Digital Trend’s Scott Steinberg Talks Gadget Gifts Under $100

It’s that time of year again when our thoughts turn to turkey, pumpkin pie, and lots and lots of holiday gift shopping. In a soured economy, many folks are looking to scale back on big ticket purchases, but that doesn’t mean that you need to distribute crap gifts.

There are plenty of gems available this holiday season that will bring smiles and cheer to the recipients, so we tapped Scott Steinberg, publisher of the wonderfully informative Digital Trends, for his suggestions for kick ass presents that you can purchase for under $100.

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ (starting at $49.99)
You may want to take a look at the Clip+, the new media player from SanDisk. We’re seeing a lot of these budget, pocket music players. The nice part about it is that it’s like the iPod Shuffle in that is very minute, and it clips onto your backpack or jean. It has a microSD slot on it, so you can insert your own microSD card filled with stuff from iTunes or Amazon.

iPhone 3G ($99.99)
The iPhone 3G is a great value at $99. I essentially call them personal digital lifestyle hubs, but I personally feel compelled to kick my own ass for using words like that. Basically, the iPhone 3G has a pricey data plan, but for the business person, it’s essentially a laptop replacement. You can surf the web, check e-mail, and download all of these apps that add an incredible array of functionality, so you can do invoicing, billing, inventory management–even games and music.

Gift a Downloadable Video Game
What is better than waking up on a holiday, purchasing a new game, and having it downloaded instantaneously? The beauty of it is that there are some fantastic games that are happening away from retail shelves. Shadow Complex, which is a spy/thriller take on Metroid, is on the high end at around $20, but downloadable games typically go for $10-$15. On the PC you have even more options like Steam or Goodoldgames. Downloading games direct to your hard drive is one of the fastest, coolest trends out there and in fact makes a terrific stocking stuffer. The savvy shopper will recognize it’s a great value.

DJ Hero ($99.99)
Not everyone has updated to even a Wii at this point, let alone a PS3 or Xbox 360. DJ Hero you can pick that up for $99.99 on the PlayStation 2. Lets not forget that there are well over 100 million of those consoles out there, so there a huge install base. Its a DJ simulation with an actual turntable and you get to remix music and ad your own samples. The whole family will get a kick out of it. You’re not seeing a ton of new software for the PlayStation 2, but DJ Hero is a convincing reason why you don’t need to throw it out, or put in in a yard sale.

Give A Subscription
Netflix? Now that’s Hollywood’s gift to mankind. You don’t have to buy someone a full annual subscription, you can buy in increments. Gamefly (starting at $8.95 per month), and I hate to keep harking on video games here, is also a great rental service. If you’re a music lover, getting a Rhapsody (starting at $12.95 per month) all-you-can eat account is much better than buying a CD. For the cost of a couple of albums on iTunes, you’re able to have access to hundreds of thousands of more tracks. The catch being that as soon as you stop subscribing, because of the DRM, you no longer own them.

Photo credit:  davdibiase

Last-Minute Tips for a Stress-Free and Budget-Friendly Turkey Day

Thanksgiving is only days away and you may have been too busy tying up loose ends at the office before the long weekend to think about what your plans are for T-day. Don’t fret just yet.   Jeanette Pavini, Coupons.com’s Household Savings Expert, has you covered for last-minute tips that’ll help you plan and save money.

Make a List

The first thing you should do, Pavini suggests, is list everything you need so you can account for your expenses. Once you’re done, review it to see what you can cut. If you stick to just those items, it’ll keep you from overspending or splurging on items you don’t need.

Listing the dishes you want to serve is a good idea too. Get an exact head count of who’s attending and create your menu — and quantities — accordingly. And keep your food variety in check. “You really don’t need three veggie dishes!” Pavini reminds.

Do Your Research

Search for coupons for each item on your list. “You will score the best deals by doing your homework,” Pavini said. Check the circulars to see which stores have your items on sale and search online at places like coupons.com and manufacturer sites for printable coupons. “It’s free money!” Pavini said. Some grocery stores even offer a free turkey if you spend a certain amount of money.

Be a Techie

According to Pavini, “new technology makes saving money easier and more accessible than ever.” Coupons.com offers new mobile features for on-the-go shoppers. For all you iPhone junkies, there’s Grocery iQ, an app that allows you to manage your shopping lists, sync them between two phones, add coupons and photograph an item’s bar code to automatically add it to your list.

