Gift Ideas Under $100
Tech treats on a budget.Laurianne McLaughlin and Brad Grimes
High-tech gadgets don't have to set you back hundreds of dollars. Some of the latest cool technology can be had on the cheap. Here are a few of our favorites:
Sony EyeToy. Game consoles keep getting cooler and more tech savvy. Sony's new $50 EyeToy accessory for the PlayStation 2 is something totally different. Attach this mini camera to your PS2 via a USB cord and suddenly you become part of the game. The camera senses your movements, so now you can kick, swing, and jump in front of your TV, and your movements are reflected on screen. The camera comes with EyeToy: Play, a series of small games designed to show off the EyeToy's abilities. Down the road, you'll be able to play first-person shooter games by crouching in front of your TV and stalking the enemy--provided you don't mind if neighbors look at you funny when they pass by your window.
Palm Zire 21. The $99 Zire 21 is Palm's newest consumer-minded PDA. It handles contacts, calendars, and to-do lists through intuitive software and a convenient form factor. For the non-techies in the family, this Palm replaces that messy drawer in the kitchen that holds old address books and calendars, plus all the random notes strewn about the house. Weighing in at 3.8 ounces, this model has 8MB of memory (whereas older models had just 2MB). Note that it doesn't have a color screen or a backlight, so it's hard to use in darkened areas like a car at night. For more demanding PDA users, check out Palm's new $399 Tungsten T3 and $199 Tungsten E models.
Logitech QuickCam Orbit. Webcams are great for a quick face-to-face chat over the Internet, but you always have to place your mug right in front of the camera or risk disappearing from view. Not with the $130 QuickCam Orbit: The camera senses your movements and follows you around the room. You can stand up to demonstrate a party trick and the QuickCam Orbit keeps you in the picture.
Lexar Media 256MB JumpDrive Portable USB 2.0 Flash Drive. This tiny one-pound gadget travels with you and holds large files like photos, MP3 tracks, or presentations. Just hook it up to any machine with a USB 2.0 port to get at the files. It will prove handy for people who frequently switch between systems or who need an easy way to store files when they're on the go. And with a price around $70, it won't bust your shopping budget.
Atari 10-in-1 TV Games, Namco 5-in-1 TV Games. Remember when Pac Man was the height of techno-cool? Travel back in time and enjoy the arcade and Atari games of your preteen years with these low-cost joysticks/game consoles. They have just enough memory to hold classic games like Centipede and Pong (Atari), and Pac-Man and Dig Dug (Namco). Just add batteries, connect the joystick to your TV, and you're set for hours of mindless, no-muss, no-fuss fun. Made by JAKKS Pacific, they go for about $20 each at mass retailers. There's even an Activision 10-in-1 TV Games model for playing Atlantis, Pitfall, and River Raid.