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If you are into Electronic Gadgets, you might think that a holiday destination like Bali is not the right place to buy or bargain for the latest toys. Tech hubs like Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok dominate this area in Asia.

In general, you are better off purchasing your new Laptop or Android Smartphone in one of those places. But thankfully, things are changing fast and the population of Bali (and its Expat Community) are getting more and more tech affine. This provides new opportunities to sell IT and gadget gear here also and suppliers make increasingly use of it.

So where are the places to go and get your fix, if you have a gadget addiction?

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Bali – Electronic Gadget Heaven?

Bali has currently between 4-5 Million residents, depending on whom you ask and what season you come here. While most of its population is still working in agriculture or is employed in the tourism industry, electronic helpers like laptops, smartphones and even iPads can increasingly be seen in public. If you think that most of this stuff is imported, you are only partially right, as more and more options are available locally for desperate tech geeks.

IT and Computer Products

Bangkok has its Panthip Plaza or Powerbuy Shops, Kuala Lumpur its Low Yat Plaza, Singapore is blessed with a Funan IT Mall or Sim Lim Tower/Square and Electronic Supermarkets like Challenger, Harvey Norman, Best Denki or Courts. Here you can find great bargains and products with Asia- or even Worldwide warranty. The equivalent to go to in Bali (sans international warranty) is Rimo Center in Denpasar’s Jalan Deponegoro.

While housed in a 3-stories high building with around 100 shops all under one roof, it’s nowhere near as big as its big brethren in the former Asian capitols. Still it has its charm.

Some good bargains can be had here also, if you do your homework and know the standard prices for the stuff you want. The vendors there would have no shame to sell you any electronics for a multiple of what its worth, but if you know its value, you can negotiate your hearts out and leave home with a great deal and without spending time and money on a return flight to an Electronic Haven elsewhere in Asia.

Laptops of Acer, Asus, Toshiba and MSI seem to be the popular Laptop/Notebook brands here, but there are also some Chinese or cheaper local brands.

For nerds, modders or people just looking for the latest software title for bargain prices: In Rimo you can find the full spectrum of PC products and accessories; be it complete PC’s, Laptops, Netbooks, desktop cases, graphic cards, power supplies, hard drives, printers, coolers, cartridges, speakers, mice, joysticks, memory cards, camera and what else.

Also, some Telecom companies have permanent booths here, advertising their internet products like Telkom Speedy, Flash, Smart EVDO and others.

Another central location to visit would be Carrefour in Jalan Sunset/Bypass, as it sells quite an extensive range of household items, IT technology and other Electronics. Most prices seem to be higher though, than for same products in Rimo, although you usually get a better exchange policy or official warranty.

A tip: if your favorite item is out of stock here, head over to Carrefour Dua (the former Alfa Market) just around the corner in Jalan Imam Bonjol, as it sees less customers, but sometimes gets more stock than it can actually sell.

For Apple products, you can head to the main Carrefour building as well, which has an official Apple Center on its 2nd level. There seems to be another one somewhere in Jalan Teuku Umar, although I never saw it, as am not using Apple Products.

Handphone/Mobile Phones and accessories

The best place to go for mobile phones, repair/service and accessories is without question Jalan Imam Bonjol and its extension Teuku Umar.

Especially the later part of Teuku Umar Barat is practically plastered with Phone Shops. Big showrooms with various brands and models are door to door with smaller distributors. Here you can also find most Service Centers of the bigger brands of mass feature phones, like Samsung, Nokia, Sony Ericsson or Nexian, a very competitive local handset manufacturer and overall the Number 2 of phone companies in the country.

Nexian is also working hand in hand with most network providers in the country (ESIA, Telkom, Fren, Indosat, XL, Telkomsel), providing them with more innovative phone models. Besides the normal GSM and CDMA feature phone models, they also offer for instance budget Touchscreen, Dual SIM and even Android phones for budget prices, for which most bigger brands are not willing to compete anymore.

You can get their already cheap handsets even for subsidized prices, if you decide to sign a contract with one of the bigger mobile providers.

Be aware however, that most SIM cards sold here are still prepaid and people are changing their numbers often, when cheaper offers and promotions become available.

If you crave for something more upmarket, Blackberry as well as HTC (Windows Mobile and Android Smartphones) are present in Bali and have a joined shop in Denpasar’s Jalan Panglima Sudiman, near to Robinson’s and McDonalds. Although prices here are around 20-30% higher than in Singapore and if your phone breaks, they will be sent abroad for repair, as the attached service center has only limited repair capabilities, mainly only for software/firmware related problems. Apple’s iPhone is not offcially available in Bali, although some imported ones can be found regularly (along with iPads) appearing in Free Advertising  papers like Bali Advertiser but for exorbitant prices.

For Pulsa (the local equivalent for Top Up/Load or whatever else you want to call your mobile credits), the whole of Bali has small shops selling physical (per Scratch Card) or electronic pulsa at almost every corner. Just be aware that you usually end up paying more than the value you receive, as those sellers usually add between 1K to 4K Rupiah to the value on top of the discounts they already receive by mobile operators.

In the Service Centers of Telkomsel (i.e. Jalan Bypass near Airport, Jalan Diponegoro in DPS), XL (Jalan Bypass opposite Carrefour, Jalan Legian near Cafe Moka), Indosat (Jalan Bypass near Airport) and the like you should be able to get Pulsa without those extra money for middle men, although you would have to drive around a bit.

Entertainment Electronics and Household appliances

The biggest stock of those you can find probably again in Carrefour. Washing Machines, TV’s, DVD Players, but also Coffee Machines, Blenders, Rice Cookers, Electronic Fans, Toasters, Air Con Units. For a broader choice of do-it-yourself items, Ace Hardware near Kuta Galleria could be your choice, with comparable prices and usually great warranty options.

Other options are the larger electronic shops along Jalan Teuku Umar (before the Roundabout and Teuku Umar Barat), with generally lower prices than Carrefour or Ace Hardware.

It pays also to visit the Hardy’s chain of shops, which have lesser choice, but competitive prices. The Ramayana and Matahari chains of shopping centers are similar and comparable to Hardy’s, with mainly Home Electronic, like Stereo/Radios, Watches, Clocks or cooking equipment, while the Hypermarket supermarkets are more like Carrefour, focusing on food and drinks also, but carry home electronics from TV’s to computers as side offers.

Courts (in DPS and Jalan Bypass near the airport) is here also and sells besides its main focus furniture, electronic household devices, home theaters, LCD and Plasma TV’s and home music equipment.

Bintang Supermarket in Jalan Legian should be your last resort, as they carry only a few products with generally higher prices, as they mainly cater to permanents residents and Expats in the Legian/Seminyak area.

The same goes for Bali DFS Mall Galeria, as besides a Hypermarket it mainly houses specialty shops with generally higher prices, catering to rich tourists. A Sony Center can be found here also.

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Another great options to purchase Electronics in Bali could be Online Shopping, unfortunately some of the biggest retailers like Amazon still have Indonesia on their blacklist of countries. Too often things get lost in the shipping process and there are legends of boxes and containers stuck in customs, waiting for their recipients to pick them up for a ‘special fee’, so there is obviously still a bit of catching up to do with the real world.

Where do you get your Electronic Gadget Fix? Did I miss out on some cheaper options with more choice?

Please help to fill the void and comment about your tips and tricks!

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written by Chris