Stretching your dollar on technology gifts has never been easier than this year. Thanks to a booming market and lots of competition, there are lots of gadgets on the market at lower and lower prices. Spending less than $100 on a technological gift no longer means you can't give someone a top-quality gadget that they'll love.
Here are the five best gadgets for under $100 this year.
PlayStation TV
Giving someone a new major name-brand console no longer means breaking the bank, now that Sony has introduced the PlayStation TV.
While not a PS4, this handy portable console can be used to download and play hundreds of classic PlayStation titles from PS Vita, PS One, PS mini, and PSP systems. And Sony is introducing more and more PS3 games through a beta streaming service that will become more robust throughout the next year.
As an added bonus, if there's already a PlayStation 4 in your recipient's household, the PS TV acts as a second extension-console over WiFi for most of the PS4's popular titles, meaning you're also giving the gift of two-TV multiplayer fun.
Sony set the list price for this innovative mini-console at just under $100, but if your recipient doesn't have a PlayStation DualShock 3 or 4 controller, that's an accessory you'll have to buy, too. Good thing some stores like GameStop are selling the PS TV for well under list price.
Roku 3
Many people have streaming devices connected to their TVs these days, but if you know someone who is behind the times, you can catch them up for a steal.
Roku 3 is one of the easiest streaming boxes to set up and use (which is why it's our pick over the even cheaper, but slightly more challenging streaming dongles like Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire Stick, and Roku's own Streaming Stick).
It's also one of the most flexible, with support for Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Pandora, Hulu Plus, Plex, YouTube, and HBO GO ( as long as they don't currently have Comcast cable) -- plus hundreds of websites and smaller streaming services.
It comes with a remote and an easy-to-use interface, and Roku has been experimenting with streaming from iOS and Android in case they want to get into the casting game.
The Roku 3 -- which sells for under $90 in most stores -- isn't the ideal gadget for the hard-core cord cutters, but for someone who's new to streaming or just wants to watch Netflix on the big screen, it's going to be a big hit.
Amazon Kindle (2014)
Amazon has some pretty high-powered tablets out there, but some people are just interested in having a solid eBook reader without all of the excess. The new Kindle is ideal for them.
Selling for an under $80 list price, the Kindle has 4GB of storage -- plenty of room for as many eBooks as you can read -- which is supplemented by Amazon's free cloud storage. The new Kindle stays with the low-energy consuming e-ink screen, which lasts about four weeks between charges. But it's now a touchscreen as well, making navigation and page flips much more intuitive.
The only downside of this cheap eReader is that it doesn't have a built-in light. For those who are likely to treat an electronic book like a regular book, that's no big deal, but they won't be able to take advantage of nighttime reading without first turning the lamp on.
Garmin Vivofit
For the fitness buffs out there, the Garmin Vivofit is an outstanding fitness tracking wristband for less than $100, with some places online selling it for around $80.
The Vivofit will track all the major daily activities and is waterproof enough that you can go swimming with it on. It's got a simple display that's easy to read and a decent app for iOS, Android, and desktop -- which the Vivofit can wirelessly sync with.
It's such a good fitness tracker, we recently recommended it along with much more expensive rivals. The best part about it? It'll dissolve into the background of your daily life, since its battery life is rated far better than any other fitness tracker: the Vivofit can last a year between charges.
Also previously r ecommended among other, much more expensive rivals: Ultimate Ears MINI Boom portable Bluetooth speakers.
UE MINI BOOM sells for under $100 but can deliver up to 10 hours of music. It has a rated max sound level of 86 dB, which is impressive for a speaker that can fit in a totebag and weighs just over half a pound.
As a bonus, you can connect two UE MINI BOOM speakers wirelessly and they become a stereo array. So if your loved one likes this gift, you know which gadget under $100 to get them for next time, too.
Tagsgift guide, Black Friday 2014, gadgets, Gadgets under $100
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