Home > Buying Guides > Holiday Buying Guide 2004 > Page 2

Portable DVD player
A portable DVD player would make a great gift for anyone who spends a lot of time in a car, the train to work, or flying in a plane. They're instant entertainment to pass the time. While these used to cost as much as some laptops, they're now down to well under $200 for players with a 7" screen. There's not a lot of difference between the different brands, they all do pretty much the same thing, and the screens are small enough so they all look pretty good. The best deal I've seen:

Malata 7" portable DVD player - $141 after rebate

Amazon has this player for $171 - $30 rebate = $141. Has 7" widescreen display, remote, rechargeable battery, and everything else you'd expect to find in a portable DVD player.

Save $30 on this by applying for the Amazon.com Visa card and get an automatic $30 gift certificate in your account when you pay with the card.

HDTV
I know you probably drool when you look at the newest thin and sexy LCD and plasma displays at the stores. They are so cool, but I have to tell you, I'm definitely holding off. First, although their prices continue to fall, they are very expensive. Second, those thin displays just don't have the black levels that a regular CRT television has so details in dark scenes get lost. Third, there just isn't enough HDTV programming. Depending on your area, you may receive very few programs in HD. On many HDTVs, standard television looks really bad and stretched out. Finally, there a few new technologies that are coming out very soon that will make HDTVs better and cheaper. For all these reasons, I recommend saving some money until there is more HD programming and cheaper HDTVs by going with the CRT-based HDTVs.

Sanyo 30" Widescreen HD TV With Integrated ATSC Tuner - $647

Believe it or not, I'm recommending you buy your HDTV from Walmart. Before you start thinking I've lost my mind, hear me out. This is a CRT television that utilizes the same kind of technology as your current old TV. So, yes, it's kind of heavy and definitely won't hang on your wall. But, LCD and plasma screens still cannot beat the HD picture of a CRT television. You get the deepest blacks so you see all the detail in dark scenes. Plus, this TV comes with an integrated HD tuner. This is almost unheard of and it makes this TV's price even more amazing. The integrated tuner means all you have to do is hook an antenna to it and you can get free over-the-air HD signals (if you live in an area that can receive signals) without an external tuner. HD tuners cost $200 and up. Just go to Walmart and take at look at this TV, you'll be amazed. I've read forums about this TV and videophiles are saying that they hate to do it, but they actually have bought an HDTV from Walmart.

SANYO 32" HDTV w/ Integrated ATSC Tuner - $697

This TV is almost the same as the one above, but it is a 32" screen in the standard 4:3 ratio of older televisions. It also has an integrated HD tuner so you can watch HDTV without a cable box or external tuner. This TV is great if you want HDTV, but you watch a lot of programs that aren't broadcast in widescreen HD format. For example, this TV will look great with HD signals, but if you watch a lot of Seinfeld reruns in standard format, those will look good too because they won't have to be stretched out to fit a widescreen.

If you buy one of these TVs, you'll actually have a better picture than all those people that spent $3,000 on their LCDs or plasmas, and in a couple years (when everything will be in HD) you'll be able buy a better TV than theirs for way less money.

Digital audio players
The market is flooded with MP3 players. This is great for you because now you can find great deals. I'm sure you've seen the iPod, or at least heard of it. But you're not going to find any iPods on this list. Yes, they're great, but they are way too expensive and there are so many other products that are just as good. Your choices in this category are the small, solid-state memory players that are best for jogging and working out because they have no moving parts, small hard drive-based players that hold 4-5GB of music, and the bigger (but still very small) 20-60GB hard drive-based players.

Solid-state players

Creative Labs NOMAD MuVo TX FM 256 MB MP3 Player - $83

This thing is tiny. Simply plug it into your USB port and it shows up as a drive automatically so you can transfer music or data files (no special software required). Also acts as a voice recorder and has an FM tuner. 256MB will give you about 4 hours of music. Transfers music fast over USB 2.0. Comes with an armstrap and case with clip. It uses just 1 AAA battery that lasts for 15 hours.

Buy the Creative Labs Muvo TX 256MB from Buy.com for $83 shipped.

TDK MOJO F256 256MB Portable MP3 Player - $75 shipped after rebate

While I really like the Muvo TX above, it lacks a feature that I really like in an MP3 player - upgradeability. The TDK Mojo has 256MB of onboard memory, plus you can add memory by inserting an SD card. SD cards have gotten extremely cheap lately, so you could easily and cheaply turn your 256MB MP3 player into something much bigger. It also features an FM tuner. The downside? The Mojo is only USB 1.1 so it will take a little longer to transfer your music. It also requires you to use its software to transfer music. Minor quibbles for a brand name player with such a low price tag.

Buy the TDK MOJO F256 256MB Portable MP3 Player at J and R for $100 - $30 rebate = $70 + around $5 shipping.

<Previous Next>