Tax rebate can buy great gadgets
Mercury News experts offer spending suggestions
Now is the time for all good shoppers to come to the aid of their country.
Congress recently took the unusual step of ordering one-time tax rebates, with the first checks going out next week, partly in hopes we would stimulate a sluggish economy by immediately spending the money.
Most single taxpayers with no dependents get $300, most single heads of household get $500 and most married couples get one check for $600.
We don't necessarily endorse spending your rebate. But if you're inclined to do your bit to pump up the economy, here are buying recommendations from some of the expert gadget-hounds at the Mercury News, along with two dissenting viewpoints urging you to take a different approach.
Please note that prices listed here are approximations, and don't include any sales tax or shipping fees.
FOR $300: A DVD player, such as the Sony DVP-NS300 (www.sonystyle.com/electronics) at $199, and several DVD movies of your choice.
The DVD format's crystal-clear digital images and crisp digital audio leave videotape wallowing in the analog dust. Other DVD benefits: no need to rewind, discs that are smaller and much more durable than tape cassettes, and lots of extra features such as deleted scenes and director's commentaries.
Quality is uniformly high among major electronics companies, so it's safe to buy a DVD player from any of the big names, such as Panasonic, Philips, Pioneer, RCA, Sony and Toshiba.
FOR $600: A combination DVD player/surround-sound audio system, such as the Sony DAV-S500 at $599.
One of DVD's big selling points is ``surround sound,'' the ability to channel dialog, music and sound effects to six separate speakers spread around the room. This puts you in the center of the action, and greatly heightens realism -- although configuring surround sound is a major headache.
Sony solves the problem with its Dream System, which puts a DVD player and surround-sound receiver in a single unit, accompanied by six matched surround-sound speakers. Look for this year's model, the DAV-S500 just now reaching stores, rather than last year's DAV-S300.
-- Mike Langberg
FOR $300: A high-capacity portable device for playing MP3 music files, such as the Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox (www.nomadworld.com) at $299.99.
About the size of a portable CD player, the Nomad Jukebox's six-gigabyte hard drive holds more music than most people are likely to listen to in a year -- about 150 CDs' worth, according to Creative Labs.
Short battery life and a clunky software interface are a small price to play for the flexibility of the Jukebox, which always has the right music, no matter what your mood.
FOR $600: An MP3 jukebox kit for your car, such as the Neo Car Jukebox Kit from SSI (www.ssiamerica.com) at $599.99.
With a 60-gigabyte hard drive and an anti-shock mechanism to smooth out the bumps of the road, the remote-controlled Neo promises to slip into your car's dashboard and send your old CD changer to the junk yard.
The Neo kit comes with everything you need to set it up, although hooking it up to your PC requires some tinkering, and you might want professional help to install it into the car.
-- Vindu Goel
FOR $300: For video game players, there's an overwhelmingly logical choice: the Sony PlayStation 2 console (www.playstation2.com), which just happens to cost $300.
Even if you're at the tail end of the tax-rebate mailings, you're still going to get your little windfall about two months before the launch of the Xbox and GameCube consoles. If you buy a PS 2, the money won't burn a hole in your Dockers and you'll have a machine that doubles as a DVD player.
The PS 2 hasn't lived up to the hype that preceded its debut, but its consumer value is maturing as its inventory of games improves. Just out: Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec, a great racing game with an ``Everyone'' rating and no taste or appropriateness baggage.
FOR $600: The portable joy of the new Game Boy Advance device from Nintendo (www.gameboyadvance.com), 10 to 12 games for it, a link cable for multiplayer action and a rechargeable battery pack and AC adapter.
According to our calculations, you can squeeze all that in if you shop smart. Shop dumb and you'll get a few less games and have to forgo the battery recharger. Or try this: buy a bunch less games but two Game Boy Advance machines, at about $90 each, to take immediate advantage of that link cable.
After all, this is pooled rebate money you're spending, and you and the person with the other social security number should have a bonding experience, such as head-to-head competition playing Super Mario Advance.
As millions of adults already have learned, Game Boy is not just for kids. Let the tax base reflect as much.
