Marketplace Blog

If you've been thinking about saving money on phone service by switching to voice over IP, allow ViaTalk to entice you: Sign up now for the standard $199-per-year rate, which includes unlimited local and long-distance calling, and you'll get a second year free.

In case you're unfamiliar with them, VoIP services leverage your broadband Internet connection to let you make and receive phone calls. The experience is virtually identical to using a landline, and in most cases you can keep your existing number.

ViaTalk provides a boatload of calling features as part of their "vt_unlimited" … Read more

Sound familiar? CompUSA.com has the Logitech iPod AudioStation on sale for $29.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. (Plan on about $14 for shipping.) The last time I posted about this product, it was $50 after rebate!

The AudioStation is an iPod speaker dock that also has an AM/FM tuner. It features a wireless remote, an audio input jack (for connecting non-iPod players), and composite and S-Video outputs (for watching iPod videos on a TV). It also charges your iPod, of course, and cranks out 80 watts' worth of audio goodness. CNET's very favorable AudioStation review awarded … Read more

The last time Dell had a deal on the Canon Digital Rebel digital-SLR camera, it was the 8-megapixel XT model for $382. Now you can get the 10-megapixel Digital Rebel XTi for just $319, in your choice of black or silver. Woo!

That price is for the body only; an extra $100 buys you Canon's 18-55mm lens. Like the XT and the original Rebel before it, the XTi is an extremely popular camera, as evidenced by CNET's review. I promise you Dell will sell out of these in no time, so if you want in on digital-SLR goodness … Read more

In the market for a new smartphone? Consider the T-Mobile Dash, a quad-band handset that compares favorably with the Motorola Q. LetsTalk.com has a pretty sweet deal going:

T-Mobile Dash: Free.

1GB microSD card: Free.

Shipping: Free.

Rebates: Up to $100.

Specifically, you automatically qualify for a $50 mail-in rebate on the phone, but you can get another $50 if you sign up for a $39.99-monthly (or higher) service plan and a $19.99-monthly data plan (fairly standard items for smartphone users anyway).

CNET and CNET readers alike had generally good things to say about the Dash, rating … Read more

I've long been a fan of Casio's Exilim line of digital cameras, as I think they offer mucho bang for the buck. Buy.com has the 7-megapixel Exilim EX-Z75 on sale for $109.99, shipped, after a $20 mail-in rebate.

But wait, there's more! When you buy the Exilim (or any digital camera), you're also eligible for a $70 mail-in rebate on various Epson printers, including the Epson Stylus CX7400 multifunction. It's a color printer, copier, and scanner. And for all intents and purposes, it's free (okay, $4) when you buy the camera. Free … Read more

The day I bought myself a LightScribe DVD drive was the day I put away my Sharpie marker forever. Sure, it takes upwards of 20 minutes to burn a custom label on a LightScribe disc, but the results are vastly superior to my chicken scratch.

Newegg has the Samsung SH-S202N 20X internal DVD burner with LightScribe technology for just $26.99. It's a new unit with no rebates, free shipping, and mostly positive reviews.

If you've never done it before, swapping out an optical drive is a piece of cake. Unplug the power and interface connectors, slide out … Read more

The last time I wrote about a GeForce 8600 video card, it was the GT variety, and it was selling for $99.99 plus shipping. If you decided to wait, good move: Buy.com now has the even better GeForce 8600 GTS for $69.99 shipped (after a $20 mail-in rebate).

Why is the GTS better than the GT? Simple: It's faster. It has a faster core clock and faster onboard memory (256MB of it). That's important if you're into power-hungry games like BioShock and Call of Duty 4.

The PNY GeForce 8600GTS card requires a PCI … Read more

Want to really show off that new Blu-ray player? Get yourself the BBC documentary series Planet Earth, which Best Buy has on sale for $49.99. I first caught it when it aired on the Discovery Channel, and it didn't take long before I decided I had to own it.

The series' 11 episodes take you to oceans, jungles, deserts, rainforests, and other remote parts of the planet, where you'll see incredible environments and wildlife. You don't have to be a nature buff to enjoy this; you just need a heartbeat.

I paid about $70 to buy … Read more

If you're still walking around with your cell phone glued to your ear, here's your chance to walk around looking like you're talking to yourself instead. Office Depot has the Motorola H350 Bluetooth headset for $4.99 (plus shipping) after a $35 mail-in rebate.

This isn't a top-of-the-line headset--user reviews on CNET and Amazon seem to peg it as only a hair above average--but did I mention the $4.99 price tag? Curiously, the Office Depot product listing describes an entirely different headset and doesn't include a link to the rebate form (a PDF, … Read more