Pete, thanks for the clarification with Ice Cream Makers vs Machines,
it helped a lot with googling for the right thing.

From
http://www.epinions.com/Ice_Cream_Ma...range_220_1200
it seems that the main problem with < $500 makers is that they are easy
to break once the cream becomes sufficiently hard. I was looking for
something reliable in $300-$400 range, but it looks like I was too
optimistic.