TP-Link AC750 Wi-Fi range extender ($25)

What is it: A compact gizmo that plugs directly into a power outlet and boosts the range of your home Wi-Fi network.
Who it’s for: Anyone who has Wi-Fi dead spots in their house.
Why you should snag it: I bought my own Wi-Fi extender earlier this year for about $100, and I thought that was a pretty good deal. But $25? That’s a no-brainer.

Cambridge SoundWorks OontZ Angle 3 Wireless Bluetooth Speaker ($28)

What is it: A small portable speaker that connects wirelessly to your iPhone, iPad or Android phone, perfect for playing tunes on the go. It also doubles as a speakerphone thanks to its built-in mic.
Who it’s for: Music lovers who want to take their tunes to the park, the pool (yes, the speaker is water-resistant) or just about anywhere else.
Why you should snag it: The Oontz Angle 3 Bluetooth speaker checks all the boxes—light, small, stereo, sweet sound, and (as of this week) 72 percent off.

Roku Express ($29)

What it is: A palm-sized, easy-to-use TV set top box that lets you stream Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and Google Play videos (among other streaming video services) to your HDTV.
Who it’s for: Anyone who’s still leery about streaming TV shows and movies over the Internet to their TV.
Why you should snag it: Roku’s streaming set-top boxes are among the easiest to use, particularly beginners, and at just $29, the Express is one of the best streaming video bargains out there.

Sabrent 4-Port USB 3.0 Hub ($10)

What it is: A tiny USB hub that plugs into your laptop’s USB port, giving you four new USB ports in the process.
Who it’s for: Any laptop user who wants to plug in (say) a mouse, a keyboard, and external hard drive and a printer, all at the same time.
Why you should snag it: There’s no easier, cheaper way to give your laptop (or any Mac or PC, for that matter) four new USB ports.

Click here for more great tech deals!

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The $29 Roku Express sits right next to your HDTV and comes with just two ports: one for an HDMI cable that plugs into your TV set, another for power. Once you’ve hooked it up, just connect the Roku Express to your Wi-Fi network, switch your TV to the right video input (like, say, HDMI 1 or HDMI 2), and start streaming shows from the likes of Amazon, Netflix, Hulu, Google Play, and more. Also nice: the easy-to-use remote, which boasts big, bright buttons that send you directly to Netflix, Hulu and other streaming services.

Check out the Roku Express on Amazon!

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Roku ($49 to $99)

One of the best buys you’ll find in home video, period, the compact Roku TV set-top box delivers everything from streaming Netflix videos to TV shows from Hulu, professional hoops from the NBA, and even games like Angry Birds (if you get the $99 XS model). All you need is an HDMI-enabled TV and an Internet connection.

Apple TV ($99)

Yes, it’s twice as expensive as the cheapest Roku box, but the $99 Apple TV offers up some pretty compelling features for iPhone and iPad users—particularly the ability to wirelessly stream music and video from your handheld to a TV via the Apple TV’s “AirPlay” feature. Even better, the Apple TV will wirelessly “mirror” whatever is on your iPhone 4S’s or iPad 2’s screen (including the web browser, games, and the photo gallery) on your big-screen HDTV. You’ll also be able to rent movies from iTunes, stream your iCloud music collection, and watch streaming Netflix videos.

Related: Is Apple TV worth it?

Apple Digital AV Adapter ($39)

Here’s a stocking stuffer-priced alternative to Apple TV. Just plug the Digital AV Adapter into an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, connect the adapter to your HDTV via an HDMI cable, a presto—you can instantly stream videos, music, and music from your iDevice to your big-screen TV, or even “mirror” your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 display.

Optoma PK301 pocket projector ($399)

Small enough to fit in the palm, the battery-powered PK301 pocket projector connects to smartphones (including the iPhone and Android phones), tablets, laptops, and Blu-ray players, and it’s capable of displaying a 10-foot widescreen image onto a nearby screen or wall—perfect for turning your backyard into a drive-in. Pricey but eye-popping.

Harmony One universal remote ($199)

It’s been out on the market for a few years now, yet the Harmony One remains my favorite universal remote. Just launch the setup software on your PC or Mac, enter the makes and models of your various home theater devices (like your HDTV, Blu-ray player, game console, and streaming set-top box), sync the Harmony One remote with your system via the included USB cable, and you’re ready to go. Last step: gather up all your old remote controls and hide them in a drawer somewhere.

Disney WOW: World of Wonder Blu-ray calibration disc ($39)

Have someone on your list who just got a new HDTV and Blu-ray player? Help them get the best picture possible with this Blu-ray calibration set from Disney, which features step-by-step instructions for tweaking the settings on their big-screen TV, as well as a color filter for making sure blue skies aren’t too blue, grassy fields aren’t too green, and golden sunsets aren’t too golden.

Bargain HDMI cables ($10 or less)

You don’t have to spend $100 or even $50 on a standard HDMI cable, no matter what the clerks at your local big-box retailer say. Click here for tips and buying advice if you’re planning on tucking an HDMI cable or two under the tree.

