The Cheapskate

(Credit: Samsung)

The good news: RefurbDepot.com has the Samsung CLP-300 color laser printer for $125.95, which is a pretty sweet bargain. The bad news: It's a slowpoke, and output quality is just so-so. So says CNET, anyway, which rated the printer 6.3/10.

Of course, given that an entry-level monochrome laser will run you around $100, why not spend a little extra so you can churn out color prints when the mood strikes? The CLP-300 does have a 150-sheet input tray, easy-access toner canisters, and a relatively compact design (15.4 x 13.5 x 10.4 inches). Alas, there's no network interface, only USB.

Although it's a refurb, it comes in a factory-sealed box with all-new supplies and a 90-day warranty. If you've been looking for a cheap color laser, well, you've found one.

(Credit: Circuit City)

Smile! Circuit City has the Samsung S730 7.2-megapixel digital camera for $90.99 after an instant rebate. But wait, there's more: Toss the Epson R280 photo printer into your cart and get it free after a $75 mail-in rebate.

The S730 is an ultra-compact model with a 2.5-inch LCD, 3x optical zoom, and 10 scene modes. I haven't tried it myself, but CNET readers gave it an average rating of 8.3/10. As for the R280 printer, it's a six-color model that promises to crank out borderless 4x6-inch prints in as little as 11 seconds. It can also print on compatible CD and DVD media.

Because this is Circuit City, you'll likely end up paying sales tax in addition to shipping (unless you pick everything up in-store, in which case you'll just pay the tax). No word on how long the camera will be on sale; the free-after-rebate printer deal expires on January 12.

(Credit: Coby)

Many people erroneously assume that an HDTV automatically makes everything look better: TV, movies, their living rooms. The reality, of course, is that without high-definition video sources, images can look rather disappointing. A typical DVD player, for instance, produces only 480 horizontal lines of video; HDTVs are optimized for 720 or 1080 lines, which is why your DVD of The Matrix looks like poop.

One option is to spring for an HD DVD or Blu-ray player, but they're expensive, and there's that whole format-war thing. Bleh. A better option, at least short term, is an upconverting DVD player, which makes all your standard DVDs look a helluva lot better courtesy of some pixel-scaling wizardry.

Buy.com has the Coby DVD-283 upconverting DVD player for $34.99, shipping included. The player includes an HDMI output, so it's ideally suited for modern HDTVs. Granted, Coby is, um, well, let's just say the brand isn't spoken in the same breath as Sony or Toshiba. But for 35 bucks, how can you go wrong? This is a cheap and effective stop-gap solution while you wait for the HD DVD and Blu-ray camps to make peace.

(Credit: Plantronics)

In the perfect utopia that exists only inside my head, all cell phones and MP3 players incorporate A2DP, also known as stereo Bluetooth. As a result, they're all compatible with stereo Bluetooth headsets like the Plantronics Voyager 855, which CNET rated 8/10, and which Newegg currently has on sale for $57.99, shipped. That's a pretty big savings over the $149.95 list price.

During business hours, the Voyager 855 functions as a fairly standard headset, albeit one with a cool sliding boom mic. When you want to get your groove on, you just connect the second earpiece and presto: stereo earbuds. Once you've experienced the ecstasy of walking around with your phone in your pocket and music piping wirelessly into your head, you'll never go back to corded headphones.

Just make sure your phone supports A2DP. Many models do, but for some reason it's not available on all handsets (cough Palm Centro cough). And it's pretty much AWOL on MP3 players, which mystifies me because (as I may have mentioned) wireless earbuds rawk.

Anyway, I've used the Voyager 855 myself, and while I like the noise-canceling nature of the earbuds, I agree with CNET's reviewer that sliding the boom mic does kill the fit. Still, music sounds great, and $57.99 is less than you'd pay for many non-stereo headsets. And now, back to my personal utopia, where my 60GB iPod touch supports A2DP. Ahhh.

(Credit: Symantec)

I have a confession: I've been running my Windows XP system sans anti-virus software for many months. Crazy? Perhaps, but I consider spyware a much bigger threat these days, and I'm well-protected against it. I also detest the wallet-draining performance anchor that is anti-virus software.

