Great techy gifts for less than $100

 Shopping for family and friends can be a difficult endeavor. But when you're sticking to a budget it can be downright nerve-wracking. Still you can find some good tech gifts for less than $100 and three excellent choices are included here. And if these aren't exactly what you had in mind, check out CNET's entire list online.

WHAT Soundcore Motion 300 Bluetooth speaker

THE COST $79.99

AVAILABLE FROM us.soundcore.com

Bose makes its excellent SoundLink Flex Bluetooth speaker that sells for around $150 and sometimes goes on sale for less. The Soundcore Motion 300 is Anker's answer to that Bose speaker. Around the same size as the Bose, it doesn't sound quite as good, but it still sounds impressive for its compact size.

Like the SoundLink Flex, it can be laid down flat with its speaker firing up toward the ceiling or propped up. It's waterproof and delivers up to 13 hours of audio at moderate volume levels. There's also support for Sony's LDAC audio codec for Android and other devices that support Bluetooth wireless streaming with LDAC.

WHAT Ninja Blast portable blender

THE COST $59.99

AVAILABLE FROM ninjakitchen.com

There are more affordable portable blenders, like the Blendjet 2 and the Hamilton Beach Single-Serve, but the Ninja Blast is a step up from those models. It looks and feels more premium, and though it isn't super-powerful, it's a good option for making smoothies and protein shakes on the go or at home when you don't want to deal with a full-size blender. Additionally, you can drink right from the blender, as it has a leakproof sip lid. Available in multiple color options and easy to operate, it has an 18 ounce-capacity and recharges via USB-C.

WHAT Amazon Kindle

THE COST $99.99

AVAILABLE FROM amazon.com

A while back Amazon released a baseline Kindle E Ink e-reader that no longer seems so entry-level. While its 6-inch screen makes it a smaller and lighter e-reader than the step-up Kindle Paperwhite ($130), its display has the same 300-ppi resolution as the Paperwhite. However, that step-up model adds waterproofing and incorporates a more sophisticated front lighting scheme, with 17 LEDs compared to the Kindle 2022's four.