RadioShack is offering 17 products at a discounted rate for its July 4 Sale. Several of the products are on sale through the end of the month, too. Orders totaling $50 or more will receive free ground shipping (except desktops, laptops, and TVs).
RadioShack doesn't have a huge stock of electronics as we all know, but from time to time it does offer great deals. To put the store to the challenge this week, I'm taking four sale items and comparing them to other retailers' prices. Let's see if RadioShack's sale on the Magellan Maestro 4350 GPS, Casio Exilim EX-Z29 10.1MP Digital Camera, Plantronics Explorer 230 Bluetooth Headset, and Cyber Acoustics CA-3402 2.1-Channel Speaker System will have you running back for more.
Apparently I have something in common with the iPhone: I also shut down in the summer heat.
1. Sing it with me: "I want to be/ Under the sea/ With a waterproof Olympus camera." I'm going to have to work on that last bit. Anyhoo, Adorama is practically giving away the Olympus 1050 digital camera for $149 with free shipping. This classy compact camera delivers 10.1 megapixels and a 3X optical zoom, and it's waterproof up to 10 feet. So take it snorkeling with no worries. Take it with you in the pool. Take those secret bathtub pics you've been waiting to try. This Olympus will still work perfectly when it's out of the water.
2. Here's a clever device for people who want to use Skype at home but aren't crazy about wearing a headset. The D-Link DPH-50U IP Telephone Adapter lets you use your exiting corded or cordless home phone with Skype. Your phone will be able to receive both standard and Skype calls. You can even forward Skype calls to your cell phone when you leave home. How does it do all this? Magic. Buy.com has it for $8.99 after $10 mail-in rebate, with free shipping.
3. It's a whole compact stereo system for $34.98 (with free shipping). That's the NewEgg.com price for the Jensen Docking Digital Music System, which plays and charges your iPod, and also includes speakers, an AM/FM radio, and an alarm clock.
Office Depot isn't just an office supplies store; it also carries electronics and computer hardware. This week you can enjoy discounted items in Office Depot's 4th of July Savings. It's offering $30 off on digital cameras, $10 to $60 off on USB keys, up to $70 in savings on printers, up to $200 off on select HP notebooks, some freebie offers, and more. All offers expire on July 4. Place $50 or more in your shopping cart online to get free next business day delivery (Monday through Friday between 8:30 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. local time).
In today's TechSaver Test, I'm going to challenge Office Depot's sale prices on the SanDisk Cruzer USB 2.0 Flash Drive (32GB), the HP Pavilion dv2 (1030-us) notebook, the Nikon Coolpix S560 camera, and the Lexmark X7675 Wireless Color Flatbed All-In-One. Is the Depot your savings hero? Find out after the jump.
The Walkman turns 30 this week and so does TechSaver, which started life as a blue ditto sheet stapled on an A&P bulletin board. The first deal? A SpaceMaker microwave oven.
1. Shhh! This is going to be our little secret. Nobody has to know you paid only $483.99 for a Westinghouse 42-inch LCD TV. The price is so low because this is a refurbished model sold by MacMall. Your friends don't have to know that, though. Just let them be impressed by the crisp 1080p display. You'll also enjoy the 16:9 widescreen, the 1000:1 contrast ratio, and the 4 HDMI inputs. It's a no-compromise television at a super-low price.
2. Guitar Hero fans, you're going to hold your lighters in the air when you see this deal. RedOctane is selling the World Tour wireless guitar and mic bundle for the Xbox 360 for only $49.99, and that's with free shipping. They'll be no cords in your way as you wail on this guitar with a new touch-sensitive neck. The mic is wired and comes with a 15-foot USB cable.
3. Sure, you know you need security software on your computer, but it's so expensive. Well, not today. Buy.com, selling on eBay, is offering a time-limited deal on McAfee Internet Security 2009. You can get it for $11.99 with free shipping today only. Jump on it, because prices like that don't come around often.
NewEgg.com, one of my favorite destinations for buying computer hardware, is celebrating our nation's birthday with an Independence Day Sale. The sale, exclusive to NewEgg.com e-mail subscribers, features a bevy of discounted prices in computer hardware, electronics, peripherals, and accessories--all with free shipping, no less. Discounted prices and/or promo codes are valid until July 6.
I chose four products from NewEgg.com's special sale and compared their prices to other retailers and online stores. Find out if you should buy that Epson printer, Crucial RAM stick, Lenovo notebook, or Canon PowerShot camera from NewEgg, after the jump.
Talk about a good deal: I got a Firefox 3.5 download absolutely free a little while ago.
