Review: Great tech upgrades for under $100

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By Grace Aquino, Edward N. Albro and Michael Gowan

(IDG) -- Now more than ever, everyone's trying to spend money intelligently. So we've rounded up plenty of ways to extend your computer's capabilities -- whether it's into the area of digital photography, Web conferencing, audio, or networking -- while keeping a watchful eye on your bank account. Each of the products we recommend costs $100 or less. Best of all, these add-ons are simple to set up and give you a lot of bang for your buck.

Digital photography: Cheap shots

Are you the type of shutterbug who loves disposable cameras and gets excited by the corner drugstore's free double-print offers? If so, the idea of spending $400 or more on a fancy digital camera may not provide quite the same rush. Fortunately, you don't have to dish out that kind of cash to join the digital photography revolution.

SiPix StyleCam: $70, 2.5 stars (out of five)

For starters, I found the slim and simple SiPix StyleCam digital camera for only $70. This no-frills, point-and-shoot model is about the size of a box of Altoids. It runs on two AAA alkaline batteries, stores about 60 shots in its 8MB of internal memory, and connects to a PC via USB cable to transfer photos. As you might expect, the StyleCam lacks features typically found on more expensive cameras, such as a built-in flash, an LCD, a zoom lens, and a slot for a memory card.

Still, I was satisfied with my SiPix snapshots; they looked nice enough to e-mail to friends and post on a Web site. And if you take pictures in a sunny setting, the camera should produce images that are bright enough for satisfactory prints on 3-by-5-inch paper. But with a maximum resolution of 640 by 480 pixels (compared with 1200 by 1600 for models in the $350 or above price range), the SiPix won't produce Ansel Adams-quality photos.

Canon CanoScan N670U: $99, 3 stars

If you'd rather scan the shoeboxes of photos that are currently stacked in your attic, the $99 Canon CanoScan N670U scanner is a good bet. It produced good-quality color scans but was a tad slow. It's slim and light, and the model's front panel has three quick-start buttons for scanning, copying, and e-mailing. The N670U's design does away with the bulky power brick accompanying many scanners; instead the unit draws power from the USB connection to your PC. On the downside, the N670U lacks accessories that other scanners in its price range offer, such as a transparency adapter (useful for scanning slides or negatives from a film camera) and an automatic document feeder.

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Adobe Photoshop Elements: $90 (or free with Canon CanoScan N670U scanner), 4.5 stars

The Canon scanner has a generous software bundle that includes Adobe Photoshop Elements, an image editing program notable for its clean, easy-to-follow interface. Elements costs about $90 on its own, but it comes free with the CanoScan. The software can do such tasks as sharpening and resizing photos and removing red-eye effect in flash shots.

ACD Systems ACDSee 4.0: $50, 4 stars

Elements has a thumbnail browser, as well. But I prefer ACD Systems' ACDSee 4.0, an image management program with a pumped-up Windows Explorer-like interface (with folders on the left side of the interface and thumbnails of photos on the right). I was able to convert file formats and perform minor image enhancements such as cropping and brightening. ACD Systems offers a free 30-day trial of the program, or you can buy it for about $50.

Crucial 128MB of DDR memory: about $45

Manipulating photos in Elements and ACDSee uses a lot of computer resources, so it makes sense to add RAM to your PC -- especially if your PC has less than 256MB. Though not essential, the extra RAM can speed up opening, editing, or saving images. Memory prices fluctuate almost daily, but at press time you could get 256MB of DDR memory from Crucial for about $85, or 128MB for around $45.

Epson Stylus C60: $99, 4 stars

After taking (or scanning) and editing pictures, you may want to share printed versions with friends and colleagues. The $99 Epson Stylus C60 can do the printing job quickly. It performed well with graphics and text, and produced pleasingly subtle details in photos. Glossy prints were colorful but had a slightly reddish cast.

SCM Microsystems Microtech USB CameraMate: $45, 4 stars

One more nifty tool for shutterbugs: If you own or are planning to buy a digital camera that uses a CompactFlash or a SmartMedia memory card, I recommend getting a card reader. It's a small external device that lets you transfer images stored in a camera's memory card more quickly and easily than using a USB cable. A card reader also helps save your camera's batteries -- downloading pictures to your PC through a USB cable drains the batteries.

Because I use both CompactFlash and SmartMedia cards with my cameras, I'd go with a dual-slot card reader that accommodates both formats, such as SCM Microsystems' $45 Microtech USB CameraMate. If you need to support only one memory card type (such as CompactFlash, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, or MultiMediaCard/Secure Digital), you can purchase a single-slot card reader for as little as $25.

Web: Talking heads

I have several upbeat ways to describe myself -- thrifty, economical, prudent. But my family and friends on the other side of the country prefer less pleasant terms: cheapskate, skinflint, tightwad. All because I won't jump on a plane to visit or pay exorbitant phone bills to chat.

But now I have a solution that will keep them -- and my wallet -- happy. By adding a Webcam and a headset to my PC, I created the ultimate communication device. Instead of spending hundreds on airfares, I send friends a video e-mail so they can hear my voice and see my smiling face. When I feel like chatting, I'll do it over the Net. In fact, with the right software, we can have a cool videophone conversation.

Creative Video Blaster WebCam Plus: $50, 4.5 stars

When it comes to choosing Webcams, the trick is to get one that doesn't produce blocky, cheap-looking images. The $50 Creative Video Blaster WebCam Plus captures sharp images as large as 320 by 240 pixels at 30 frames per second (if a camera's capture rate is slower than that, you'll get the herky-jerky video associated with shots beamed down from space capsules). Installing the WebCam Plus is easy: Load the supplied software, plug the camera into a USB port, and you're set.

