Gadgets are their best pals

The entertainment factor attached to the latest gadgets is the main reason behind making them the hottest indulgence to lay hands on, reports Karan Choudhury.

Delhi University aspirants are on a buying spree. Not for prospectus forms, books or even trendy clothes. Generation Y is equipping itself with the latest gadgets money can buy.

HT Image

From latest laptops to Chinese mobile phones they have it all.

The entertainment factor attached to these gadgets is the main reason behind making them the hottest indulgence to lay hands on.

Alkesh Menocha, who is sure of getting admission in one of the colleges in North Campus, had his father buy him a phone with an 8-GB inbuilt memory worth more than Rs15,000. “Every day I will have to travel around 17 kilometres to reach North Campus. Music on my phone will help deal with the long journey to college. I secured great marks in boards so my father did not mind buying it.”

Those who just love music and do not want anything else are buying MP3 players of every conceivable size and memory space. These players, which are like pen drives, are available in varied memory sizes priced between Rs500 and Rs10,000.

Laptops have become a rage among outstation students. Quite a few of them have either bought one or are on the lookout for that perfect ‘lappy’ as they say. Here also entertainment overrides basic necessity. Akshat Bhan, from Dehra Dun, said, “I am a huge film fanatic. Here I would be either staying in a hostel or a rented apartment so having a television and a DVD player is out of question. So I bought a laptop. Now I can store all my favourite movies.” On second thoughts, he would be able to save his class notes in the laptop as well, he added.

But also present in the crowd is a pennywise lot, which is looking for cheaper options for optimum utility and entertainment. Enter Chinese phones — knockoffs of popular brands having the same features at the third of a price. Shopkeepers at Gaffar Market in Karol Bagh are happy with the response they have received till now. "Our main buyers are college-going kids who are looking for phones full of features at cheap prices. These phones are reliable and last over a year. So they do not mind spending a few thousand,” said Manmeet Singh, a shopkeeper at the market.