1. If you're anything like me, there's one feature that
really gets your attention: a built-in iPod dock. My radios have iPod docs, my
toilet tissue holder has an iPod dock. Why, I've even got an iPod dock with a
second iPod dock built in, just in case I want to listen to both at the same
time. That's why I was thrilled to see this Panasonic Viera 32-inch LCD HDTV
with an iPod dock. You can use it to view your photos on the big screen or
watch videos stored on your iPod. Dell has it for $449 (you'll have to click to
see the sale price).
2. If you've got the latest Apple iLife suite and you'd like
to try out the free music lessons that come with GarageBand, this is a deal for
you. Musician's Friend is selling the Epiphone Dot Studio Semi-Hollow electric
guitar for $199 (in the worn brown finish) with free shipping. Learn on it and
get instant feedback from GarageBand showing how you're doing.
3. You won't need an outlet when you've got the boynq Vase
USB speaker, which delivers two-way sound using just a USB port. RadioShack has
it for $9.99. It doesn't hold flowers, but its vase-shaped good looks will
enhance your desktop.
With my four-year-old, $2,000 color laser printer on death's doorstep, the idea of a $100 color laser printer holds a lot of appeal. But as I did more research; talked to pcmag.com's printer guru, M. David Stone; and fact-checked with printer vendors, I've come to the conclusion: Cheapest to buy may not be cheapest to own. As you can tell by the chart above, the total cost of ownership over several years (out to 50,000 pages printed) is about the same no matter whether you pay $100, $250, or $500 for a color laser printer. The razor blades cost so much, you may as well buy a nice razor.
Each week you can get different sales, free shipping offers, financing deals, and exclusives on BestBuy.com. This week Best Buy has a ton of marked-down items in categories such as Cameras & Camcorders, Home Theater, and Car & GPS. I'm going to focus on four products in these categories: a 12-megapixel Samsung digital camera, a Pure Digital pocket camcorder, a Garmin GPS, and a Sony Bravia HDTV.
Find out the deals you'll want to grab and the ones you'll want to avoid, after the jump.
I scoured the Internet all weekend for deals and this is what I came up with. Okay, maybe not all weekend.
1. It's all about netbooks lately. I don't know what they are, either, but they're getting so much coverage I feel like I need one. Buy.com has the Asus EPC 1000 for $249.99 with free shipping after rebate (you'll need to pay with PayPal to get the $50 rebate). It comes with a 533-MHz Intel Atom processor, 1GB DDR2 RAM, a 160GB hard drive, a 10-inch display, Windows XP, and 801.11b/g/n WiFi. It also weighs just 3.2 pounds, making it a cute little ultra-portable notebook that's great for Web surfing. Hold it, is that what a netbook is?
2. I love anything with "kit" in the title including the Targus Digital SLR Starter Kit, now selling from RadioShack for $14.99. It comes with a camera carrying case, an aluminum tripod, a memory card wallet, and a three-piece digital maintenance set. It's got everything but the D-SLR, itself.
3. Don't let your pretty iPod Touch get all scratched up. For cheap you can get an Elan Form iTouch 2G case, in black, from Buy.com. It's just $5.49 and it comes with free shipping, which is a rarity at this price.
After you've hit the pool or before you take up kayaking this weekend, maybe you plan on checking out J&R's Weekend Sale. If you are, you should know that some of the retailer's "sales" may not be worth your time.
Included in J&R's Weekend Sale is a LaCie 500GB rugged external hard drive, an Acer notebook, a Garmin GPS watch, and an HP wireless all-in-one printer. If you don't live in NYC where J&R stores are located, you'll have to pay shipping costs for most of the products on sale. Let's find out which deals are a steal and which deals are duds in today's TechSaver Test.
LaCie 301371 Rugged 500GB USB 2.0 / FireWire Hard Drive
(Was $349.99; Now $139.99)--Bad Deal!
In the past, LaCie hard drives have earned average ratings of 3.6 out of 5 stars by PCMag analysts. This particular model has a mini USB 2.0 port, FireWire 400/800, and a scratch-protected aluminum shell. At $140, you're definitely paying for the rugged feature for just a 500GB drive. So is it really a good deal, when you have to add about $10 for shipping (a total of $150)? (And if you're a New York State resident, you can add tax on top of that.) NOPE! Amazon.com is selling the 500GB drive for $144.59 with free shipping.
These prices are so low, I feel like I'm stealing, like I'm a smooth criminal. That's the way you make me feel, low prices. But keep shopping, I say: don't stop 'till you get enough. I know, I'm bad. Say say say what you will.
