Unfortunately, you'll never get the same thing without the steam.

By virtue of a gift card, I have the frother from W-S as I don't have the funds to get the espresso machine I want nor the space to keep it. It actually does extra-duty for emulsions and makes a mean whipped hot chocolate. It does a pretty good job on milk frothing. I was at Ikea about a month ago and saw one almost exactly like it for much less money.

Here is a link that might be useful: The W-S one

We have a cheap foamer that works fine. After some experience, we discovered two things -- make sure the battery is not worn out or nearly worn out; second, and most important, when you foam, hold the foamer so that it spins close to the surface of the milk. If you immerse deep into the milk, it won't work well. We use skim milk and find that it can nearly double the volume. I'm sure it will do the same for whole milk, half and half, or whatever.

We sell one in the store the manufacturer is Nespresso.

Model Cappuccinatore CS 20

This is unreal we make frothy hot chocolate, cappuccinos, really thick froth, the froth lasts all the way to the bottom of the cup :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Frother

Thanks for the responses and tips! The Nespresso looks like it costs about $200 so I think we'll try out an Ikea one with the tips given here and in the kitchen forum. Wife's birthday is coming up so I would be willing to spend up to $100 if there's something similar to the Nespresso, but smaller. This really seems to be for an office to share.

I froth my milk in one of those manual pump units that look much like a French press. My lattes rival those made on the $500 Breville at work, faster and with easier clean-up. The most I've ever paid for one is $29.95, but price isn't a huge guarantee of quality. I've found the ones with the metal meshes work better than the nylon/plastic ones, and you must have a nice snug fit between the plunger and the glass beaker. And think happy thoughts - the glass breaks too easily if your method is too agressive.