For those that don’t have the luxury of an iPhone, the site has a mobile app for everyone else that lets you browse and clip coupons to email to yourself or print wirelessly. So you can browse and clip during your commute, pick up your printed coupons from home and start shopping!

Substitute

Little substitutes here and there can go a long way. “Day-old bread is half the price and perfect for stuffing or bread pudding,” according to Pavini. And there’s no harm in getting a less expensive wine for dinner. You can put it in a beautiful decanter to give it some elegance, Pavini suggests. And if you’re only cooking for a few people, “a turkey breast is the way to go over a full turkey.”

Spend (A Little) Time, Not (A lot of) Money

Don’t underestimate your creativity and resourcefulness. Decorations on your list of items? “Instead of buying a centerpiece, make your own eye-catching arrangement from pinecones and branches found outside your home.”

Rely On Your Guests

The hostess in you may be inclined to decline your guest’s offer to bring something to dinner, but there’s no harm in accepting. When someone offers to bring a side, dessert, anything, take them up on it. “If you don’t, you’ll end up with enough wine to fill a cellar.”

Ditch the Plastic

Just like during any other shopping venture, credit and debit cards can be dangerous at the grocery story. Pay with cash, Pavini suggests, to ensure that you only spend what you want and don’t go over budget.

Photo credit:  ramsey everydaypants

10 Cheapest Turkeys in the City

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Turkey Day Treats and Sweets

Thanksgiving is a day for football, family, friends and most importantly: food. So whether you’re hosting the big dinner at your humble abode or heading to the in-laws, you need to come up with something delicious. Here are some recipes to accompany your turkey or satisfy your sweet tooth after your hefty meal — and they’re all under $5. Read more

Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012: An Excellent Low-Cost PC

Penny-pinching PC purchasers whose fancies lean toward budget computing have enabled netbooks (low-cost, lightweight PCs that typically cost anywhere from $350 to $500), to become the fast growing segment in the portable computing marketplace. If you more of a desktop person, however, you may be thoroughly surprised at just how much computer you can get for $329–a slick PC about the size of a hardcover book. Allow me to introduce you to the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012.

The specs:

* Windows 7 Home Premium Operating System
* 1.6-GHz Intel Atom 330 CPU
* NVIDIA GeForce 9400M GPU
* 2GB RAM
* 160GB hard drive
* 6 USB ports (two front, four back)
* HDMI
* eSATA
* VGA
* Memory card reader
* 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi radio

The first thing you’ll notice about the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012 when you remove it from the box is it’s remarkably svelte build. This desktop computer is about the size of a hardcover book and weighs about as much. Due to its small build, the nettop can be easily toted from room to room if need be, or stashed into your entertainment center to serve as media center.

Like the 10-inch Acer Aspire One netbook that we reviewed earlier this year, this nettop is designed for light computing such as web-surfing, checking e-mail, and updating Twitter, but it packs a snappier dual-core Atom CPU that enables it to operate with extra punch. What is dual-core? Well, to break it down in a way that won’t require a PhD to decipher, a single-core CPU (such as in the aforementioned 10-inch Acer Aspire One netbook) is the equivalent of a single lane of traffic on a busy street; it gets the job done, but could use some help. A dual-core CPU is the digital equivalent of adding a second lane, allowing that same amount of traffic to flow more efficiently.

That meager Atom CPU is paired with Nvidia’s 9400M as part of the “Ion” platform, which lets you do a surprising amount in such a small machine. While ION-less notebooks and nettops choke on mid-range games like Spore, ION let us play the game on the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012. Firing up the Street Fighter IV benchmarking demo program required me to lower the resolution and graphics to their lowest settings to get the game moving at a blistering 56.5 frames per seconds, but the game still looked relatively good (much better than it does in this still shot) and I was quite happy in knowing that I could play Capcom’s fighter on the nettop.

Naturally, the experience wasn’t as robust as what you’d find with a pricier system with a more potent CPU and GPU, but the jaggies were quite tolerable, especially when you factor in the money saved.

Even better, with monitors and televisions going high-definition on recent years, ION smoothly handles high-definition video. When I downloaded the HD version of Iron Man from iTunes, the spectacularly awesome action wasn’t at all hindered by the hardware.

Where the hardware did stumble a bit was when I tried to stream full screen HD content from Hulu. The Atom processor can’t quite handle the hi-def internet video, and the Flash format hasn’t been boosted to take advantage of the Nvidia GPU, but that fix is supposedly coming soon from Adobe.

