Gift Ideas: $50 – $150
With so many phones and features this season, making a decision can be daunting! So here’s a buying tip that may help: Try breaking the process into two steps. First, choose what kind of form factor you prefer. And second, what features are important to you? Happy shopping!
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Nokia 5310From $69.99
Available in red or blue, the Nokia 5310 has a focus on music without sacrificing functionality in others important areas. The Nokia 5310 boasts external dedicated music controls, so you’re never more than a click away from your favorite songs. In fact, with the Nokia 5310 you can record up to 20 hours of music. A microSD slot allows you to expand your 5310 up to 4GB.
The Nokia 5310 features a 3.5mm headphone jack, so you have many choices when selecting headphones. Also included is an FM radio, stero Bluetooth and an excellent 2″ display. This is a fun phone from a fine company and one to consider if you enjoy taking your music with you wherever you go.
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LG Vu TU915From $79.99
If you are excited about trading up to a quality touch screen, the feature-rich LG Vu is one to consider. It has a beautiful 3″ screen that fills the entire face of the phone, a virtual QWERTY keypad that maks texting simple and fun, a 2 megapixel camer with autofocus, 120MB of internal memory and a microSD slot for folks who plan to store lots of games and pictures.
What really makes the LG Vu an exciting phone is it’s full HTML brower, which allows you to view the internet the way it was meant to be seen. Web pages show great on this phone and you’ll find yourself visiting your favorite sites all the time.
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Aliph Jawbone 2 HeadsetFrom $89.99
The Aliph Jawbone 2 is an outstanding headset solution for folks looking for clear sound and no wires. Offering comfort and style, the Aliph Jawbone 2 provides crisp, clear sound through cutting-edge noise cancelation and voice enhancement technologies. Unlike most headsets, the Jawbone 2 has no volume buttons. Instead it automatically adjusts the volume based on the environment. Available in matte black, silver and rose gold, the Jawbone 2 comes with ear loops, ear bud covers, AC power adapter and USB charging cable. If you are looking for a high-quality Bluetooth headset, the Aliph Jawbone 2 is one to consider.
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BlackBerry Curve 8330From $99.95
There’s never been a better time to be a BlackBerry fan. And this season you have more choices than ever. One BlackBerry in particular, the Curve, is a very powerful device. It allows you to receive your email instantly, surf the internet, text, MMS, forward articles to friends with just a couple clicks, and much more.
The Curve has a 3.5mm jack to you can take full advantage of its media player. Take great pictures with its 2 megapixel camera, shoot video, listen to music, create and view scrapbooks. The BlackBerry Curve also features a full QWERTY keypad with textured knobby keys that are easy to use.
The Curve also features a large, high resolution screen that is easy on the eyes. Keep in mind that there are a great many applications available for the Curve to make it even more useful and fun!
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Motorola RAZR VE20From $99.99
The motorola RAZR remains the number one selling phone, and the VE20 continues the tradition of “thin is in” with this thin and light stainless steel phone that’s packed with features.
In this latest version of the RAZR you get a complete entry-level feature set, including 600 name address book, alarm, calendar, calculator, and speakerphone. Layered on top of that set of features, you also receive Bluetooth, USB connection, 3.5mm jack (for regular headphones), 2.0MP still / video camera. Rounding out the features is an integrated MP3 player with expandable memory slot up to 5MB.
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Samsung J706From $99.99
The Samsung J706 is one of our favorites. Why? First, it comes without a contract. Second, its an attractive phone that weighs only 85 grams and measures 10.0 x 4.8 x 1.5 cm. And thirdly because its quad-band GSM brains means the phone will work around the world, making it a great phone for travel.
Other features include a 128 x 160 pixel display, 1,000 contact address book, FM radio, MMS, alarm, speakerphone, Bluetooth, web access and a 1.3MP camera with 4X zoom.
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Jaybird JB-200 HeadsetFrom $129.99
The Jaybird JB-200 Bluetooth Stereo Headset is designed for use with streaming music, phone calls and media player functions, and does a great job with each. The headset is water and sweat resistant, and has built-in noise suppression technology to provide remarkable, clear sound. Designed and engineered for the sports enthusiast, the JB-200 rests so comfortable on the ears you’ll almost forget you have them on. The JB-200 is compatible with most Bluetooth-enabled phones, gaming devices and PCs. If you want superior stereo sound this headset delivers.
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Samsung InstinctFrom $129.95
The Samsung Instinct boasts a very large 3.1″ touchscreen with haptic feedback. It practically fills the front of the device and looks teriffic. This touchscreen is your launch point to go wherever you want. Various dedicated icons allow you one click access to your email, the internet, your music and much more.
The Instinct offers a full HTML browser, which means you can view the internet the way it’s meant to be seen. It comes with a 2.0 megapixel camera, video recorder, 600-entry address book, personal organizer, voice memo recorder and microSD memory expandability up to 8GB.
If you’re looking at making a big, fun upgrade to your current phone and like touchscreens, take a look at the Samsung Instinct.
Note: Keep in mind that while we’ve categorized our selections into separate price tiers, pricing ultimately depends on whether you purchase your phone with or without a contract.