Bonus: HDTV and Blu-ray player shopping
So, want to surprise a special someone on your list with an HDTV or Blu-ray player this year? Unfortunately, there are too many HDTVs and Blu-ray decks on the market for me to make specific recommendations; that said, check out my cheat sheet for first-time HDTV buyers, as well as some of my recent notes on Blu-ray.

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So perhaps it shouldn’t come as too much surprise that the very first Google TV box—the Logitech Revue, which came with a $299 price tag when it first arrived last October—drew little interest from viewers and a $50 price cut earlier this year.

Well, Logitech has just announced that it will soon chop the Revue’s price tag again—to just $99 (as reported by NewTeeVee), same as the revamped Apple TV and the priciest Roku streaming-video box. We’re pretty much talking a fire sale here.

The Revue's back panel: Yep, that'a a lot of wires there.

Don’t be tempted, though. Based on my experience late last year with the tricky-to-install, tough-to-use TV set-top box, the Revue still isn’t a bargain, even after such a steep discount.

The Revue—and the Android-powered Google TV platform in general—seek to (finally) meld TV and the Web into a “single, seamless experience,” complete with a prominent Google search box to help you find shows to watch and record. (Sony is also in the Google TV game, having released a series of Google TV-enabled HDTVs and a Blu-ray player late last year.)

Google TV promises to let you watch TV and browse the Web at the same time using the old, familiar picture-and-picture approach, as well as (eventually, at least) run applications from the Android Market. Apps for streaming video and music services like Netflix, Amazon, and Pandora as also available.

The Revue's picture-and-picture feature, with the web in one window and live TV in another.

But as I wrote last year, setting up the Revue in your living room involves disconnecting your cable box or DVR from your TV and connecting it to the Revue; after that, you use a connect a second HDMI cable to the Revue and plug the other end back into your TV. You’ll then have to attach an infrared transmitter to the Revue that “blasts” wireless commands to your DVR, essentially taking control of it.

If that sounds like a messy setup, well … it is, although the Google TV interface does a reasonably good job of guiding you through the tedious process.

The Revue also comes with a large, clunky keyboard with “squishy,” non-backlit keys (good luck typing in the dark), as well as a “quirky” interface that forces you to switch back and forth between a touchpad and arrow keys when navigating the various on-screen menus.

The Revue's clunky keypad: No backlighting, and "squishy" keys.

Beyond the actual Revue hardware, there’s also the fact that all the major networks have blocked access to their free, streaming TV episodes from Google TV devices—essentially negating one of the big selling points for Google TV in general.

Last but not least, we’re still waiting for Google to allow Google TV users to install applications from the Android Market onto their devices. (Word is that an update will enable Android Market access later this summer.)

In the end, it’s hard to recommend the Revue—even at $200 off its original price tag—over such competing devices as the Apple TV and Roku’s inexpensive set-top boxes.

Still don’t believe me? Consider this: Logitech admitted this week that over the past few months, “returns of [the Revue] were higher than the very modest sales.” Never a good sign.

Read more about Apple TV, as well as the newly updated Roku 2 line of TV set-top boxes.

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Well, Roku just refreshed its entire line of TV set-top boxes, with the new devices getting sleeker shells, more robust Netflix features (including support for English subtitles), and—best of all—casual video games, starting with the ridiculously popular Angry Birds.

On sale starting today, the low-end Roku 2 HD still sells for just $59, and it’s still capable of displaying 720p HD video (a slight step down from the full-on 1080p video quality you’ll find in most big-screen HDTV sets) from Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon.

You’ll also be able to watch live Major League Baseball, NBA, and NHL action, as well as stream music from Pandora and display slideshows from Flickr. In all, about 300 media “channels” are available.

Up next is the Roku 2 XD ($79), which adds 1080p video support, while the $99 Roku 2 XS boasts a port for plugging in a USB memory stick loaded with videos, music, and photos, plus a couple of bonuses sure to quicken the pulse of Angry Birds fans: a free copy of the ubiquitous, bird-slingshotting smartphone game (now tailored for TVs), as well as a gaming remote that you can wave in the air, à la the Nintendo Wii. (The remote even comes with a wrist strap to keep you from accidentally flinging the thing across the room.)

The Roku gaming remote will also be available separately in the “coming weeks” for $30, meaning you can pick up the $59 Roku 2 and snag the new remote for a grand total of $89.

Pretty nifty, but I have to say: even forgetting the Angry Birds business, the Roku still makes for a tempting buy, especially for anyone who wants to start streaming Netflix or Hulu on their TVs without breaking the bank.

You can check out the new Roku 2 boxes for yourself right here.

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Rita writes: I really do want to replace my cable, but it seems like such an effort and it might not even save me money. Is Apple TV worth it? The only shows my family watches are Dora the Explorer (for the kid), Daily Show (for me), MLB (for my husband).

Well, Rita, here’s my first question for you: Are those really the only TV shows you watch? Because as many shows as there are available on iTunes and Netflix, there are still an awful lot of gaps—particularly when it comes to live TV.

