Category: $500 and Under

They're tiny (enough for a handbag), fast (Linux) and resilient (all-solid-state memory and storage). And unlike the beauty from Cupertino, their price tag matches their stature. Check out our hands-on video with the Everex Cloudbook and the Asus eeePC. Related Links: Switched Laptop Guide 2008 Best Laptops Under $500 ...

Vudu $399, vudu.com About as big as a Mac Mini, the Vudu box gives you access to over 5,000 movies for rent or purchase. Vudu uses the same peer-to-peer technology that pirates use to illegally swap movies online, but for good purposes like letting you watch a movie instantly even though it's not done downloading. The service just started offering HD movies you'd actually want to watch – ...

Sure, the Amazon Kindle -- the electronic book reader with the easy-on-the-eyes, glare-free E-Ink screen -- may have stolen all the hype this holiday season, but it's sold out and going for $1,000 or more on eBay. So what's a gift giver who wants to wow an avid reader to do? Well, we've been playing around with both portable-book-reading devices and think that the Sony Reader is a fine ...

A reader writes: I'm getting ready to go on vacation for the holidays, and I want to bring along a small point-and-shoot digital camera. Thing is, I want the thing to be able to do a little bit of everything, so I'm willing to spend around $300. I'm mostly concerned about picture quality, fast movement, and lots of flexibility in terms of lighting situations as I'll be taking pictures both during ...

Do we send too many discounts and deals your way? Hardly. In gift-giving, it is indeed the thought that counts but that doesn't mean you should also count away all your dollars when we can easily help you save a few. Something you may not know is you can often find great deals at so-called regional electronics chains instead of only relying on the big nationals or Amazon.com. And the good news ...

Do we have a deal or three for you! This week it was easy to find a few good prices on product the big box electronics retailers are trying to move off their Web sites. Some small items, some big. All still in time for you to be the Santa of everyone's dreams. (We couldn't find a good deal on coal, so we hope there are no naughty boys or girls on your lists.) Find your way to BestBuy.com for a ...

Hype Check: Amazon Kindle Last week, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos unveiled the Kindle, a new electronic book reader that has quickly become one of the hottest gifts of the holiday season (in fact, the device's first run sold out in a mere 5 and a half hours!). We got our hands on one and have been busy browsing, buying, downloading and reading e-books, -magazines, -newspapers, and blogs for the ...

Real video hounds want lots of space for their movies, shows, and podcasts, and Apple's latest $349 iPod Classic 160 Gigabyte(GB) truly delivers: It'll hold 40,000 songs, 25,000 photos, or 200 hours of video, all while having a smaller form factor than its predecessors. Sure, it's no iPod Touch with it's big screen and slim form, but that sexier arriviste only has 16-gigabytes of memory, hardly ...

So the little (or big) runner in your life is getting a little bored with running to that same mix tape from the 90s. After all, Pearl Jam isn't terrible exercise-inducing. With the Nike+ Gift Pack, you can pick up everything your athlete needs to start jogging with some serious tech. Inside the box, they will find an 8-gig ipod Nano, a $100 NikeStore gift card for a new set of shoes, a 30 ...

Halo fanboys probably already own an Xbox 360, but not one of these Xbox 360s -- the Halo 3 Special Edition Console, that is, which (for $400) comes complete with a Halo 3 Green Wireless Controller, Halo 3 20GB Hard Drive, Halo 3 Wired Headset, Component HD AV Cable, Ethernet Network Cable, Play & Charge Kit (but, oddly, not a copy of Halo 3). The Special Edition Spartan green and gold ...

Speaking of all-singing, all-dancing robots: From the same folks who brought Robosapien into the world of humanoids, comes this freakily realistic animatronic Elvis bust. For King worshippers (obviously), or anybody who's bored by their piles of the latest gadgets, the WowWee Alive Elvis ($330) comes pre-loaded with 20 licensed songs, 37 spoken-word Elvis-isms, and Infra-Red (IR) sensors that ...

Sony's all-singing, all-dancing music/speaker/playing/thingamabob has finally touched down (in Japan, at least), and it's every inch the head-scratcher we thought it would be. The Sony Rolly is a motion-controlled device, with sensors that tell it which way is up. In other words, it's a music-playing robotic orb from the same people who brought you Aibo. Confused? It doesn't matter -- just ...

If you don't already know, now you do: This is the must-have party game of the year. Rock Band takes the Guitar Hero concept (it's made by the folks who created the first two Guitar Heroes, Harmonix), and merges it with Karaoke Revolution and a sophisticated drumming simulation. It comes complete with virtual guitar/bass, drum set, and microphone -- and 58 songs (Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't ...