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Posts with tag $250 and under

Audio-Technica QuietPoint Active Noise-Canceling Headphone

Holiday Gift Guide: Audio-Technica QuietPoint Active Noise-Canceling Headphone

Audio-Technica is known for making audiophile-approved products at reasonable prices. Now, noise-canceling headphones can run high, price-wise (like, $300), but Audio-Technica's ATH-ANC7 Noise Canceling Headphones can be had for as little as $120 . And the good news is your frequent-flier audio-buff, uncle (or whomever) will really appreciate the sound these babies can make (and the sound they can hide while, say, in a noisy airplane cabin).


These bad boys are even surprisingly compact, for over-the-ear cans. The cable detaches and the 'phones fold flat for easy storage in the included carrying case. Meanwhile, a=a single AAA battery will keep the active noise cancellation technology running for 40 hours.

Sensors detect and remove 85 percent background noise such as engine drones on a plane, background chatter at the office, or even the sound of hyper ctive children in your living room. You can even ditch the cable and use them to cancel out sound without plugging them into an iPod or portable DVD player.

From Audio-Technica

Zune Originals 8-Gigabyte (GB)



Attempting to differentiate your portable music player from the iPod isn't easy; so Microsoft has taken quite a literal approach, by letting users...well, differentiate their Zunes. Zune Originals are built for those who love to customize: Head to the website and choose your color, text and/or art inscription (there's both an artist series and a tattoo series, with plenty of options for each). The tech isn't bad, either. In fact, the $200 8-gigabyte (GB) Zune player has a great scroll pad, a sharp screen, and best of all, Wi-Fi sync, which means you can transfer music without wires! (You'll still need to plug in to charge, though.) The Originals also come in a 4-gigabyte version if space isn't really an issue (or if price really is).


From Microsoft

Audio-Technica AT-LP2D-USB Digital Turntable

Audio-Technica AT-LP2D-USB Digital Turntable (Music Hound, $250 and Under)

Unplayed since the dawn of the CD era, your Dad's pile of vinyl is just sitting there, collecting dust. Those records look good, smell good, and sound even better. But the potential for wear and tear has relegated them to conversation pieces.

Now, if your Dad (or other vinyl-loving person) had the Audio-Technica AT-LP2D-USB digital turntable system, he could capture the audio of those old records and transfer it to a variety of digital audio formats -- MP3, WAV, WMA, or even just straight to CD. The turntable plugs right into a free USB port on a Mac or PC. Using the included Cakewalk Pyro or Audacity software, users can capture, clean up (if removing those tell-tale vinyl clicks is what someone really wants to do), and store their vinyl music collections for all posterity (or maybe just for an iPod).

List Price is $229, but a little searching can turn up this gem for as little as $101.

From Audio-Technica

Philips AJL308 Alarm Clock/Photo Frame



A perfect bedside item, this all-in-wonder functions as a clock radio, alarm clock, and 7-inch digital picture frame. It's nice and small and cleanly-designed; the dual alarm clock radio will wake you with your favorite FM radio station, or your own MP3s – all while slowly flipping through digital photos of your loved ones (it has a SD/MMC memory card slot and USB connection for actually getting the content onto the device). Or perhaps it's more motivating to wake to pictures of your boss looking angry? On second thought, we wouldn't suggest that. Maybe a picture of a hot cup of coffee instead? Either way, Amazon has them for cheap.

From Philips

iRobot Create



Essentially a highly modifiable Roomba for the programming set, the iRobot Create (starts at $130) is a fully programmable (small, circular) robot. The Create's 10 built-in demos and 32 built-in sensors allow for experimentation with robotics; an open cargo bay and 25-pin expansion port allows you to add your own sensors, grippers, wireless connections, computers, or other hardware to fully trick it out. You'll need Windows XP to communicate with it (robots don't speak English, duh), but otherwise this is the perfect gift for budding robot developers, tech students, and really nerds of any variety. Plus it can clean your floor! Bonus.


From iRobot


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