The Cheapskate

Get a refurbished Roku 3 for $69.99 shipped

I've shared a lot of Roku deals in recent months, usually for lower-end and/or discontinued models. Make no mistake, they're great, but it's always nice to go top-of-the-line when you can.

Today, for example, while supplies last, 1Sale (formerly 1SaleADay) has the refurbished Roku 3 streaming media player for $69.99 shipped. That's $30 less than you'd pay for a new one, and the lowest price I've seen for Roku's top-of-the-line box.

I'm not going to spend much time covering Roku basics, as I think most readers already know what the … Read more

Get a 24-inch LED monitor for $99.99 shipped

Big monitors rock, whether as a primary display for your desktop or a secondary one for your laptop. For a long time, the 22-inch LCD represented the price/size sweet spot, but that's starting to change.

To wit: While supplies last, Newegg has the Hanns-G HE245DPB 24-inch LCD monitor for $99.99 shipped when you apply coupon code EMCYTZT4967 at checkout. (As with most Newegg promos, you must be a registered, signed-in newsletter subscriber in order to use that code.)

That's the lowest out-the-door price I've ever seen for a 24-inch display. I don't recall seeing … Read more

Get lifetime PlayOn HD and PlayLater HD subscriptions for $69.99

It's a great time to be a cord-cutter. You've got Netflix for movies and past-season TV shows, Hulu Plus for current major-network offerings, Aereo for local channels, and PlayOn for all your basic-cable stations: Comedy Central, Food Network, HGTV, Syfy, TBS, and loads of others.

Of course, one of PlayOn's big shortcomings has been its lack of HD support. That changes today with the introduction of PlayOn HD, which brings 720p video to the mix. And its companion product, PlayLater, now supports HD as well.

All of which brings us to today's deal. For a limited … Read more

The Cheapskate's Cyber Monday picks

Cyber Monday. The online yang to Black Friday's brick-and-mortar yin. Truth be told, I don't usually find this day terribly exciting, if only because the deals rarely exceed what I find all year 'round.

That said, there are deals to be had, oh yes. Here are five especially good ones.

1. Big TV, small price. Most bargain-basement TVs incorporate older technology, like traditional backlighting and slow refresh rates. Not this one: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Groupon has the Westinghouse UW46T7HW 46-inch HDTV for $299.99 shipped.

This model may qualify as entry-level, but it … Read more

Black Friday deal week: The big day

Happy National Consumerism Day, everyone! By which I mean, of course, Black Friday. Feel like maybe it's lost its mojo? Like you couldn't possibly discover any deals better than what you see all year long? Think again. I come to you bearing not only some surprisingly excellent bargains, but also a smattering of Cheapskate exclusives. Starting with this one:

Talk to the hand You know how it's winter? And you know what a hassle it is to hold your phone up to your ear when it's freezing cold out? Forget that -- just hold your gloved … Read more

Black Friday deal week: Wild Wednesday

Everybody wants a tablet. And thanks to some insanely good Black Friday-week deals, everybody can have one. Big ones, small ones, even Windows RT ones. Check 'em out:

My tablet is cheaper than yours I still don't get why people have such strong feelings about Google's Nexus tablets, but they certainly are popular. And if you don't mind last year's model, they're now officially cheap as well.

While supplies last, Groupon has the first-generation Google Nexus 7 (16GB) for $119.99 shipped and the Google Nexus 7 (32GB) for $149.99 shipped. (Click the Options … Read more

Black Friday deal week: Tablet Tuesday

As we ramp up to the big day -- you know, Thanksgiving Black Friday -- stores are already dishing up some amazing deals. Starting with this one:

Windows gets small Not everyone is convinced that Windows 8 works well as a desktop or laptop OS, but what about in an 8-inch tablet? That's the question answered by the Dell Venue 8 Pro, which is already an intriguing buy at $299.

However, while supplies last, Walmart has the Dell Venue 8 Pro 8-inch tablet for $229.99, plus sales tax. It's out of stock for shipping, but you should … Read more

How to get unlimited free holiday music on your phone or tablet

Warm fire, check. Good company and good cheer, check. Now all you need is some good holiday music, which you can get in virtually unlimited quantities on your smartphone or tablet. And it won't cost you anything extra.

With the exception of iTunes Radio, which is available only for iOS devices, most of the services listed below are available for most mobile platforms.

iTunes Radio

Surprisingly, Apple's new streaming service has only one holiday-themed Featured Station, at least for the moment: the very good Rockin' Holiday. And if you search for "holidays," you get only a … Read more

Black Friday deal week: Manic Monday

This is going to be a crazy week. Already over the weekend I've seen a Dell laser printer with Wi-Fi for $29.99 (already sold out), a 16GB iPad Air for $449 (also sold out), and so on. Stores are really taking this "early Black Friday" thing to heart, so the deals are coming fast and furious -- and, unsurprisingly, selling out quickly.

That's why I'm going to devote this week to as many sweet deals as I can find, starting with this one:

Cheap e-reader

I first spotted this yesterday, so I don't … Read more

Five-deal Friday: Cheap iTunes gift cards, free Amazon Prime, and more!

Totally by accident, today has turned into yet another five-deal Friday. Seems like as we get closer to the holidays, the deals pile up faster and, um, furiously-er than ever. What's a cheapskate to do? I gotta share.

Some really interesting stuff today, too: two pretty excellent freebies, two slam-dunk gift items, and one of the best laptop deals I've seen, like, ever. Onward!

1. A free year of Amazon Prime*

You knew there had to be an asterisk next to that, right? Amazon Prime is Amazon's eclectic but essential service offering unlimited Netflix-style movie and TV … Read more