-- Mike Antonucci
FOR $300: The Nokia 8290 mobile phone (www.nokiausa.com/phones) for $299 or less. Think of this phone as a practical luxury. It works on the GSM network, which Cingular Wireless (formerly PacBell Wireless) uses. One reason why we picked this model is easy upgradability from an old GSM phone. Just take the little SIM card out of your old phone (you'll probably find it in the battery compartment) and put it in your new one.
The 8290 doesn't do anything fancy like wireless Web. It simply stores 250 phone numbers and 50 addresses, and its battery gets a solid 200 minutes of talk time and six days of standby time between charges. The 8290 also has an infra-red port, and can accept beamed information from Palm devices.
The downside to the 8290: Its buttons are a little slippery, and the phone is so compact and lightweight at 2.8 ounces, you can literally put it in your shirt pocket and forget it is there. Physically identical versions of the phone, with slightly different model numbers, work with other wireless phone formats.
FOR $600: The Dell Dimension L Series personal computer (www.dell.com) at $609. The low-end Dimension L has an 800-megahertz Celeron processor, 128 megabytes of RAM, a 20-gigabyte hard drive and a CD burning drive.
For $70 more, you can get a 1-gigahertz Pentium III processor instead of the Celeron. If you're into creating music or video CDs and DVDs, consider spending the extra money for the Pentium III. Keep in mind, a monitor is not included at these prices.
-- Jon Fortt
FOR $300: A Personal Video Recorder, such as the 30-hour Philips/TiVo HDR312 (www.tivo.com) for $299.
Think of a PVR as a videocassette recorder without tape. The hard drive inside a PVR records television programming and performs tricks such as pausing live TV by starting instant recording to the hard drive.
Add the TiVo service to this, at $10 per month, and you'll customize programming in a way that your VCR can only dream about. Never worry that you'll miss another episode of Friends. TiVo and the PVR knows when Friends moves to another day or when it's an hour-long special. The most common TiVo units are made by Philips and Sony.
FOR $600: Ultimate TV (www.ultimatetv.com) from Microsoft and DirecTV, costing about $500 with all the necessary equipment for first-time DirecTV subscribers.
This is the next generation PVR, working exclusively with the DirecTV satellite system. Ultimate TV 30-hour receivers, made by RCA and Sony, record two programs at the same time, a feature that will end the battle over recording Monday Night Football or a movie on Lifetime. The digital recordings are high quality and, with the proper connections, can be transferred to video tapes easily.
You'll also have $100 left over, which will cover the first few months of DirecTV subscription fees. And you'll have the joy of kissing your cable company goodbye.
-- Sam Diaz
FOR $300: The Linksys EtherFast 4-Port Cable/DSL Router, model BEFSR41 (www.linksys.com), at $129 will get your home PCs talking to each other and let them share a fast cable modem or DSL connection without paying your Internet service provider for a second Netet address. And it comes with a firewall to safeguard your system from malicious attack.
Here's the part we like best: you don't have to install any software. Just launch a browser, and the router's configuration Web page appears on screen. Enter a single IP address and you're done.
With the remaining refund money, you can buy Ethernet cards for each of your home PCs at about $50 each, and wiring.
FOR $600: Why not live large and set up a wireless home network, with the Linksys EtherFast Wireless Access Point + Cable/DSL Router, model BEFW11S4, at $289. This device offers all the benefits of a router, plus you can bring your laptop to the living room and check your e-mail on the couch while you're watching ``Big Brother 2.''
Linksys says you can travel about 400 feet inside the house, or about four times as far outside without losing your Internet connection, assuming no one's using a hair dryer or microwave to interfere with your connection. It promises speeds of up to 11 million bits of information per second.
You'll also need a Wireless Network PC card for USB wireless adapter for each computer connecting to your wireless network. These come from Linksys and several other manufacturers at $100 to $150 each.
-- Dawn Chmielewski
FOR $300: To improve family communication, why not get a set of what used to be called walkie-talkies. They're now called Family Radio Systems and come in a wide variety of styles and colors. As the features grow, so does the price.
