I got the Bella Cucina Rocket Blender at Macy's a couple of months ago. It was on sale for $20 with a $10 rebate, so, after tax, I only ended up paying $12 for it (score!). Right now it's $30+ shipping at Macy's, and $27 at Amazon - quite a bit more.

I'd seen the ads for the Magic Bullet on TV, and this one seemed to work on the same principles, just at a much cheaper price. The reviews at Amazon were mixed, according to them the little blender works well, until it stops working altogether, sometimes after a few months. The parts are somewhat delicate, so it's probably a good thing that we have to hand wash it anyway (as we don't have a dishwasher).

I've used it for smoothies quite successfully, it crushes ice quite well. Recently I used it to make pesto sauce, also quite successfully. But it wasn't until yesterday that I had an opportunity to try it for grinding spices - and I'm happy to say it ground cumin and fennel seeds beautifully. This is very important for me, as I haven't had a way to easily grind spices. The mini chopper won't do it, a simple pepper mill doesn't do it either (at least with any ease), and a mortar and pestle are too hard to use, IMHO. So I'm thrilled. I finally can use whole spices and grind them as I need them.