Three bills. That’s all you need to get a quality laptop. It won’t be a laptop with a huge screen or an ultra-fast processor. It won’t run complex video-editing programs or graphics-intensive games. But it can be a laptop that’s lightweight, well-built and more than capable of performing the basic array of computer tasks — emailing, web surfing, streaming videos, running spreadsheets and word processors, et al — if you know which ones to buy.

Spot Cool Stuff took a look every laptop computer that’s available for $300 or less. Here’s a review of our three favorites:

• The Acer C720, which, amazingly costs less than $200!

• The HP Chromebook 14, with head-turning looks and a 9-hour battery life.

• The Gateway LT41P04u, which runs a full version of Windows 8 and features a touchscreen.

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Is it the best point-and-shoot camera you can buy? Definitely not. But is it the best value? Heck yes, says Spot Cool Stuff.

It’s Cyber Monday! Online deals for gadgets and electronic stuff abound. But which products are a genuine good deal as opposed to only being, well, cheap?

Here’s a look at six tech products in the former category. Our selections range greatly in price (from $35 to almost $5,000) but each represents a high value in its own way. Each is also an item Spot Cool Stuff loves.

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As the number of tablet computer models available to consumers explodes it makes sense that prices would drop. But a tablet for the bargain price of US$35!? That’s now the reality—if you happen to be a student in India and qualify for a subsidy. But even for the rest of us, we live in the world of sub-$80 tablets.

When Amazon announced their new line of Kindles, the basic model prices out at $79! Of course, that price is for more of an eBook reader. What about a true tablet of the sort that runs Android, a tablet on which you can watch movies, surf the web and play Angry Birds? Those can be found within an $80 budget too.

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Apple, Motorola, Samsung, Sony and other big tech companies have been working hard to create all-in-one gadgets with multiple functionality. But a funny thing happened as they designed gadgets that do more—consumers bought more gadgets. Between smart phones, portable gaming devices, tablet computers, digital cameras, Bluetooth headsets, GPS navigation systems and the like, lots of people now travel with more electronics than ever before.

And that means they travel with more gadgets that need charging than ever before.

To the rescue comes the Chargepod, a mobile charging and plug adapter system that can charge up to six devices at once.

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Dell’s ultra-portable Android tablet computer—The Streak 5—is regularly available in the United States at a discounted price of $99 . . . if you agree to get your device locked to a particular cell company and sign up for a two-year service plan.

But what if I want an unlocked Streak 5 for that same $99 price? you ask. For the time being, Dell is offering exactly that!

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The holiday shopping season is upon us again. And on the consumer electronics front it is a merry time of year, not only for getting gadget gifts for other people but perhaps treating yourself to something nicely techy too. Here’s a list of a few hot items and particular bargains.

(No camera or photography deals were included in this post. Those are coming separately.)

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In tough economic times there’s a special need for gifts that come at a cheap price but that feel expensive. So here are 10 items with a low cost and high WOW factor. As with our other gift guides, friends and family of Spot Cool Stuff are advised to read no further lest you ruin the surprise of your gift this holiday season. The rest of you, carry on . . .

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Browsing through the items on Light In The Box might not be quite the adventure and bargain offered by markets in China. But it isn't far off.

If you’ve traveled to China and been to an electronics or fashion market there chances are you’ve been struck by two facts:

1) How cheap the prices are (relative to North America and Europe); and

2) How many products are available there that aren’t in your home country.

To take advantage of these facts you could travel to China with extra room in your suitcase. Or, you could shop at what might be Spot Cool Stuff’s single favorite online store: Light In The Box.

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