If your family has a lot of tech fanatics, shopping for the holidays can get expensive very quickly.
Fortunately, CNET is here to
help.
IÃ?m Donald Bell, and in this Top 5 IÃ?ll be counting down some of our favorite tech gifts under $50, pulled from the CNET
Holiday Gift Guide and arranged really in no particular order because theyÃ?re all great.
Starting off at #5: a new Wi-Fi router.
For around $35 the tiny yet mighty D-Link DIR-605L Cloud Router can end your home Wi-Fi
woes.
It supports up to 802.11 N, and you can remotely manage the whole thing using a smartphone app.
It may not be a sexy
gift, but if it means one less reset of your old dusty router, theyÃ?ll be grateful.
At #4: Headphones.
I canÃ?t stress this one enough.
Whether itÃ?s for a little extra bass or a little extra style, $20-$50 can go a long
way when it comes to headphones.
An over-ear set like the Panasonic RP HTX7 get you a little of both for just $30.
Or, for the
same amount, thereÃ?s the understated Moshi Mythro.
Headphones are also a subtle encouragement for your loved ones to stop
blasting their iPad games over the built in speaker.
That said, for those who appreciate a little extra noise, thereÃ?s #3: Bluetooth speakers.
Now that the speaker dock is dead, a lot of
people are still mystified about how to get a big sound from their smartphone or tablet.
Fortunately, there are some great,
affordable, portable Bluetooth speakers out there, such as the Philips SoundShooter and the Cambridge SoundWorks Oontz.
The
names may be silly, but a Bluetooth speaker makes a great gift.
Another wireless wonder comes in at #2: the Chromecast.
GoogleÃ?s $35 HDMI dongle lets you wirelessly beam your digital media
over to your TV.
ItÃ?s a great gift, especially for Android fans who already like tinkering with the latest Google stuff.
ItÃ?s also one of
the least expensive options out there to make your older TV a little smarter.
That said, for an extra $15, why not go all out?
At #1: the Roku LT.
This guys been around since 2011, but a steady pace of
software updates has kept it very current.
At $49, this is the Apple TV killer that started it all, and itÃ?s still a critical weapon for any
aspiring cord cutter.
It comes with a nearly-endless list of apps and content channels, but you can also just hit the Netflix button
right on the remote and be done with it.
So there you go, five tech gifts for under $50.
For more great ideas, check out our full Holiday Gift Guide over on CNET as well as
videos for the Top 5 gifts under $100 and the best of the best, the Editors picks from our Top 5 product categories -- phones,
laptops, tablets, TVs, all the good stuff.
Until next time, IÃ?m Donald Bell, and have a happy holiday.
