Best Of Tech

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Cell Phones
CHEAP
$80
NOKIA 5165
Solid, dependable and cheap, this is the phone for Honda Civic owners. While it lacks a vibrate mode, the 5165 has the right vitals (long battery life, easy-to-read screen, intuitive navigation) and cool extras like text messaging. Its bulky, but brightly colored faceplates add style, and the price is right--with rebates, you might be able to get it for free.
www.nokia.com

MODERATE
$150
LG INFOCOMM TM510
The external LCD screen is one of those features every clamshell-style phone should have--it lets you see who's calling without fumbling around to open the phone. The light, compact TM510 has other extras worth paying for too, like voice-activated dialing, a vibrate mode and a phone book that handles five numbers for each of 199 names.
www.lginfocomm.com

EXPENSIVE
$500
SAMSUNG I300
If you've ever juggled a Palm and a cell phone at the same time, you'll understand the appeal of the curvaceous i300. The Palm OS is built right in, so you can chat while using your appointment calendar (a hands-free set and voice recognition make this a snap). One caveat: that gorgeous color screen cuts down on battery life.
www.samsungusa.com

Desktop Computers
CHEAP
$1,050
HP PAVILION 7935
There are lower-priced machines but not many with this kind of high performance. Hewlett-Packard's best value includes a superfast 1.3-GHz AMD Athlon chip, Polk Audio speakers and a built-in CD burner. Better still, through Jan. 5, a $150 rebate on the PC-and-monitor combo pushes the system price down to a very merry $900.
www.hpshopping.com

MODERATE
$1,650
COMPAQ PRESARIO 8000
If you're looking for an inexpensive way to burn your own DVDs, we've found one. Compaq's newest Presario includes a 17-in. monitor, color inkjet printer and speakers, plus a drive that writes CDs and DVDs. Besides rejuvenating old home videos, this powerhouse is a good bet for anything from PC gaming to desktop publishing.
www.compaq.com

EXPENSIVE
$3,159
GATEWAY 700XL
So you want the best there is? How about a 2-GHz Pentium 4 processor with 512MB of RAM, an 80GB hard drive and the top-of-the-line NVidia GeForce3 graphics card? And the extras are as premium as the innards: surround-sound speakers, a wireless mouse, a year of free AOL service and a gorgeous 18-in. flat-panel monitor.
www.gateway.com

PDAs
CHEAP
$199
VISOR NEO
If you want the most bytes for your buck, Handspring is the way to go, and its new Visor Neo (paging all Matrix fans) is the best low-priced PDA around. Inexpensive as it is, the Neo gives you more power than most people ever use, including 8MB of memory, a galaxy of Palm software and the Springboard line of hardware add-ons.
www.handspring.com

MODERATE
$329
Palm m500
At a svelte 4 oz. and 0.4 in. thick, the M500 doesn't look like a workhorse. But there's power in that tiny package--8MB of memory and rechargeable lithium polymer batteries. Best of all, it comes with all the trimmings: a backlit black-and-white screen, a vibrate alert and a slot for expansion cards roomy enough for an entire travel guide.
www.palm.com

EXPENSIVE
$500
SONY CLIE N760C
If you have a PDA in the glove compartment of your Rolls, chances are it's a Clie. The crisp, bright screen is a work of art, with industry-best resolution and 16-bit color, all the better to display your photos and movies--which you can store on a 128MB Memory Stick. Best of all, it doubles as an MP3 player, something no other Palm does.
www.sony.com/clie

Laptops
CHEAP
$949
DELL INSPIRON 2500
It may be low on frills, but with an 800-MHz Celeron processor, a 10GB hard drive and a 12.1-in. backlit screen, this Inspiron can handle most essential tasks. Six months of MSN Net access are included, but you'll probably want to double the 64MB of RAM.
www.dell.com

MODERATE
$1,799
APPLE iBOOK
The fairest of them all, this snow-white 5.2-lb. iBook could make Mac users out of the snobbiest Windows fans. With its high-res 12.1-in. screen, a drive that burns CDs and reads DVDs, and a jack that connects the computer to a TV, it dwarfs the competition.
www.apple.com/ibook

EXPENSIVE
$2,679
TOSHIBA PORTEGE 4000
Many lightweight laptops get that way by being stripped of cool features. Not this 4.5-lb. roadie, with its 750-MHz Pentium III, 256MB of RAM and 30GB hard drive, plus a combo DVD-drive/ CD-burner, built-in wireless networking and a long list of lesser perks.
www.toshiba.com