The Nikon Coolpix S4000 is a sub-$300 digital camera, and as such you shouldn’t expect miracles from it.

Although it looks like it could be an expensive camera - thanks to the glossy finshes, sleek form factor and 3-inch touchscreen - the S4000’s performance could only be described as average at best. For starters, it’s somewhat slow, both to start up and in continuous shooting mode. Image quality is only so-so, even at low ISO levels. You’ll definitely notice issue with image sharpness and colours.

And then there is the touchscreen itself, which has usability issues of its own. It can be somewhat difficult to use at times, though on the plus side, the navigation itself is fairly intuitive.

On the positive side, the S4000 features a 27mm wide-angle lens with 4x optical zoom and a 12-megapixel CCD sensor. If you’re looking for a camera that’s cheap and cheerful and are willing to overlook some performance issues, this may be enough for you.

The Nikon Coolpix S4000 is available in Australia for $299.

Buy a cheap Nikon digital camera on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

It’s nice to end the week with something cheap and cheerful, and these Cookie Monster earrings fit the bill nicely.

You can pick them up for just $5.99 from your local Diva store, or otherwise buy them online. Either way, they’re sure to cheer you up during the dark days of winter.

Diva actually has a whole range of Sesame Street jewellery at the moment, featuring the likes of Elmo, Big Bird and Bert & Ernie. I have to say though that Cookie Monster was always my favourite, because he was always so loud and proud about his love of cookies.

Incidentally, Diva is having another one of its famous in-store sales, so you’ll be able to pick up some bargains from as little as $3 while you’re there.

By Caroline Warnes

And the winners are:

K. James, 6450; M. Lynch, 2830; A. Hayward, 3240; B. Anderson, 3028; G. Allingham, 3094.

Leona Edmiston is having yet another clearance of some of her dresses and accessories, both online and in-store.

Leona Edmiston frocks are great for winter, especially when paired with some of her fabulous black tights, and many are smart enough to wear in the office.

My favourite is the Joelene dress - black is a staple for winter and it’s reduced to $210, down from $425.

Or you can check out the sale in-store for more options.

By Caroline Warnes

The Motorola Quench is the manufacturer’s latest Google Android phone, and it offers an affordable alternative to some of its rivals.

As of today, it’s available in Australia exclusively on Optus’ Social $19 plan (24 months, $0 upfront), so it’s a nice option for anyone on a budget looking for a sleek and relatively comprehensive phone.

The Quench features Motorola’s Motoblur Android operating system, which has a strong emphasis on social connectivity. Motoblur syncs contacts, messages and photos from various social sources, including the likes of Facebook and Twitter plus various email accounts (for example, work and Gmail). All this information is delivered to the phone’s home screen in simplified streams.

The phone also offers some decent multimedia features, which should appeal to younger users, including a touchscreen with on-screen QWERTY keyboard (just like the iPhone) and Adobe Flash Lite for browsing the internet (unlike the iPhone). Then there is the new Motorola media player, which lets you buy and download music instantly. Rounding out the multimedia offering is a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash.

Connectivity options are also decent for a phone in this price range, and include 3G access, Wi-Fi, aGPS and stereo Bluetooth.

Buy a cheap Motorola phone on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

More good news for bargain hunters this morning - jewellery site Hollywood Style is once again having a clearance sale, and prices start from $5.

Hollywood Style sells some fantastic costume jewellery, including cocktail rings, earrings, bracelets, necklaces and more.

It’s an invaluable site for anyone who loves diamonds and other jewels, but can’t afford the real deal.

Don’t forget to stop by the under $10 section for some real bargains.

By Caroline Warnes

Well, the weather is well and truly awful in Sydney today, so most of us are probably thinking about hibernating for the winter.

For me, that means making sure I have something to keep my feet warm, new pyjamas and plenty of manchester and bedding so I have no reason to leave the house on rainy weekends.

Well, luckily the Spotlight mid-season sale starts tomorrow, so you can stock up on everything you need in the homewares and bedding department.

I spied these wool blankets when flipping through the catalogue this morning and they had the immediate effect of making me wish I was at home on the couch with Foxtel and some comfort food.

They’re reduced to $99 (queen bed), $79 (double bed) and $64 (single bed) - great prices for wool blankets, which are far less irritating to the skin than the cheaper alternatives.

By Caroline Warnes

The new Nokia X6 mobile phone provides some excellent multimedia features, but is let down slightly by its design.

When it comes to touchscreen multimedia phones, it goes without saying that the current benchmark in the Apple iPhone, and the X6’s design is found wanting by comparison. While the iPhone manages to combine sleek looks with a sturdy design, the Nokia X6 looks and feels somewhat cheap.

However if it’s multimedia functionality you’re after from a mobile phone, then the X6 will shine. It offers an excellent 5-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics as well as an above average music player with video support. It also comes bundled with excellent earphones, ensuring that sound quality is consistently excellent. You can store all your media on the 16GB of internal storage.

It runs on the Nokia Series 60 operating system, a Symbian-based OS that we’ve already seen on a handful of Nokia phones before. Unfortunately this OS isn’t quite as finely honed as the iPhones, and can cause the occasional usability glitch.

The Nokia X6 is available in Australia now for $529.

Buy a cheap Nokia phone on sale in Australia

By Caroline Warnes

Yes, you read that headline correctly: breathable chocolate.

If you love your chocolate but don’t like wearing it around your hips, then you need to invest in some of these nifty Le Whif inhalers.

Le Whif breathable chocolate offers you a delicious chocolate hit with just a fraction of the calories (if you can handle putting it up your nose instead of down your throat).

It comes in three varieties - pure chocolate, raspberry choc and mint - and can be bought online through the website, with prices starting at 4.99 Euros for a pack of three.

The manufacturer has also just launched breathable coffee, offering “the kick of coffee without the cup”. What next?

By Caroline Warnes

And the winners are:

R. Glavan, 2164; E. Ballinger, 4312; S. Kanschat, 7173; C. Susinetti, 6061; H. Holm, 4122.