Plantronics Audio 70: $16, 4 stars

But unlike some Webcams, the Video Blaster lacks a built-in microphone. Obviously, I didn't want to be limited to soundless video (after all, a mime is a wonderful thing to waste), so I needed a good headset. With a microphone that cuts out background noise and earphones that produce clear sound. The $16 Plantronics Audio 70 fits that bill. The headset plugs directly into the microphone and speaker jacks on your sound card, so you don't need to load any drivers (unlike with headsets that plug into the USB port).

Now that I had my hardware, I needed some software to help me reach out and touch someone. The best way I found is with the version of Messenger included with Microsoft's Windows XP. This instant messaging software allows a pleasing videophone experience and is easier to use than NetMeeting. You not only talk to friends but also see them speaking, just as they can see you. The quality, at least over a broadband connection, can be very good. Best of all, calls are free. The catch? Both parties have to be running Windows XP.

Even if you have a bunch of friends and relatives who aren't in a hurry to upgrade their operating system, you still have economical ways to communicate. Most instant messaging clients -- AOL Instant Messenger, MSN Messenger, and Yahoo! Instant Messenger, for instance -- provide free voice chats over the Internet. (AOL Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.com.) Again, the sound quality improves significantly with a broadband connection.

CyberLink VideoLive Mail 4.0: $40, 4 stars

What if you don't have broadband? A video e-mail message is a great way to communicate with friends and relatives around the world. Of course, you could simply record a video with the Creative WebCam software and send it as an e-mail attachment. But the attachment's file size would choke most in-boxes. CyberLink's VideoLive Mail 4.0 ($40) shrinks my e-mail messages to a more reasonable size and then automatically packages them using Outlook, Outlook Express, or the software's own e-mail program. The recipient clicks a link and watches the video play in Windows Media Player. You can fine-tune both the video and the audio recording to produce different file sizes. If your friend has a slow dial-up connection, you can create a smaller (and choppier) video by reducing the frame rate and using telephone-quality audio. If you're sending the video to a broadband household, bump the frame rate to 30 frames per second and use CD-quality sound.

Audio: Pump up the volume

Hey, music fans, want to turn your boring beige box into a concert hall, a home theater system, or a music studio? You can, simply by adding a few reasonably priced components and installing some new software. Here's how I turned my PC into a sound-blasting machine.

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy MP3+: $99, 4 stars

First, I bought a sound card, which produces every beep, boom, and whistle that software can generate. If your PC's sound card doesn't support Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, that's reason enough to upgrade to the $99 Creative Sound Blaster Audigy MP3+. It offers solid performance and delivers great bass and treble range. The Audigy MP3+ also includes an IEEE 1394 port for connecting devices such as digital video cameras, along with software for ripping MP3s and watching movies.

Unfortunately, setup was a bit tricky, documentation was sparse and difficult to understand, and I couldn't control basic functions, like volume, from my system tray. To get around that, I created a shortcut on my desktop to the AudioHQ utility to handle speaker arrangement, volume, and equalizer settings.

Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz: $79, 4 stars

If you're daunted by the complexity of Audigy, try the $79 Voyetra Turtle Beach Santa Cruz sound card. The Santa Cruz is simple to set up and comes with a great control utility. And though it lacks some of Audigy's advanced features, it still produces nearly equal sound quality.

Creative Inspire 5.1 5300: $90, 4 stars

Even an excellent sound card can't reproduce Carnegie Hall without top-notch speakers. To get theater-quality sound, I picked Creative's $90 Inspire 5.1 5300 speaker set. It includes speakers for the center, the left side, and the right side; two surround-sound speakers; and a subwoofer. The sound system produced rich vocals and deep bass tones, as well as realistic sound effects in games and movies.

Speaker placement is important for achieving acoustic excellence. The small cube-shape of the Creative Inspire's center speaker allowed me to position it in front of my LCD monitor for optimum audio impact. If you have a CRT, put the center speaker on top of it. The surround-sound speakers can be placed at the sides or behind you at ear level.

Harman Multimedia JBL Sonnet: $100, 4 stars

The Creative Inspire speakers are more than adequate for most audio needs, but hard-core music fans should consider choosing the $100 Harman Multimedia JBL Sonnet speakers instead. This sound system produced wonderfully crisp highs and robust lows that are essential for rocking out to your favorite tunes.

Toshiba 16X/48X SD-M1612: $72

Want to watch a DVD movie on your PC? If you bought a PC recently, you probably already have a DVD-ROM drive, but if you have an older machine, check out Toshiba's $72 16X/48X SD-M1612.

CyberLink PowerDVD: $50, 4 stars

On the software side, you can settle for the applications bundled with the Audigy sound card, or you can buy a program that's easier to use. I favor CyberLink's PowerDVD. Its handy Dolby Pro Logic II feature sends stereo music out to multiple speakers, producing surround-sound quality. The program also has a resume function that picks up a movie where you previously left off, without your having to manually bookmark it. CyberLink offers a free, 30-day trial version of PowerDVD; otherwise, the software costs $50.

Real Networks RealOne: free, 4 stars

For CD music and MP3 playback, I went the free route with Real Networks' RealOne media player. Its slick interface houses an easy-to-use file management system, and it rips music into MP3 or Real formats at lightning speeds. I even use it for burning tracks to CD-R. Of course, I can't burn tunes without a CD-RW drive.

LG Electronics GCE-8240B: $100, 3.5 stars

Sony MDR-V300 Studio Monitor Series: $50, 4 stars

Because my neighbors don't share my enthusiasm for really loud Led Zeppelin tunes, I rounded out my new audio setup with high-quality headphones. Sony's MDR-V300 Studio Monitor Series ($50) supports full bass and decent treble tones. Unfortunately, with extended wear the Sony headphones can be a bit uncomfortable.

More great upgrades for under $100

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