Dell announced that the Mini 9 Netbook was officially discontinued after about 9 months on the market. (Hmm.. did they plan that?)

Netbooks are quickly becoming very popular! And why shouldn’t they? They’re great for travel, perfect for bloggers, and an excellent computer option for kids. So, why is Dell discontinuing?

The good news is that Dell did expand their Mini line and they have a few 10 inch options available for you to choose from if Dell is your preferred computer manufacturer. The Dell Mini 10v (pictured here in green) has a starting price of $299.

If you’re still on the fence or undecided you can always refer back to the video comparison of some of the most popular netbooks around.

I have to confess that I love this thing. This is actually my keyboard. I came across it browsing cool stuff last year and had to have it. It now resides on my desk and I get comments on it from anyone that happens to walk by my workstation at home.

With the Saitek Eclipse II keyboard you can choose from 3 background lighting colors, red, purple, or blue to suit your mood. Mine is usually set to blue or purple most of the time, except when my son is playing World of Warcraft at my desk then he always changes it to red. He insists it makes him play better that way! -lol-

You can adjust the brightness or turn the backlighting off if you need to. If you’re nightowl like me, it’s nice to have the keys illuminated when you look down to get your bearings between sips of coffee!

Okay this might not be a must-have for everybody, but it is definitely a lot of fun to play around with! One of the best features of this little gizmo is that it works with both MAC and PC - no special add ons needed if you’re MAC user!

You can use the Small Pen Tablet to edit, retouch, and enhance your digital photographs. Create a collage with your favorite pictures, design your own unique borders, or write directly on your photos in your own handwriting.

Of course, drawing, sketching, and illustrating are a breeze with this little gizmo at your side. I love being able to hand write things and include them in my graphics, and my kids like to draw and watch it appear on the screen. Price tag is just under $100.

Supports widescreen displays and has a textured work surface for a natural pen-on-paper feel. Now there’s a simple, easy, and fun way to harness your creativity. Bamboo Fun makes your computer your canvas, allowing you to freely express yourself by simply touching the pen tip to the tablet.

Yes, you can have a new monitor for around 100 dollars! I’m not making that up. Now, this particular item is going to be at the high end of our $100 limit, but all the same you can still pick it up for around $99!

This 17 inch LCD monitor comes from Acer and it’s a great addition to your desk. Whether you need a new monitor or want to set up a dual monitor system it’s budget friendly and crystal clear!

This is actually on my current gadget wish list! I’d love to have a dual monitor setup here. But, it’s not something I actually *need* right now (like a new laptop bag!) so it’s sort of at the bottom of the wish list. Those of you out there with dual monitors already on your desk, I’m uber jealous!

Whether creating spreadsheets, word processing or searching the Web, you’ll see sharp detail and vivid images on this 17″ LCD. The V173B is ideal for the needs of users in large corporations, small businesses and home settings. The 2000:1 contrast ratio and 300 nits of brightness combine to give you sharp, colorful images, supporting resolutions up to 1280 x 1024 in millions of colors

Next on the list of 10 Cool Gadgets for $100 is the portable hard drive. I chose the eGo, which is what I have. I love these things so much I’m thinking of getting a second one that we’ll use just for picture storage.

These shiny little gadgets come in a large assortment of stylish colors for you to choose from. You can even have his and hers portable drives ;)  The one I have is actually pink, and I’m thinking of getting the red one to use for our picture storage that I mentioned earlier. There’s plenty of space on the one I already have, but I want to keep our pictures separate from all my business stuff and writing so that I’m not always carrying them around with me.

Prices on these are going to vary, but you can grab at least a 360GB in our target price range, no problem!

Take files anywhere, in style, with the Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 - an extremely durable drive which includes patent pending Drop Guard feature to withstand the toughest of travel environments. Available in 320GB capacity, it holds up to 1,280,000 photos, over 5,920 hours of music and 480 hours of video. Plus, the Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive requires no external power supply and includes a free EMC Retrospect HD backup software license.

Okay, so being a bit of a gadget head tends to stress your wallet out! You want to have lots of cool gear and fun gadgets to play with, but with the current state of the economy the budget might not be so big for new toys! That’s okay! There are plenty of totally awesome gadgets out there for under 100 dollars.

To kick off the party we’ve got a great webcam from Logitech. If you’re looking for a headset or a webcam or both I highly recommend Logitech products through and through. They’ve never let me down! At around $59 this webcam has it all.

Enjoy image-perfect detail and clarity. Carl Zeiss optics and autofocus keep images razor-sharp, even in extreme close-ups. et more detail and clarity from Carl Zeiss optics. Logitech’s glass lens designed in collaboration with Carl Zeiss, the global leader in camera optics.

Now, what do you need a webcam for? Well, they come in handy if you’ve got family that is far away. They make a great gift for Father’s Day, which is right around the corner! Send Dad a webcam for his big day and you can have a live video chat with the kids (or grandkids!)

This model conveniently clips to just about any flat-panel monitor or notebook. It’s compatible with Skype, and perfect for video bloggers!

