* Laptop- Two HP Compaq I bought years ago broke less than 1-2 years of regular usage. For reasonable pricing and long lasting life, I recommend Dell. Even the lower-end Inspiron 1501 I bought in the states, battery end-of-life is after 7 years of usage. Dell Latitude D520 severed as web served for the last 2 years and since then I never seem any major incidents. The other recommended brands include Toshiba, Lenovo and Acre.
* Webcam- No manufactures can beat Logitech's pricing and hung selection & variety. I am using c510, c525 & QuickCam and they are all in good condition. But balance it with quantity and bandwidth, I will say c525 is a very reasonable choice.
* Wifi asset point/ router- I used both best rating routers Buffalo and Linksys in the states. However, my first wireless route in Japan was Fonera Simpl plug in play wifi, which had afford-less setup process. After I gave that up to my in-law. I have used the PCI MZK-MF 150 since then. Not really satisfy for the 2/F signal those, but with my web server and 2 surveillance cameras running in the same time, It could still maintain little latency. I am satisfied with the outcome.
* From multiple purpose to inkjet, and photo to postcards printer, Epson is always the best choice. However, as a printer, the sunk ongoing cartridge cost is what matter most. Buy models which you can find inexpensive compatible ink online. Like I could have this icbk31, icc42, icm43 & icy42 compatible ink set for my Epson PX-V630(up to 5760×1440dpi) for less than 5 bucks from Rakuten Japan.
* External HDD- I use I•O Data HDPC U500K since day one when I came to Japan on 2007. It has a really nice round corners and compact streamline design. 500GB might seem little though compares with today's standard.
* USB Flash Memory- Price has dropped tremendously, but it doesn't mean you can pickup any brands that sell on the shelf. Go pick Buffalo, Kingston, Memore & Sandisk, you sure won't feel regret.
* Tablet- No complain for my Amazon Kindle Fire for ebook reading and wifi usage. The only issue it has is the select, copy & paste functions for text.
* Smartphone- iPhone4s & 5 are my first and second smartphones. I can't think of anything else.
* Mobile Phone- Japan mobile industry ahead of the world more than a decade before smartphone. Even before the born of iPhone, mobile phone in Japan already could watch tv, serve as train pass, shopping, browsing, emailing, messaging and more. Of course with the smartphone era, this technology advance has long gone. But picking one of the best mobile brand from it. I will pick Sharp.
* Charger Adapter- From Apple to any other devices, don't use anything else but the original charger/ charging adapter, you can tell the different right from the charging speed. That's why you have to pay 2000 yen compares with those 200 yen's one from Akihabara.
* Portable Charger- The best one I used so far is Sanyo Smart Energy LU02 (3.7V/ 4900mAh) from Softbank. It can charge two devices concurrently together with 2A in total. The charging speed won't disappoint you either. The price tag for this high quality device is 8000+ yen.
* Flat Panel Television- 3 years ago, landed my first flat panel tv in 27 inch Sanyo LCD 26SX300, then found out that it was too tiny compare with my 300 square feet living room. I am happy with quantity and price- 500,000 JPY, but next time when you buying your new tv, please compare the space of your living room beforehand.
* DVD Player- JVC always stand out for the multi-regions DVD player.
* Camera-My first digital camera had 8/16MB build-in memory, it could hold up to about 30 pictures. Then it used a cable to connect to the PC in order to transfer pictures. It was such a classic. My second camera was Canon PowerShot A95. A 5.0 megapixel camera with plenty of features. It was broken when I dropped it on the floor. If I can fix it, I will say this is the best camera to own. 5.0 megapixel is actually good enough for most regular home users. My latest camera is Casio Exilim, which is a family gift. Needless to say, it is an inexpensive camera. What can you ask for?
* Electronic Dictionary- My old Seiko SR series saved my first year of life In Japan. Then I broke it myself by directly sitting on the unit. Luckily, they fixed for me for 10,000 yen, and even better they upgraded my model to SR-G7000M and which I am still using until today. Seiko is sure the only electronic stationery you will ever need.
