason I might tell a friend—to make my spending sound a little smarter. But it really boils down to being a hobby. It’s like asking a coffee mug collector why they do it. They’ll come up with their own little reasons, but it’s simply a hobby. [I love] the excitement of opening the package, tracking the item on UPS/FedEx, and then getting to play with the gadgets, of course.”

Martin is not, however, a collector when it comes to technology that is no longer cutting-edge. He sells his old gadgets early, before they lose too much of their value.

“With Apple products, they hold their value a lot better than Android products. But even if it’s not an Apple product, I find it better to keep the clutter down when it comes to old gadgets. Sell now and get 40 percent of the original price, or sell later and get 20 percent.”

Why does he prefer Apple products to the cheaper Android products? First, he likes the way Apple products work so well with one another. And in addition to that compatibility, he likes their reliability, durability, and usability.

“Before the iPod era, you would have never seen me with Apple items,” said Martin. “I thought it was a failing business and technology that I didn’t understand. Now it’s all I will buy! The reason I point this out is because Apple has made it so all your gadgets play well together. And now they have such a market share that it’s ‘safe’ to buy their gadgets because you know that they will be compatible with anything you buy.”

Martin likes the fact that Apple designs and manufactures its own products, and creates both the hardware and software.

“If something goes wrong, there is only one company to go to versus a Samsung phone running Android software. If ever I’ve had a problem with an Apple product, I’ve taken it in, and they have simply given me a brand-new one.”

In 2007, Martin said he spent $1,200 on Dell’s top-of-the-line laptop, and it didn’t last him two years.

“I have had the same iMac for over four years and I never saw the decline in speed like you do with PCs. You can’t beat the materials, either!”

The same thing goes for the tablet market, Martin said.

“In short, I don’t buy Apple just because it’s Apple.”

Martin’s boyfriend of four years doesn’t share his enthusiasm for new technology.

“Josh typically just rolls his eyes or fakes his excitement with a forced smile, but all of it is playful and it has never escalated to the point where we would argue or it would threaten our relationship,” said Martin. “His spending habits are so much different than mine. He feels almost guilty spending money on himself.”

Martin does plan his spending carefully. He has a financial plan in place before he makes a purchase, and if he finances it with a credit card, he makes sure it gets paid for in a reasonable amount of time. For anything that costs more than $750, he delays his desire to be an early adopter and waits to make sure he has the money to make the purchase.

He also thoroughly researches the products he buys so he knows what he’ll get out of it and, more important, when it would be better to wait for the next generation. (For my money, I like to check Consumer Reports and CNET.com for tech and gadget reviews.)

When Martin was a teenager, he learned what happens when you’re irresponsible with your money.

“I was reckless with credit lines and loans right out of the gate when I was eighteen, nineteen. Now I am twenty-five and I recognize the importance of staying ahead of the game, because I’m still paying for my recklessness when I was younger.”

It’s taken him several years to get his credit score back to a high level, and now he keeps his credit card balances very low.

And working for a bank has given him a new perspective.

“I never thought money would be my life five years ago, but now that I’m at a bank I love it! And being that I work for a bank, I feel that much more obligated to stay on track financially.”

While he and I disagree on buying cutting-edge technology, Martin actually watches my TV show, and he “almost always” is simpatico with my message.

“I’m pretty good at hearing out both sides of things. If ever the topic of ‘spending too much on gadgets when you should be putting more money into your 401(k)’ or ‘saving for a down payment on a house’ comes up, I’ll have to agree with [you].

“But you have to start living at some point!”

What can you learn from what Martin does or doesn’t do when it comes to new technology?

Consider Android.

• While Apple gets the lion’s share of media coverage, Android smartphones outsell Apple by a 5:1 ratio.
• During a recent ninety-day reporting period, 75 percent of the smartphones sold were Androids and only 15 percent were Apple. Yet based on the media coverage you see, you’d think it was 99 percent Apple and 1 percent everybody else!
• The general public just wants a deal. They’re not as wedded to Apple as the media types are.
• I was looking at Virgin Mobile, which is a noncontract carrier for smartphones. They offer both the iPhone 4S and various Androids.
• The iPhone 4S is $650 because it’s unsubsidized as a noncontract purchase. Yet you can get a highly capable Android for $199 noncontract. The difference is that stark.
• And if Apple keeps the price of iPads so high, they’ll continue to be outsold by Android tablets.
• While the number of apps available for iPhone and iPad was many times greater than for Androids a year ago, today it’s the opposite. The app developers go where the eyeballs are.
• There’s no denying Apple makes works of art. But Android has good ease of use and opens you to the orbit of all noncontract carriers to get a much lower price on your monthly service.

Try a protective case for your smartphone.

• You could insure your smartphone, but I have a different Clark Smart way to protect it.
• A lot of people get their phone through the big contract carriers. So when you go in to get your Galaxy III from Samsung, or the latest HTC, or even the latest iPhone, you get locked into that twenty-four-month contract. You also get a pitch for cell phone insurance from the salesperson.
• Cell phone insurance typically runs about $80 a year. You have a deductible to meet, usually around $50, and after paying that, you often get a refurbished replacement phone—not a new one.
• Not buying the insurance means that if you lose or break that phone before your contract is up, you could owe the unsubsidized price of $600 or $700 for a new replacement phone.
• But rather than paying for the insurance, why not get something like an OtterBox? It’s a protective case for smartphones that can be clunky and ugly but really protects your smartphone in the event that you drop it.
• You can get a protective case like this on a discount site like eBay or Amazon. But even if you pay full retail price, it’s still a lower-cost way to protect your phone. Visit OtterBox.com for more details.

Don’t overlook cell phone repair shops.

• What do you do if you buy a smartphone and it breaks while you’re in contract and you didn’t buy the extended warranty plan?
• Try a local cell phone repair shop. They’re spreading like wildfire across the country and typically specialize in Android and iPhone repair.
• If you go to one of these shops, the repairs tend to price out somewhere between $50 and $150. My executive producer Christa DiBiase recently went to a smartphone repair shop in metro Atlanta because she cracked her screen. She paid less than $100, though she concedes that’s on the expensive end.
• Cracked screens are one of the most common repairs. I’ve also heard anecdotally that you can sometimes get a free replacement screen if you go to a retail outlet of your wireless carrier. Give that a try before going for the pay option.

Turn your e-trash into cash.

• When it comes time to upgrade your phone or tablet, do what Martin does: Sell your old gadgets.
• In addition to Craigslist and eBay, you can try these sites when you want to unload an old phone: Swappa.com (Android); Gazelle.com (Apple, Android, and BlackBerry); NewtonsHead.com (Apple products, even damaged iPhones); and NextWorth.com for phones, cameras, tablets, and games.
• But those aren’t the only options. Coinstar is testing a kiosk called ecoATM.com that uses artificial intelligence and extreme digital photography to determine a value for any electronics gadgets you want to sell to the machine. You can get cash or cash equivalent on the spot. Visit the website to find a kiosk near you.
• Finally, as an alternative to selling your old gadgets, you might consider donating them to schools or senior centers. They’re often looking for discarded devices for those who can’t afford them.