THE BEST CHEAP HOLIDAY GIFTS
Best Cheap Gifts
Under $200| Once you start climbing the price ladder, all kinds of cool consumer electronics will make their way onto your gift list. If your loved ones keep getting lost, you can help them find their way with a GPS navigator. A digital camera will help them share their special moment with you (and with the rest of the world on Facebook). And for those who prefer the moving image, a camcorder or Blu-ray player is this year's budget ticket to an ongoing stream of home video or feature films. Lest we forget those low-tech types who prefer exercising to digitizing, an exercise bike or jogging stroller will fit the bill. All for less than $200. |
Magellan RoadMate 1340 GPS
Getting lost on the way to a meeting or during a leisurely drive in unfamiliar territory is never any fun. The Magellan RoadMate 1340, with voice prompts, lane assist, and more points of interest than you'll ever have time to check out, will keep you on the straight and narrow. Users say it does a good job rerouting lost drivers, though its one drawback is the absence of a widescreen display. If that's a must-have feature, the TomTom XL 340S or Garmin nüvi 250W would be good choices.
Nikon Coolpix L20 Digital Camera
Consider it a fair trade: you give someone a digital camera as a gift and they give you lots of pictures in return. A high quality inexpensive choice is the all-automatic Nikon Coolpix L20, which features a 3 inch screen, 10 megapixel resolution, and 3.6x zoom lens. Amateur photographers rave about the high-quality images, easy handling, and appealing aesthetics. Novices will be happy with the uncomplicated Fujifilm FinePix J38 and seasoned users will take to the Canon A1100IS with its myriad controls and settings.
Flip Mino HD Digital Camcorder
Recording and sharing videos gets easier by the day. So give someone you love the Flip Mino HD and then sit back and enjoy the end result. This super-small (it fits in a pocket!) camcorder produces high definition video at the flick of a button and decent image quality given its size. There's no need for tape and FlipShare software makes uploading, organizing, enhancing (with music and titles), and sharing videos a snap. Unlike the older Flip which was only PC friendly, this new model is also compatible with Macs and iMovie.
Samsung BD-1600
Given the high probability that you and the family share some couch-potato genes, this may be the moment to add a Blu-ray player to your entertainment arsenal. The Samsung BD-1600 is one of the new-generation players featuring the 2.0 profile, which gets you BD-Live and 1GB of storage; it also supports Netflix and Pandora. This may not be a top-of-the-line model, but users and experts say you get decent performance for a very reasonable price. Of course, you can come dangerously close to splurge territory and spring for a Panasonic DMP-BD60K, which wins positive reviews for great picture quality and easy firmware updates.
