When you like tech, bringing some (or a lot) of it into the car is a big deal. Here’s three ways to bring some or more of your electronic goodness into what you drive without breaking the bank.

Cigarette Lighter USB Adapter

Got something powered by USB that you’d love to have in the car? Use one of these little guys and it will fit the bill nicely. Cheap, too. Only 5 dollars. If you shop around enough you might even be able to score one for less than that.

Non-Slip Dashboard Mat

This little dashboard mat stays put and "sticks" whatever you place on it. They are made of material that is non-slip and "hold" things like cell phones and iPods. No installation required. Plop on the dash, put stuff on it, done deal. If one is not available at your local electronics store, try this eBay search. Prices are as low as 3 dollars. The better ones are washable.

Coffee Cup Power Inverter

Sure, you’ve seen power inverters for cars before that give you "three prong" outlets – but have you ever seen one shaped like a coffee cup? This one is, and it’s only 30 dollars. Sound like a lot? Not really when you realize how convenient this thing is. Usually when you plug in an inverter it is in a decidedly inconvenient spot, not to mention the inverter itself is large and might even scrape up against your leg while in use. This one has its own spot and it’s already in your car. Oh, and by the way, this also has a 500mA USB charging port on it too! You may not even need the cigarette lighter USB adapter above if you get one of these…

Over the course of the weekend I used the internet to find places most of you out there are aware of to get good stuff cheap. Most of you will know what these places/events are, but it’s how you find them that’s the important part.

Using Google Maps, with the category operator you can quickly find what you’re looking for in or near your local area.

For this example we’ll use Flea Markets, Thrift Stores and Estate Sales.

Flea Markets
(International visitors: flea market defined)

Usage: city state category:Flea Markets
Example using Tampa Florida

Thrift Stores
(International visitors: thrift store defined)

Usage: city state category:Thrift Stores
Example using Boston Massachusetts

Estate Sale
(International visitors: estate sale defined)

Usage: city state category:Estate Appraisal & Sales
Example using Dallas Texas

How do you find other categories in Google Maps?

Instead of using the category operator, just use your town/state and what you’re looking for when searching. Any category that appears in the list (there may be several) will sort by that category only.

Example: If I search for Tampa FL cars, I get a ton of listings.  But at the top left, I see the categories, and they look like this:

Note where it says Categories: Auto Repair, Auto Dealers Used Cars. Clicking one will sort by that category only.

Almost anything you search for in Google Maps will have a category for it. Use it and use it often. You will most likely discover many businesses you didn’t know existed that in turn give you more choices to shop for better deals.

Yes, this is a netbook 9-inch screen model that I’m talking about.

The computer industry is hurting right now so most of the larger OEMs are slashing prices left and right and Dell is no exception.

The Inspiron Mini 9 is selling well, but evidently not well enough so the price has been dropped significantly.

With Ubuntu Linux installed, the price is $249. With Windows XP, $299. But even with XP, that’s still cheap. I mean, seriously, you can’t even buy used decent units for that cheap.

New laptop, anyone?

Is a new Mac too expensive? Not to worry, you can always go refurb (or as Apple puts it: “Apple Certified Refurbished Mac”).

You can see all the current offers from Apple here.

Here’s the listings that stood out to me as the best values:

Refurbished iMac 20-inch 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Price: $949

The 20-inch is a decent model, it busts the $1000 price tag and it’s better than the Mini all around. More powerful and comes with everything you need. The only drawback is that it only has 1GB of RAM – but everything else is good.

Refurbished iMac 24-inch 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo SuperDrive
Price: $1199

At just a hair under $1200 this is a lot of computer for the money. Remember, a 24-inch monitor is huge. The included nVidia 7300GT makes OS X scream. Once again, the only drawback is the 1GB of RAM. Considering this slab cost about $2000 originally, this Mac will stay current for a good long time.

Refurbished MacBook Pro 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Price: $1649

This in my opinion is the best deal of the lot. With a wicked fast processor, 2GB RAM on-board, 160GB HDD (which for a laptop is good,) and an nVidia GeForce 8600M GT 256MB video card – for under $1700 this is really, really good. Whether you choose the glossy screen or the non-glossy the price is the same.

I make it no secret that I’m very anti-cell phone. The main reason is because I do remember when the phone companies were literally screwing us blind in phone charges for land-line telecommunications back in the late 80s and early 90s.

Today’s wireless plans are essentially just as bad cost-wise.. and unfortunately no one sees this, but I digress.

I use a wireless phone not because I want to but because I have to, therefore I go cheap. With that said, here’s the lowest cost post-paid plans (meaning contractual agreements and not “pay as you go” pre-paid methods):

Verizon, AT&T, Alltel

Lowest possible price: $39.99 monthly, 2-year contract

You basically get the same features no matter which carrier you choose in this price range. All of them have free mobile-to-mobile (meaning same-carrier) minutes. AT&T is the only one that does NOT offer unlimited nights and weekends. All have 450 “anytime” minutes with the exception of Alltel that has 500.

The best deal in this price range is Alltel, no question. You get 50 more minutes plus the ability to add 1 “My Circle” number that doesn’t count against your 450.

Sprint, T-Mobile

Lowest possible price: $29.99 monthly, 2-year contract

T-Mobile offers 300 “anytime” minutes while Sprint only offers 200 monthly.

Does Sprint sound crappy? Not really when you consider their plan has unlimited nights and weekends while T-Mobile DOES NOT. T-Mobile only offers unlimited weekends but not weeknights and that’s a huge drawback.

Both carriers have the same perks so-to-speak as the higher-cost plans such as voicemail and so on.

. . .

So there you have it. Five major carriers in the USA with 2 of them on the low-low end of the price spectrum.

If you’re the type (like I am) that uses a wireless phone for basic and/or emergencies only, now you know how much it costs.