This handy little wireless mouse comes in a variety of colors. I chose the green, because it’s my favorite color The Microsoft Wireless Optical Mouse 3000 is a practical mouse with a tiny snap receiver that will plug directly into your laptop or snaps into the mouse for easy storage.

I have two complaints with this particular mouse, so let’s get those out of the way right off the bat. It doesn’t come with a carrying case. Even though the receiver will snap into the bottom of the mouse it would be nice to have a case to put it in before I toss it in my laptop bag so that I know it’s protected and not getting bounced around too much.

Secondly, this mouse is very sensitive. This can make it a little difficult to get used to. I already have a rough time going from my desktop to my laptop. That’s part of the reason I carry a wireless mouse in the first place, it sort of eases the transition. But, this mouse is a million times more sensitive than what I’m used to and it tends to shake around the screen a bit.

The optical sensor for movement makes for better durability, speed, accuracy and performance. I have never had a problem with it freezing up or loosing the signal. I have used it on many different types of surfaces (table, chair arm, floor, my leg -lol-) and never had a problem with it. The small size makes it easy to maneuver in either your right or left hand. The finger grooves allow you hand and fingers to rest comfortably while moving it around. It’s actually shaped exactly the same as the mouse I use on my desktop (which is not wireless) so it’s a good match for me in that respect.

It’s so easy to install too. Just plug it in. No downloading or installing drivers involved. You can also use it on a PC or a MAC, which I thought was an interesting feature. There is also a nice power saving feature too that shuts the battery down while not in use. This extends your battery life (it takes 1 AA battery ) up to three times longer so that you’re not constantly replacing batteries twice a day.

The Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse is available in the following colors:
Aloe Green	Creme Brulee Gold	Dragon Fruit Pink	Milk Chocolate	Pomegranate Red	Winter Blue	Slate

No secret that the Acer Aspire One is my mini of choice after much comparison shopping. I was out and about this week and stopped into BJ’s warehouse to get some groceries. (If you don’t have one of those, it’s similar to a Costco or a Sam’s Club) I was surprised to see the Acer Mini on display when I walked by the electronics department.

I stopped for a moment to check out the screen display and play with it for a minute. I couldn’t help myself. Then I noticed the price tag was significantly smaller than any I had seen online. For that low price I was ready to forget all the pretty colors available online and  grab a box and put it in my cart right then and there…… when I read the smaller print on the sign.

Not only did they only have black available as one might expect at a warehouse club where things are bought in bulk, but they had the 3 cell battery instead of the 6 cell battery. Battery life is one of the perks and benefits of the mini. I was willing to pay the extra money for the 6 cell battery and have a longer life. There were some other slight differences as well. I think they case of mini’s the store had may have been extras, or test models, or something because the specs didn’t match up to what I am used to seeing online for the Acer Minis at all.

So, if you think you see a great deal offline, make sure you read the fine print before you buy it and get it home to find out it’s not really what you wanted!

Normally on Sunday we talk about everything and anything bags, carrying cases, and so on. I’m skipping that topic for today, because today’s Product of the Day is a great deal!

One of the best things I ever did was upgrade my monitor last year to get a 19 inch LCD. Computer headaches became a thing of the past, and I didn’t feel like a little old lady squinting at the screen anymore. It’s just so much easier to look at. When I saw the Product of the Day I knew I needed to shout it from the rooftops! It is a most excellent deal.

Right now you can get the ViewSonic Optiquest Q19wb Black 19″ Widescreen LCD Monitor for only $109. That is fantastic pricing for a great monitor. If you’ve been putting off getting a widescreen LCD, today is the day to grab one up! I’m tempted to order one for myself to finally have the dual monitor setup that I dream of. This deal lasts until 11:59 PM EST so hurry and grab yours at this great price while it lasts.

Why go widescreen? If you ever need to work on two documents at once, it’s fabulous for lining things up side by side. I’m looking at the specs for the monitor on one side of the screen, and blogging on the other side of the screen without it feeling crammed, squashed, or tiny. And with the LCD everything looks crisper, cleaner, and easier to read. It’s definitely worth every penny if you’re not already on a widescreen LCD monitor.

The ViewSonic Optiquest Q19wb Black 19″ Widescreen LCD Monitor is usually about $160, even at the great prices PriceGrabber finds for you, so this is definitely a steal of a deal at $109.

I came across this great video comparison of some of the most popular mini notebooks on the market right now. We’ve been talking about them a lot, and I know a mini is right at the top of my wishlist this year. I’m hoping to pick one up before I do any traveling in 2009. After much comparison shopping and research online I chose the Acer One (hopefully in blue!) as the mini to buy myself, and I was surprised to find that this video seems to verify my decision.

I thought the video really illustrated the pros and cons really well, as well as providing a visual size display. I mentioned the sizes and weights when I was comparing the minis, but seeing them lined up like this really brings it all together. 2008 brought so many great advances in computer technology, I can’t wait to see what this year holds.