Skip to main content

New innovations are changing more and more of the familiar things in our lives, and this year's list of great gadgets under $100 reflects that trend. Whether it's a way to automate your home, a Minority Report-style motion controller for computers, seriously powerful gear to cope with all your devices and data or even gadgets that will help out travellers. Best of all, it's good stuff that won't break the bank:

Price: $98 (some models $88 on Amazon.ca)

Crosley X UO Cruiser Briefcase Portable Vinyl Record Player

Yes, vinyl records sales are on the rise again and it is a fun wave to ride. Record labels are releasing many new albums on vinyl (often with a digital download), secondhand stores are reporting a substantial increase in traffic and more people want to hop on board.

Crosley has a relatively cheap way for someone to dive into vinyl with an all-in-one solution. The player has a built-in speaker and is designed into a carrying case for easy transportation, in case you wanted to hold a listening party with some friends. It also has RCA outputs, so you can plug the unit into more powerful speakers.

Available in multiple colours, this record-playing briefcase can be found in Urban Outfitters and online, though often cheaper on Amazon (when it is in stock).

Price $79.99

Leap Motion

Though perhaps gimmicky to some, Leap Motion has come a long way in the 16 months since its launch. The unit itself is a very tiny stick that sits in front of your Mac or PC monitor and plugs in through USB. Using two infrared cameras and three infrared LEDs, the device makes a three-foot invisible area in the space above it for your hands to move around as desired. It has incredible accuracy and can even pick up tiny movement in the fingers plus depth perception of forward, backward, rotation and more. Think Minority Report gestures.

Leap Motion has its own app store filled with categories such as games, music and productivity. Users can create art, explore anatomy and travel the world through Google Earth ... the list goes on. The technology is fun and powerful. It may still be a bit on the gimmicky side right now, but it is an obvious glimpse into the future at a relatively cheap price.

Price: $59.99

Blue Snowball Microphone

Time and time again, the sound produced from Blue microphones is nothing short of impressive, especially when price is factored into the equation. Many companies try to sell you “professional quality” audio on the side of the box, Blue is one of the few that delivers.

Blue’s Snowball microphone is one of the company’s most inexpensive models, but it still packs a punch. It is USB-powered, with six-feet of cable and a desktop stand. Most importantly, the audio quality is excellent for recording voice-overs, podcasts and even music for some. Though its big brother, the Yeti microphone, pumps out some of the best audio quality you will find in a computer microphone, and at half the price the Snowball is a no-brainer for those starting out.

Price: $79

Kindle

Amazon certainly has a variety of Kindle devices, some of which are touchscreen tablets that can browse the Internet, watch HD movies and play games. But what about good old-fashioned book reading?

The company’s signature Kindle devices do just that: Read books. For $79, you can get a simple, lightweight device that stores thousands of books and creates the effect of reading on real paper due to its e-ink technology. There is also no screen glare, as it isn’t a glass screen. The entry-level Kindle now has a touch screen, Wi-Fi (to purchase books from Amazon’s store), a dictionary, Goodreads integration and a few other handy software features.

Most of all, it lets you read books for weeks on a single charge. Thank goodness.

Price: $79.99

Belkin WeMo Switch and Motion Detector

What was the biggest problem with the popular 1980s infomercial product, The Clapper? The clapping part, of course. Shouldn’t the devices just know when we walk into the room without us having to slam our flippers together like a seal?

Belkin is trying to fix that with their WeMo switch and motion detector system. It acts pretty much like the name suggests: When you walk into a room, the devices connected to it will turn on (or they will turn off when you leave).

You can also use the app to schedule specific times to turn on your various electronics or to turn off devices from work if you forget you left them on. The starter kit comes with two motion sensors and two home control switches, but you can add more on to the network later.

Price: $99.99

Linksys EA3500 N750 Router

Just squeaking in under the $100 mark, the Linksys N750 router has a solid bang for your buck in this digital age of high definition gaming, movie watching and video streaming. Internet speeds keep getting faster and more wireless devices are expected to run on your home’s network, all of which is very demanding on the router.

A wireless-N technology router that can hit gigabit speeds will satisfy your networking needs both now and into the future. Sure, it doesn’t have the latest AC technology that is just beginning to roll out this year, but you still pay a hefty dollar for that feature at the moment.

Assuming you haven’t updated your router in years, like many in a similar situation, this will make a night-and-day difference. Setup is easy and it also includes a free mobile application for easy maintenance.

Price: $49.99

SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 4GB MP3 player

If you want to listen to digital music the reality is sometimes people don’t need an iPod or a smartphone to do the job. They can be expensive (even the low-end Nano iPod is $150, the no-screen Shuffle is $50), have way too many features than what the user needs and can be a little confusing for certain people.

If you are looking for a very basic MP3 player, SanDisk still has one available. The Sansa Clip+ comes with just 4GB of memory (or you can get 8GB for $69.99), but that is plenty of space for someone just looking to play up to 1,000 songs. It also comes with a handy clip for it to attach to clothes when exercising.

It is basic, cheap and often overlooked. It also comes in a variety of colours.

Price: $99.95

Philips Hue Lux Starter Pack

The “connected home” is quickly becoming the latest technology trend, as companies are trying to take over your living space with additional convenience. One such example is Philips and their Hue Lux light bulbs. This starter pack gets you two bulbs and a bridge, which connects to your modem or router. You can put up to 50 bulbs on the system (that gets pricey at $29.95 each, however) and give them all individual brightness settings, timers, names and more.

All of this is powered through Philips’ accompanying iOS application, which makes for an easy setup. You can also expand your Hue Lux set to eventually include bulbs that are able to change colours, because who wouldn’t want to walk into a pink living room after a long day’s work?

Price $96.99 (suggested, often much cheaper on sale)

Transcend JetFlash 790 128 GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive

If there is one thing we can never have too much of, it is portable storage. Long gone are the days when there was high price tag to purchase a 2 GB USB flash drive. Now you can easily get 128 GB of memory for less than $100 and with the fast speeds of USB 3.0.

Of course, if you don’t need that much storage, you can cut the size (and therefore price) in half. But at the time of writing, this particular unit was on Amazon for $77. Though that particular sale price may end, if you do a bit of hunting there is always a fantastic steal on USB memory to be found.

Price $49.99

BESTEK Portable Charger / Converter (MRJ201GU)

The problem with a lot of travelling adapters is that they don’t convert the voltage, so there is a risk you can destroy your device when you travel overseas because of the mismatch. Often stores will sell adapter kits to change the plug, but they don’t convert the voltage as well.

BESTEK offers a lightweight voltage converter that will allow you to plug in your devices in most places around the world. It is certainly more expensive than just an adapter itself, but not all electronic devices have dual-voltage capabilities so this removes the risk factor.

With excellent reviews and a solid brand name (in the power world), this may not be the sexiest gift, but it will be a winner for any world traveller.