We like Motorola's bright-yellow Talkabout Two-Way Radio T6210 (www.motorola.com/talkabout) that sells for $59 at Costco, or about $240 for four for a family of four.
Just like a good cell phone, the Talkabout comes with ring or vibrate signals, and there's both an eavesdrop reducer and a voice scrambler to keep your conversations private. They're great for camping and hiking and they even work from car to car, in most conditions.
With a two-mile range and 14 available channels, you should be able to keep in touch with the kids when you're vacationing at Great America this summer, or when you're doing your back-to-school shopping at the Great Mall.
At either place, the $60 you didn't spend from your tax rebate will be gone in an instant.
FOR $600: In-car navigation systems, whether installed by an automaker or added later, still cost $2,000 or more. But refurbished past-generation systems are now becoming available -- just in time for your tax rebate.
The Magellan PathMaster system, which could be found in Hertz rental cars under the name NeverLost in the '90s, is being sold for $595 by AutoNav2000Plus, either through its Web site (www.autonav2000.com) or through its retail store at 438 S. Bascom in San Jose. (Installation is another $150 or so.)
James Kehcq, the company's CEO, said these systems remain popular with buyers who find them simple to use. They have a 4-inch-by-4-inch color screen and can be mounted near the driver. The rest of the unit and the antenna for Global Positioning System (GPS) signals goes in and on the trunk.
The PathMaster offers voice and visual prompts and turn-by-turn directions. They've been completely refurbished and come with a 90-day warranty, Keh said. The only drawback is that since they're no longer being manufactured as new units by Magellan, they rely on 2-year-old data that can't be updated. Still, it's a bargain-priced way to try out a nav system.
-- Matt Nauman
Support groups on the front lines
Invest your tax refund in something that will pay real dividends in coming years -- your rights in the Digital Age.
Big Government and Big Business fear technology and cyberspace more than most people understand. Both are working to control it. If they win, you'll lose some traditional liberties -- and they'll be difficult to reclaim.
On the front lines, combatting the governmental and corporate control freaks, are organizations that could use your financial help. Here are three, among many others:
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (www.eff.org) has taken on some of the most important issues in recent years. The EFF is currently leading the battle to protect prevent the entertainment industry from using copyright law to destroy ``fair use'' of the music, books and other content you buy.
The American Civil Liberties Union (www.aclu.org) works to preserve liberty every day. The Bill of Rights is under constant attack, and no organization has worked harder to keep the Constitution alive than the ACLU.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (www.epic.org) monitors and tries to combat the ongoing threats to our privacy.
Support these worthy groups. Invest in your rights.
-- Dan Gillmor
Use this as an opportunity to save, not spend
Ignore the blather that spending your tax rebate is a patriotic way to rev up the sputtering economy. You can help your nation -- and yourself -- even more by developing good savings habits.
So give a backhand to those Palm-pushing pundits and practice the first rule of windfalls: Splurge 10 percent, save the rest.
Here are three ways to splurge spend that $30 to $60:
Buy financial-planning software. The basic versions of Quicken 2001 or Microsoft Money cost $30, while deluxe versions run $60. Either one can track your whims, wants and windfalls.
Pick up a personal-finance primer. My favorites include ``Everyone's Money Book'' by Jordan E. Goodman and ``Making the Most of Your Money'' by Jane Bryant Quinn. They're $30 each.
Sign up for online advice on how to invest your retirement stash. mPower Advisors charges $20 a year (http://beta.moneycentral.msn.com/retire/planner.asp). Financial Engines (www.financialengines.com) busts the windfall budget at $150, but soon will be available free through Vanguard.
That leaves you to stash the rest. If you insist on spending it on something high-tech, buy a beginner's basket of day-trader favorites such as Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, Hewlett Packard and Sun. It's debatable whether they're ``on sale,'' but if they grow just 8 percent annually over the next 20 years, your stake will more than quadruple. And chances are those stock will hold their value longer than the warranty on what you'd otherwise buy at Fry's or Best Buy.
-- Mark Schwanhausser |
