After sending in an old phone and laptop, I got several emails from Gazelle keeping me posted on the progress. About a week later a check arrived just as promised. So Gazelle does what it says, and it doesn’t get much better than that.

If you are looking for an easy, non-eBay way to get cash for old electronics, then give gazelle.com a try.

This week over 100,000 of the tech jetsetters converge in Las Vegas to see what’s ahead in tech and to hedge their bets on what will be the next big thing.  Here are just a few headlines that may interest you.

Smart Phones
Watch out iPhone, here comes the Nexus One, a Smartphone based on the Google Android platform.  It is being slated as the iPhone killer.   But I think the real winner will be the consumer (that’s you and me) with great deals springing to life form the increased competition.  Here’s a chart comparing the top SmartPhone contenders.  Disclaimer – this info will probably change moments after you read it!

Other buzz words are tablet computers, e-readers, Internet TV (heard this one before), and 3 dimensional HDTV for your home. Yes, you can watch “Avatar” in the comfort of you home and still get that cool 3D experience.  But the first incarnations of 3DTV will probably cost as much as a first-class intergalactic spaceflight to Pandora (the fictitious planet from the “Avatar” movie).

I’m still holding out for my own personal holodeck.  For those of you who don’t know what a holodeck is, congratulations as you passed the “I am not a nerd” test.  For those like me who are holodeck-aware, why aren’t we in Las Vegas at the CES with the other geeks?  (Did that sound bitter?)  (Grin)

Deals of the Day
The CES is usually a flag to vendors to clear their shelves to make way for the new stuff.  That means some great deals at out there.  Here are just a few.

Lenovo G550 Notebook Intel Core2Duo T6600 2.2GHz 3GB DDR3 320GB HDD 15.6″ WXGA   XP Pro/Win7 Pro
$599.99

Lenovo IdeaCentre Q700 PC Intel Pentium DC 2.5GHz 4GB DDR2 640GB HDD TV Tuner   Win7 Premium 64-bit
$499.99

Shop around; I’m sure you can find more great deals!

Gazelle pays cash for used electronics such as cell phones, laptops, digital cameras, and other stuff (except printers and Fax machines).   Here’s how it works:
- Log on to the site (setting up an account is easy)
- Answer a few quick questions like does the device powers on, and if the battery works.
- Gazelle calculates an offer and if you accept, they will email you a shipping label.

I got offered $119 for a couple of old devices lying in the back of a closet.  We’ll see what happens as I send this off this week.

Also, Gazelle can setup a website for schools and other groups to organize a gadget drive to raise money.  Or you can use Gazelle to turn gadgets into donations for your favorite charity.

Granted, if you are well versed in eBay you may be able to get a few more bucks for your electro-junk.  But let’s face it, eBay is not for everyone and as best I can tell, Gazelle makes the trade-in process relatively painless.

So start 2010 by recycling your old stuff and making a few dollars in the process.

If you need a PC for a student or basic web and email function and are OK not having the “latest-and-greatest”, then read on…

	Hot XP Laptop Deal $369.99 HP Compaq nc6400 Off-Lease Notebook PC – Intel Core Duo T2300 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 60GB HDD, Combo, 14.1″ XGA, XP Pro, Black http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=5208145&sku=SYX-R805473
	Bargain Workstation $249.99 IBM ThinkCentre M52 8215-VFP Desktop Computer – Intel Pentium 4 541 3.2GHz, 2GB DDR2, 400GB HDD, Combo, Windows XP Pro (Off-Lease) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5058098&CatId=1815
	Great “First” PC $179.99 HP Compaq DC5100 Desktop Computer – Intel Pentium 4 530 3GHz, 1GB DDR2, 80GB HDD, Combo, Windows XP Pro (Off-Lease) http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5058065&CatId=1815

There are a lot of other great XP deals that can easily be found with a simple Google search.  Give it a try!

BTW – I like http://www.tigerdirect.com/ because of their great deals and service.  And I do not get any kickbacks for linking to their website.

HP Compaq dc5800 Desktop PC NV317UT – Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53GHZ, 4GB DDR2, 500GB SATA 3G, DVDRW, Windows XP Pro/Vista Business
$599.99

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4471547&CatId=1815

This one ships with Windows XP Pro if you are still shaky about Vista.

For those looking for a laptop:
HP 550 Notebook PC KS158UT – Intel Celeron 550 2.0GHz, 1GB DDR2, 160GB HDD, DL DVDRW, 15.4″ WXGA, Vista Home Basic
$379.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4431416&Sku=H24-15055
Sure it has the not-as-fast Celeron processor, but if you need something to check email and surf the web while on the move this is a good choice.

Here’s a laptop with more muscle:
Acer Aspire AS5535-5452 Notebook PC – AMD Athlon X2 QL-64 2.1GHz, 3GB DDR2, 320GB HDD, DL DVDRW, 15.6″ WXGA, Vista Home Premium
$449.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4545456&Sku=A180-15610

These are just a few examples of some of good PC buys if you are in the market.  There are a lot more out there, but if I keep looking I will be too tempted to buy them all!

If you live in the Atlanta, GA area I have a PC setup service.  Just go to the following website and fill out the very short form:
http://www.techadvocate-solutions.com/contactus.php
I will email you instructions on where to ship you new PC so I can do all the setup, antivirus, and MS Office 2003 installation for you.  It is very reasonable.

Disclaimer – I’ve never used these machines, but they sure look like good deals to this techie!