1. A terabyte for a C-note? Now, this is a hot deal. Other Word Computing is selling the Seagate FreeAgent Pro 1TB external hard drive for $99. If you're one of the many who doesn't back up your data, this is the time to start. It offers eSATA, USB 2.0, and FireWire 400 connectivity, and a 7200rpm hard drive for fast transfers. Note that this comes formatted for Windows computers; it will work with Macs, but you'll need to do some formatting first.
2. Sims 3 may have just come out, but you can already get it for a great price. GoGamer.com is selling copies for $39.90, which is lower than Amazon. If you've been reading the rave reviews and you're ready to dive in and create your own characters, pick up a copy.
3. I could easily get addicted to the 1saleaday site. It's like Woot, but with more useful products. Today, it's selling the GlobeTrotter GT Max unlocked laptop modem card for $19.99. It plugs into a PC Card slot and uses your existing Sim card to provide data access to your notebook. If you're interested, visit the site before midnight because the deal ends then.
Yesterday I started a new TechSaver series called the "TechSaver Test." These posts will put one retailer to the ultimate challenge: sales prices. Just because a retailer slashes its prices, doesn't mean that those prices are the best offers you can get. Unfortunately, most consumers don't have the time to be running around for the lowest price. But that's why I'm here. (And I get paid to do it!)
TigerDirect.com is up to bat in today's TechSaver Test. The retailer announced some limited-time price breaks on items like an external hard drive, an LCD monitor, and a DVD burner. I wanted to find out whether these deals are a home run or a strikeout. Find out after the jump.
Now that Cheap Geek has gone upscale and become TechSaver, I've been ordered to remove all the geeky things from the office. Great, now what am I supposed to do with this box of light sabers?
1. You've got TV in your house and there'll be TV where you're going, but if only there was some way you could have video in the car, as well. Now there is. Geeks.com is selling a two-pack of 7-inch LCD car headrest color monitors for $137.99, and you'll get free shipping if you use the code FREESTUFF at checkout. These are easy to set up and even come with a pair of remotes, perhaps for especially large backseats. They support PAL and NTSC systems, so I guess the idea is that you use them with a portable DVD player.
2. Speaking of car deals, look what you can get at 1saleaday.com. Until midnight tonight, it's selling a refurbished TomTom One 3rd Edition for $49.99. That's a terrific price on a dependable navigator. This GPS has a 3.5-inch screen and both U.S. and Canadian maps. Click the Specs button to confirm that this is a refurbished model, which isn't immediately obvious. TomTom itself sells refurbs of this navigator for $99.95, so it's still a great deal.
3. Why spend a small fortune on earbuds when you can spend $3? That's the price for Techsunny iPod Earphones, which look exactly like Apple's own earbuds. They're going for $3 each with free shipping. Buy a couple to have on hand, just in case the headphones you have break.
Somewhere between tech-savvy and penny saver, there is TechSaver.
1. There's no point in getting your notebook repaired anymore. With deals this great, just get another one. NewEgg.com has the Toshiba Satellite L305-S5921 notebook for $379.99, and that includes free shipping. The laptop is loaded with a 2.16-GHz Intel Pentium dual-core processor, a 15.4-inch screen, 2GB of DDR2 800 memory, and a 160GB hard drive. You'll even get 802.11b/g wireless connectivity and a DVD drive. It's everything you need in one extremely affordable package.
2. It's hard to find a good deal on an iPod, but Apple has just released a bunch of refurbished models. Get a 1GB Shuffle for $39 or a 2GB for $59. An 8GB Nano is just $99, while a 16GB Nano is $149. You can also pick up a 8GB current generation 8GB iPod Touch for $179 or a 16GB Touch for $259. Check the site for other refurbished deals, including Apple TVs. To make the deal sweeter, everything includes free shipping and is covered by a one-year warranty.
3. Navigon leaving the U.S. market was bad for GPS competition, but for the moment, anyway, it's good for you. That's because the company is selling off its remaining inventory at low, low prices. Head over to Geeks.com where you can get the excellent Navigon 2200T navigator for $109.99 with free shipping. This model has a 3.5-inch display, text-to-speech, and lane assistance.
When a store is selling a product that you really want at a discounted price, you probably jump for joy and grab for your purse. Not so fast. Just because one store is selling that item at a "discounted" price doesn't mean it's the lowest price you can find. And let's face it: there's nothing worse than feeling cheated.
TechSaver's goal is to provide you with the most current lowest prices on products it finds advertised at merchants. First up: X-tremeGeek.com. This gadget store has been one of my go-to places for finding unique and unusual products to write about for PCMag.com. Today the store announced its Fourth of July sale, which consists of cool items for grilling, camping, listening to music, playing in the backyard, and plenty more.
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