And here’s another thing: While cutting the cord with an Apple TV or another set-top box certainly can be a lot cheaper than a cable subscription, it’s not like all those Internet-streamed movies, TV shows, and sporting events are free.

Let’s start with your family’s favorite shows. Dora the Explorer is available on Netflix (which you can stream over Apple TV) if you happen to be a subscriber, while episodes of “The Daily Show” are available for purchase on iTunes. Even better, Apple TV and other competing set-top boxes come with an app for streaming Major League Baseball games.

Not bad, right? But before you get too excited, let’s break out a calculator and do a little addition.

First, the Apple TV itself, which sells for $99—not nothing, but relatively cheap all things considered, and it’s a one-time cost. Even cheaper is the $59 Roku HD, a small streaming set-top box that supports Netflix, Hulu Plus (the for-pay version of Hulu, the website that streams network TV shows for free), Amazon Instant Video (which boasts many of the same TV shows and movies as iTunes does), MLB.tv, NBA games and more. Other TV set-top boxes are also available, but some—like the $199 Boxee Box—are expensive, while others—like Sony’s $79 Netbox—don’t support MLB.tv, which sounds like a requirement in your living room.

(By the way: connecting a streaming-video box to your TV typically takes all of five minutes. In most cases, you just plug an HDMI cable from the video output in the back of the box to the input on the back panel of your HDTV; after that, a setup wizard will usually guide you through connecting the device to your home Wi-Fi network.)

Next, we’ve got the subscriptions for your various streaming services. You can get a streaming-only subscription to Netflix for just $8 a month—quite a bargain, considering the tens of thousands of movies and TV shows available—while a season’s subscription to MLB.tv will set you back $80. If you want access to Hulu’s shows (which aren’t available on Apple TV, by the way), that’s another $8 a month. Now, if you forego Hulu, you could always buy shows (like “The Daily Show”) on iTunes à la carte—but they’ll run you $2 a piece, or $10 for a bucket of 16 episodes.

Add all that up (let’s assume that you chose Hulu Plus, which offers “The Daily Show” for $8 a month), and that comes out to a reasonable $16 a month, or about $30 during baseball season ($80 divided by six months = about $13.33). That brings your total cost for the year to about $270, give or take, compared to an annual cost of $864 for, say, digital cable and an HD DVR from Time Warner.

Pretty good, but here’s the thing: You’re still going to need a broadband Internet connection for streaming your shows, either from the phone company or your cable carrier. A decent broadband connection for streaming HD video will typically run you anywhere from $20 to $40 a month, so let’s split the difference and call it $30/month.

So…$30 a month for 12 months comes to a total of $360. Add the $360 Internet bill to your $270 in streaming video subscriptions for the year, and we come up with $630—still cheaper than Time Warner’s digital cable plus broadband combo, which goes for $948 a year.

Now, even if those numbers work for you and you’re ready to cut the cord, there are still a few factors to consider before you snip.

While sporting events like the MLB and NBA basketball (assuming you’re ready to pay up for streaming professional hoops, of course) are often streamed live, other network TV shows—like, say, American Idol or Dancing with the Stars—are not. That means you’ll need an over-the-air antenna if you want to see who gets kicked off Idol along with the rest of the country. (And remember, unless you own a TiVo—which costs between $13 and $20 a month—you won’t have a DVR anymore, so no time-shifting.)

Also: does your husband watch ESPN? If he does, bad news: the main ESPN channels aren’t available online without a cable subscription—and since ESPN is a cable network, you can’t get it over the air.

So, Rita … where does that leave us? No question, if you have a standard TV antenna, an Apple TV or Roku, and subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu, and MLB, believe me—you’ll never be bored, and you could save hundreds of bucks a year by cutting the cord (well, the digital cable part of the cord, at least). Then again, I’d be lying if I told you there weren’t any compromises involved or hoops to jump through.

Did this help? Have more questions? (I’m sure you do, since I skipped over so many details.) Let me know!

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Angry Birds developer Rovio and Roku, makers of the bargain-priced Roku TV set-top box, say they’re teaming up (warning: PDF link) to bring a version of the wildly popular video game to your Roku-connected television set.

Owners of the Roku—a lightweight, compact set-top box that already streams videos from Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, MLB.tv, and more—will be getting Angry Birds, Angry Birds Seasons, and Angry Birds Rio on their boxes this summer, along with an Angry Birds video channel with animated shorts of our furious feathered friends doing…whatever it is they do.

Cool, but exactly does one play Angry Birds on a TV remote? Good question, with VentureBeat noting that Roku is “being cagey” about how the gaming controls will work. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.

The folks at Roku also say that Angry Birds won’t be the last video game to appear on the Roku box, with the company promising that it’ll have news about additional “casual” games “within the next few weeks.”

here’s the thing: I’ve long been a fan of Roku and its compact, affordable set-top box (the cheapest version, which works with HDMI-equipped TVs and delivers HD-quality video, starts at just $59.99), and the Roku’s about to become an even better buy now that it’s turning into a casual gaming console. If you’re in the market for a TV set-top device that handles Netflix, Amazon, and other popular streaming-video services, I recommend giving the Roku a serious look.

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