How's that for a rousing recommendation of Norton AntiVirus 2008! Today only, you can get it from Fry's for $0 after a $50 mail-in rebate. This is the 3-user edition, meaning you can install it on up to three PCs, and it also includes anti-spyware protection and rootkit detection. Plus, Symantec promises much faster scanning and operation in this version, though I have my doubts. Of course, it's free, so if it bogs down your system, you can always uninstall it, no harm done.

Norton AntiVirus 2008 requires Windows XP or Vista. Frys.com requires blinders: It has to be the ugliest online store I've ever seen.

(Credit: eCost)

If you're a regular Cheapskate visitor (and my deep thanks if you are), you may recall the $99 GPS from earlier this month. It sold out fast, but now you have a second chance: The Holux GPSmile 52 Plus (known in some quarters as the GPSmile 53A) is available now from eCost for $99 (after a $35 mail-in rebate).

The GPSmile 52 Plus includes a 3.5-inch touchscreen, preloaded maps, a SirfstarIII chipset, and a windshield mount. You can even use it as an MP3 and video player (though I have to ask: Does anyone actually use those features?). Interestingly, because the GPS runs Windows CE, a little tweaking makes it possible to unlock the unit and install different mapping software (if you're into that sort of thing).

The GPSmile 52 Plus is new, not refurbished. The rebate deal expires today, so act fast!

(Credit: TigerDirect)

BioShock. Crysis. Call of Duty 4. These and other suh-weet new games require a generous helping of video power. If your system is more than a couple years old, or you bought a budget desktop with an integrated graphics processor, you'll have to run your games at low resolutions without any of those dazzling eye-candy effects. That's assuming they'll run at all: Many of them require a video card with at least 128MB of RAM.

I recently upgraded my aging Pentium 4 box with a GeForce 8600 GT-based video card, much like the one currently available from TigerDirect: It's the XFX GeForce 8600 GT XXX with 256MB of RAM, DirectX 10 support, an SLI interface (in case you later decide to pair it with a second card for some serious graphics horsepower), and a copy of the excellent wargame Company of Heroes. You supply the PCI Express slot; it'll supply the high-res gaming goodness.

Your mileage may vary, of course, but I've been running BioShock on my widescreen monitor with nearly all the effects amped up, and it's smooth as silk. (And what a fantastic game, by the way.) The XFX card will run you $99.99 plus shipping, after a $30 mail-in rebate. Definitely a worthwhile upgrade, though gaming experts would likely suggest spending another $75 or so on the GTS version. For casual gamers like me, however, this is a plenty powerful card.

(Credit: Hanns-G)

Still squinting into that old 17-inch LCD? Might be time for an upgrade. Widescreen monitors are all the rage nowadays, and with good reason: They're great for games, movies, TV, and even productivity (more screen estate means more room for windows, less scrolling, yada yada yada). I recently sprung for a 22-incher and couldn't be happier with it.

It's rare to find an LCD of that size selling for under $200, but Newegg.com has a deal that comes close: The Hanns-G HG-216DPO 22-inch widescreen LCD for $209, shipped. And no rebates!

Hanns-G isn't a household name, but the monitor appears to have all the right stuff: a 5ms response time (crucial for games and movies), 1680x1050 maximum resolution, and... an HDMI port? Yep, the HG-216DPO can double as an HDTV, provided you connect an HD source like a cable box, TiVo, PS3, etc. It even has built-in speakers, though let's not fool ourselves into thinking they're anything but stop-gap audio.

Do keep in mind that if you're planning to use the LCD as a monitor, you'll likely need a DVI-to-HDMI cable. Although it does have a standard analog VGA port, you'll get the best results from a digital connection.

(Credit: Apple)

It's really rare to find a deal on iPods (unless you're shopping the Apple store for refurbs), but Amazon has a doozy: The 8GB iPod Nano for $179.99, shipped. This is the new 3rd-gen model, the one with the 2-inch screen and ridiculously wafer-thin design. (I know this is going to sound weird, but I just want to pop the little guy in my mouth. You just can't appreciate how cute and tiny and, well, tasty-looking it is until you hold one.)

Equally rare, you get a choice of colors: blue, green, black, or silver. Plus, these are new units, not refurbs, and they qualify for Amazon's free-shipping deal. Granted, the savings amount to just $20, so maybe "doozy" is too strong a word--but like I said, it's unusual to see any kind of discount on iPods. Get this one before it's gone.