Productopia | Molly McLaughlin

Is your loved one trapped with a wired internet connection? If you want to set them free with a  wireless router, don't bother going shopping this Black Friday. While Best Buy, Staples and Wal-mart are offering some deals, according to their leaked Black Friday circulars, these deals are not what they seem.

Best Buy is offering the Linksys WRT160N for about $60. This router gets good reviews from CNET and PCMag.com, as well as positive user feedback. So far, so good. However, this very router is currently selling for about 32 bucks at Amazon.com, and 45 bucks at Staples. Interestingly enough, this Linksys router isn't included in Staples' Black Friday circular. Staples is offering the NetGear WNR1000 RangeMax 150 for $35, and Wal-mart offers a similar model, the Belkin N 150 router, for $30. Sounds good, right?

Yes, printers are practical gift, but some people like practical gifts - especially if you set up the printer too. Discounted printers abound at Staples, OfficeMax, Best Buy and Wal-mart - but some are better deals than others. Whether you're in the market for an inkjet printer, laser printer or multifunction printer, there's savings to be had - and this year, it's either at Staples or OfficeMax. Here are our picks for the best printer deals, based on the reviews we've analyzed.

If you're interested in printing 4-by-6-inch photos at home, a dedicated photo-printer is the way to go. Photo printers are great for printing shots during a party and make a great gift. The Epson PictureMate series of inkjet snapshot printers consistently earn top ratings in reviews. The line's newest addition, the PictureMate Charm (*Est. $150), offers even better photo quality than its predecessors, the Dash (*Est. $140) and the Zoom (*Est. $200).

The Canon Selphy CP780 (*Est. $90) is a good budget photo printer, though you'll pay a bit more for paper and ink. Reviewers generally rate it just behind Epson's PictureMate models. The Selphy CP780 and its siblings use dye-sublimation technology, which results in prints that have no pixelation and are more saturated than those seen from inkjets.

The Nikon Coolpix L20 digital camera is a hot ticket for black friday 2009. We've already seen it in leaked circulars from Sears and OfficeMax, and now Target's recently leaked flyer is showing the L20 for $88. Target's price sits between those of Sears ($100) and OfficeMax ($80), both of which were deemed by us to be "no deals." While spending less than $100 for a digital camera is tempting - the L20 isn't even really worth that low price. As we've reported, the Nikon Coolpix L20 gets mixed professional reviews and many users reviews report blurry images and other issues. We recommend going with the Canon PowerShot SD480 (*Est. $105) if you're on a budget. See our cheap-digital camera report. for more best-reviewed (and affordable) cameras.

Almost all digital photo printing websites offer the same basic options: online storage, editing tools, printing services, photo gifts and photo sharing. Photo sharing is an especially helpful feature, as users can upload photos and invite friends and family to view them online. This saves you from e-mailing large batches of image files. Anyone can then order just the prints they want, as well as photo gifts like photo mugs, coasters, magnets or entire photo albums.

Reviews say Snapfish is the best digital photo printing service overall, with the perfect balance of quality and price. Snapfish (*Est. 9 cents per print) gets recommendations from a number of review sites including PCMag.com, BusinessWeek and Which?, a British consumer magazine.

The official start to the holiday shopping season -- Black Friday -- is rapidly approaching and stores are already starting to slash prices. At its recent CES Unveiled event, the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) predicted a 3 percent decrease in spending from last year, based on their research. This is due to a number of reasons, including 53 percent of those polled in a recent CEA survey who say they are making less money than they were last year.

There will be plenty of deals to be had this holiday season, but the Vivitar digital camera listed in Kohl's leaked Black Friday circular for $60 isn't one of them. The 10-megapixel Vivicam X024 offers 3x optical zoom,  a 2.4-inch TFT LCD and video capture. So far, so standard. Here's what's not: the camera can't record sound. That's right, you can only make silent movies.

Vivitar digital cameras are virtually ignored by professional reviewers, and user reviews are scarce, particularly for the X024. We dug deep and found a sprinkling at Amazon.com and Pricegrabber U.K. - the highest rating the X024 receives is two out of four stars. Users complain of quick battery drain and feel duped by the lack of a mic to capture sound, something that's not mentioned anywhere in the product materials or on the Vivitar website.

Canister vacuum cleaners are the best choice if you have mainly hard floors and area rugs. They also work well for cleaning upholstery, drapes and stairs, say experts. These types of vacuums are typically more expensive than their upright counterparts, but they're also durable and long-lasting.

If you're on a budget, reviews point to the aggressively-priced Hoover WindTunnel Bagless S3765-040 (*Est. $220). This bagless canister vacuum performs well on carpets and bare floors, and it uses a HEPA filter to help keep dust from leaking back into the room. Hoover's WindTunnel Bagless canister vac is on the heavy side at 22-pounds, but it comes with a number of helpful tools to help you get into corners and effectively clean furniture and upholstery.

Cell phones are more than just hip accessories. They can be essential tools for keeping in touch during emergencies, or just for keeping tabs on your kids while you're at work or when they're out with friends. Of course, once you buy your child a cell phone, they'll want to do more with it than simply talk to their parents, so you have to set some limits. Here are some tips on buying the right cell phone for your child.

Why recycle?

Americans upgrade their cell phones far more often than they do their computers or TVs, switching to snazzier, more multifunctional units every year or two. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, over 100 million cell phones will be replaced this year. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that just 14 million Americans recycled their old phones in 2007. Many of these discarded cell phones wind up in garbage dumps, where they can leach dangerous chemicals into the soil.