Best tech and gadgets for under $100

Having the latest and greatest tech doesn't always have to mean breaking the bank. If you want to tinker with smart home tech without spending thousands to get every connected gadget you can buy, the Google Home Mini (AU$59) is the perfect way to dip your toes in the water. 

While the Google Home is great for those knee-deep in the Google ecosystem, the Amazon Echo Dot (AU$53) is another great smart home starter. Perfect for getting weather updates, recipe conversions and even music, all in a puck the size of your palm (plus it has nifty features for Aussies). 

Not every kid at school needs to have a $1,800 iPhone X. The retro-fab Nokia 3310 (AU$89) can keep teenagers (and adults, for that matter) connected for under $100. Plus, shouldn't everyone have the experience of playing Snake?

Technically Ultimate Ears' Wonderboom portable Bluetooth speaker retails for AU$130, but we've found it for AU$99. For a waterproof speaker that gives you 10 hours of playtime, that's a darn good price. 

Another audio candidate that scrapes in under the $100 mark (if you're looking in the right places), Sony's MDR-XB50BS wireless in-ear headphones are normally AU$130, but you can find them online for AU$100. They're splash proof, and connect to your phone via Bluetooth (no headphone jack needed). 

The Chromecast Ultra (AU$99) may look simple on the outside, but it'll let you stream most video apps from your phone or laptop to a TV, with 4K and HDR compatibility. No more being limited to a small screen.

The Foxtel Now Box (AU$99) lets you stream Foxtel (through Foxtel Now) and Stan to your TV, as well as watching free-to-air TV. The only downside? No Netflix app. 

The touch-enabled 6-inch Kindle (AU$99) is a great way to lighten up the book load in your bag. 

The Belkin Pocket Power (AU$60) is perfect for staying charged during long days. The 10,000mAh power bank can recharge an iPhone 7 three times on a single charge.

You can get fit (or at least get the motivation for getting fit) without breaking a hunjy -- the Fitbit Flex 2 AU$100 is a great entry-level fitness tracker. You don't get a display, but you do can use it to track basic fitness data, and it's low-key design is swim-proof too. 

The tech-friendly Belkin Active Pro Backpack (AU$80) protects your laptop from bumps, has a waterproof coating and stands up on its own.

Perfect for the budding PC builder, the Raspberry Pi 3 Model B is a credit card-sized computer that lets hobbyists and even kids get creative with computer science. Add your own peripherals and you're ready to go, all for AU$53. 

About the size of a ping pong ball, the Sphero Mini (AU$80) is an app-enabled robotic ball designed to help kids learn to code (or to annoy the family cat).