As such, the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012 makes a pretty sweet, low-cost multimedia hub when paired with a monitor (like the 21.5-inch Acer H213H) via HDMI. Plus, the eSATA port and six (count ‘em!) six, USB ports will allow you to hook up an external storage drive to play music, or check out movies or photos on a big screen. Acer kindly includes a wireless keyboard and mouse so you can kick back in the easy chair without being tied to the PC. A small pair of wired speakers are also bundled with this slick little PC.

What the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012 doesn’t have, however, is a monitor, which helps keeps the price low. Chance are, however, that if you’re a computer user, you have at least one in your home. It also lacks a CD/DVD, which gives the PC its slim bod.

Priced at $329, it’s hard to go wrong with Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012, a computer that an blend near-invisibly into your desktop or multimedia area. It’s good for every day computing light-to-mid-range gaming, and multimedia. Once Adobe releases the Flash update for HD video streaming,  the Acer AspireRevo R3610-U9012 will get even better. If you’re looking for a low-cost, non-bulky desktop this holiday season, this is the one to get.

Broke-Ology Star, Francois Battiste on How to Be Broke

We know of plenty of major fields of study: Psychology, Philosophy, Anthropology. But there’s one study I wish they would have taught me more about in college:  Broke-ology-the study of being broke.  It comes from the great mind of Ennis King, played by Francois Battiste, in the aptly-titled production now playing at the Lincoln Center Theater.

“Broke-ology,” written by Nathan Louis Jackson, chronicle’s the lives of the King family as they deal with the absence of wife and mother, Sonia, played by Crystal A. Dickinson, and decay of the family’s patriarch, William, played by Wendell Pierce. As Ennis’ younger brother, Malcolm, Alano Miller holds the role of the younger brother who returns from college, faced with the difficult decision of whether to remain with his father, who is suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, or return to Connecticut for a well-paying job. As Ennis, Battiste played a man who has a baby on the way, a job he hates and the difficult task of making ends meet. “Broke-ology” was thought-provoking and brimming with emotion. It was about being “stuck” and wanting better from life; about the power of love and what it can lead one to do.

Chicago native Francois Battiste knows a lot about the study he so proudly announced he invented as Ennis King — that of being broke.  After  professionally acting in Chicago for 3 years at places like Victory Gardens, Lookingglass Theatre and the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, Battiste made the move to New York in 2002 to attend Julliard. Since graduation, he’s had roles in “Prelude to a Kiss,” “Ten Things to do Before I Die,” and “The Good Negro.” Even with such roles under his belt, Battiste says, “I am an actor. In New York City. I’m fully aware of trying to make ends meet.”

Aside from acting, Battiste works with Covenant House, a non-profit organization that sponsors abused and homeless children. As a Trainer for the Tele-Fundraising Division, Battiste says “it’s a job that’s very demanding. However, it allows me the flexibility one must have facing the demands of being an actor in this city.”

New York is expensive and you have to “cut down everywhere you can. I used to joke that you had to pay for oxygen in this city,” Battiste said. Carrying your own lunch, making your own coffee, reading your news online instead of print and skipping the restaurant and getting a great, affordable meal in your own kitchen are all ways to save, he suggests.

And on the rare occasion that Battiste does have free time, his recreational outlets are still budget-friendly. When “the weather agrees, I love to play catch with my wife, perhaps in the park. Or play her in dominoes, or my favorite: Scrabble.” Naturally, Battiste will also try to get to a good theater now and then with the help of the Theatre Development Fund (TDF). Other favorites include the Whitney Museum or museums that have a suggested donation like the MET and Museum of Natural History. And there’s always community service. Helping out, like at a soup kitchen, “is always a way to get outside of yourself, which can transcend your enjoyment in another way, without economic weight,” Battiste said.

Despite the expenses of living in the city, there are still ways to enjoy yourself without blowing all your cash. “NYC is its own planet,” Battiste said. “There’s no other place on earth that forces you onward and upward like the perpetual forward momentum of the rotten apple.”

“Broke-ology” is playing at Lincoln Center Theater through November 22. Tickets can be purchased at half price by phone at (212) 947-8844 or online at www.broadwayoffers.com using the code BOBLOG1. Or you can just click here.

Don’t have the cash to go yourself?  No problem.  Just leave a comment in the comments section with one way you save cash in the Big Apple, and you can win 2 tickets to see Broke-ology, courtesy of us and the nice people over at Lincoln Center.

Note: Limit 6 tickets per purchase.  Subject to availability.  Offer may be revoked at any time.  No retroactive discounts.  Regular service charges apply.

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