Plug into tech on the cheap

A few savvy shortcuts can help save money on phone, Web services and fun gadgets

By Victor Godinez | The Dallas Morning News

January 5, 2009

Americans spent about $129 billion on consumer technology in 2007, and it's a good bet that number dropped in 2008, thanks to the slow economy. But a reduction in your electronics-gadget budget doesn't necessarily mean going cold turkey on tech.

Whether it's piping free Internet video to your TV rather than paying for cable, shopping smarter on the Web or ditching your landline phone and just using your cell, there are plenty of low-cost ways to keep yourself in the digital life to which you've become accustomed.

Here are some tips on how to save in big and small ways on the tech toys that make life fun and productive.

TV shows

If you want to dump your cable bill but still want to watch cable shows and movies, you have several options: There are free, legal sites such as Hulu.com and YouTube (MGM recently announced it will post full-length movies on YouTube, and other studios are expected to follow), and paid services such as iTunes and Netflix's free streaming video service for its traditional mail subscribers.

Gaming

For gamers, a smaller tech budget doesn't mean fewer games. GameStop, for example, specializes in selling used games in its stores for less than the new counterparts. EBay is another option for used games.

If you prefer to play new titles, you can either rent from traditional Blockbuster stores or you can order games through the mail from an outfit called GameFly.com, which is sort of the Netflix of games.

Even if you want to keep buying new games, you can avoid buyer's remorse by taking advantage of the fact that many publishers now put out short demos of their games for free. Game demos for consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 can be downloaded directly to those systems' hard drives.

Shopping

No matter what you're buying — whether it's a 70-inch television or the HDMI cables you'll plug into the set or a Blu-ray movie player — you should always look online first. Amazon, for example, offers lower prices on HD televisions than just about any retailer, often offers free shipping and, in fact, the deliveryman will usually help you take the set out of the box and place it on your stand. And always get your cables from monoprice.com.

Many electronics and computer makers and retailers — including BestBuy, BrandsMart, Alienware, Costco and RadioShack — will buy your old, used gadgets for store credit. You won't get a huge windfall, but it's more than you'll get from tossing that old mp3 player into the trash.

When shopping for electronics, also consider buying returned and refurbished equipment directly from the manufacturers.

Phones

Consider ditching your landline phone and just using your cell. According to a recent report from Nielsen, the average household spends $480 a year on a landline connection. Canceling the land line and just using your cell phone — as 17 percent of U.S. households had done by the end of June, up from 4.2 percent from December 2003 — is an easy way to save money.

If you want a traditional landline phone, consider voice-over-Internet providers such as Vonage or Skype that are generally less expensive than traditional providers.

Computers

When your old desktop or laptop starts to chug, that doesn't always mean it's time to shell out $1,000 or more for a new system. First, degunk your computer. Back up all your important files, get your original Windows (or whatever operating system you use) installation disc and activation code handy, and reformat your hard drive and reinstall your OS and other programs. Think of it as 50,000-mile maintenance for your computer.

If, after reformatting, your favorite programs still chug, consider low-cost hardware improvements such as adding more memory or upgrading the video card or even the processor.