Consumers looking to buy electronics for holiday gifts won't have to break the bank this season.
Droid: $199, with 2-year contract
The Droid's "iDon't / Droid does" marketing campaign has raised quite a few eyebrows because of its seemingly preposterous suggestion that Verizon's new Motorola smartphone can hold its own against Apple's iconic iconic iPhone.
But the initial reviews are in, and they've been largely positive -- some testers have even said they were pleasantly surprised with the Droid's functionality. It's the first phone to use Google's new open-source Android 2 operating system; it has 10,000 apps and a pull-out physical keyboard.
Though no one expects the Droid to overtake the iPhone in sales or market share, the Droid could serve as a nice alternative to those who prefer Verizon's much stronger 3G network to the iPhone's shaky 3G network offered exclusively by AT&T.
Still, the Droid isn't for everyone. Despite a healthy collection of apps, the iPhone blows the Droid away with 100,000 applications. And the second generation iPhone 3G can be had for $99 for those looking for a less expensive smartphone.
HP Mini 110 series: $299
Laptops are sooo 2007. Their cheaper, smaller, lighter cousins -- netbooks -- are getting better, faster and more practical.
According to James Brehm, consumer electronics analyst with Frost & Sullivan, consumers bought about 500,000 netbooks in 2007, 12 million in 2008 and will likely buy 30 million in 2009.
Most netbooks are still priced at around $350 or more, but some are creeping down below $300 for the holiday season.
One powerful option in the sub-$300 range is the HP mini 110 series, which sports a 160 GB hard drive, 1 GB of memory, Intel Atom processor, built-in Web cam and microphone. Not bad for a 2.3 lb. computer.
But, as with all netbooks, there are a few drawbacks. The HP mini is definitely not a primary PC, and there's no optical drive, which means you can't use it to watch DVDs. And if you're looking for a netbook that can run Windows 7 Starter Edition, look elsewhere -- the HP Mini 110 series is stuck on Windows XP.
PlayStation 3 120GB: $299
The PlayStation 3 isn't the cheapest video game system out there, but its recent $100price cut made it the fastest-selling one.
Sony's third generation PlayStation has had a lot of things going for it since its late-2006 release: in addition to its high-definition graphics, and fantastic game selection, it also sports a Blu-ray disc player.
But the initial $599 price tag ($499 for the smaller version) was steep, even for the most passionate gamers. As a result, the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft XBox 360 left PS3 sales in the dust.
Now, a PS3 can be had for under $300. That's not bad for just a Blu-ray player, never mind a video game system.
If you're looking for something less expensive, the Wii and Xbox 360 Arcade Console are now both available for $199, after both recently sported price cuts.
Flip Ultra: $149
Video cameras have seemingly been added to every handheld device recently, but few cell phone cameras have the clarity and ease of use of a Flip video camera.
The cool new Flip cameras sport just a few buttons, enabling users to simply point, shoot, and start recording hours of video. Want that video in high definition? $50 more will get you a Flip Ultra HD.
When you're done, you can flip the USB connector, plug the camera into your computer, and load your videos onto your computer in minutes. As a result, consumer electronics analysts say the Flip will likely drive the nail into the coffin in what was once a popular camcorder market.
But the Flip hasn't yet won the battle for home movie making. With phone camera resolution steadily improving, multi-use devices like iPods now sporting video cameras, and smartphones gaining the ability to edit videos, it is still left to be seen whether consumers will continue to shell out funds for a separate device.
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Source: CNNMoney.com
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