That’s $100 off, and you get a free glass screen protector. Plus: a Tile tracker for just 10 bucks and a four-pack of braided Type-C USB cables for $7!
Apple
Think you missed your chance to score Black Friday-level Apple Watch deals? Think again.
For a limited time, and while supplies last, B&H Photo has the Apple Watch Nike+ Series 3 GPS + Cellular 38mm in Space Gray for $279 shipped — a full $100 off the current Apple price. You also get a free tempered-glass screen protector, a nice little perk (and a $20 value).
SEE IT AT B&HSure, OK, even at that price, this is hardly the watch for cheapskates. That pick goes to the Amazfit Bip, which continues to sell for around $80. I like it primarily for time-telling and notifications, but as a fitness tracker it offers features like a step-counter, heart-rate monitor and even GPS.
Still, it’s not what I would call a fitness powerhouse. If you want something that’s pool-friendly and phone-capable, something that can store music and stream it to your favorite Bluetooth headphones, you need this here Apple Watch. And the cellular option, should you choose to leverage it, gives you true freedom from your phone.
As someone who completed his first sprint triathlon last year (and plans to do another this year), I’d welcome a wearable that could capture pool metrics while I’m training — and competing.
Beyond that, I’ll refer you to Scott Stein’s comprehensive Apple Watch Series 3 review. It doesn’t specifically call out the Nike+ features, which amount to custom Nike watch faces, a Nike sports band and tighter integration with the Nike+ Run Club app.
Whether you value that stuff or not, the fact remains this is a $379 watch on sale for $279 — and that makes it something to consider. Although the Series 3 was available for as low as $199 during Black Friday season, that was for the GPS-only (non-cellular) model.
I’ll also note that what I like best about the Apple Watch (above pretty much all others that work with iPhones) is the ease with which I can send a response to an incoming message. It’s a small thing, but, for me at least, a valuable one.
While you’re mulling this over, be sure to check out this roundup of great cheap accessories for your new Apple Watch.
Tile
Bonus deal: Now that the Tile folks have wisely upgraded their trackers to support replaceable batteries, they’re clearing out the first-gen models — for cheap.
For a limited time, and while supplies last, Tile (via eBay) has the first-gen Tile Mate tracker for $9.99 shipped. These originally sold for as much as $25 (which is also what you’d pay for the current-gen Mate). Note that these are new products with a full one-year warranty, but the packaging may be less-than-new.
SEE IT AT EBAYShould you bother with a Tile Mate that will likely end up in the recycle bin a year from now? (That’s about how long the battery lasts.) At this price, I say yes, because it’s a cheap way to find out whether this is a useful product for you or not.
In my house, Mrs. Cheapskate uses her Tile almost daily to locate her phone, which she is constantly misplacing. For her, it’s indispensable gear. So if you’ve been tempted to try one yourself, this is the lowest cost of entry I’ve seen yet.
Huaham
Bonus deal No. 2: Need to stock up on Type-C USB cables for your phone, MacBook, Nintendo Switch and whatnot? I’m hard pressed to fathom a better deal than this: For a limited time, and while supplies last, you can get a 4-pack of varying-length Type-C nylon-braided cables for $6.99 with promo code EOJ2SPGJ. Update: Although the code was tested and confirmed with the red color earlier today, it appears only black is remaining at this point, and for whatever reason the code isn’t working with it.
SEE IT AT AMAZONThis bundle includes one 3-foot cable, two 6-footers and one 10-foot. They’re available in your choice of colors and backed by a 12-month warranty.
Beyond that, well, these are no-brand cables, so it’s kind of impossible to judge long-term reliability. But they’re braided, so at least they should be relatively tangle-free — and probably more durable (especially if you have cats that like to chew) than their rubberized counterparts.
