Disappointed by my new Celestron StarSense Explorer DX 100AZ

I bought this telescope recently, but it's been pretty underwhelming. Tried looking at Jupiter, Saturn, and the Orion nebula, but Jupiter and Saturn were both large white balls no matter which lens I used or what the focus was at, and I didn't see the nebula at all.
I plan on returning this, but I don't know what I should get instead. My budget is set at around $500-ish, and I checked out the buyer's guide but I don't which telescope would be right for me. I've only ever used tripod-ed telescopes before, but the FAQ makes a convincing argument for Dobs.

Any help would be nice from a more experienced telescope user, thanks!