I've heard a lot of good things about the hubsan's. I picked up a Syma X1 last year when they first went under $50 delivered...but then they got popular and the price went back up. Looks like they're down to under $35 now.
The X1 is a nice little learning quad. Takes a BEATING and just keeps going and going. I did eventually manage to bend one of the prop shafts and break one of the landing gear...it still flew but wasn't quite as stable. And when I ordered replacements from hobbypartz they screwed up and sent me more parts than I ordered so repairs were super cheap
I've yet to break a prop, but I have bent a few.
One of the things I most like about the X1 (and some of the Hubsan's) is that it uses the flysky protocol so it binds with my 9x TX no problem. You loose the flip function that way (and it's really hard to flip it manually though I have succeeded a few times by making a sudden move then chopping the throttle when the wind is just right to help carry me through.) The big limit on the X1 is the TX is really weak and the RX is prone to interference so range is horrible unless you bind it to a better TX like the 9x. But the 9x also gives better throws than the stock TX so you can do more aggressive maneuvers.
My biggest complaint about the X1 is just that I got bored with it fairly quick. Too small to lift much more than a keychain cam out of it's case. But for getting a taste of quad flying it was great and after a year of planning I'm finally working on building a larger better quad.