Rest? We know not the meaning of the word, as every spare second is spent searching high and low for the best mobile deals to bring you week after week and save you hundreds, hopefully thousands of bucks in the long run.
We’re tireless, always with at least a browser tab open on Amazon, and we like to cater to your every need, be it a spanking new powerhouse smartphone, backup prepaid handheld, affordable 7 to 8-inch tablet, upper tier 10 inch+ laptop replacement, fancy smartwatch, dependable fitness tracker or accessories of all types, with various use cases.
Today, we’ll admit we’re a little low on high-end slate and watch bargains. But the new arrival phone offers, budget-friendly phones and pads, and rich harvest of discounted mobile accessories should more than please you. Here goes:
This week’s best handheld deals
HTC One M9 – $50 with Verizon contracts; $100 at Sprint
It’s not very typical of a “mainstream” flagship to get an on-contract price cut roughly three months after its market debut, but let’s not act astounded. We knew this moment was coming, given how little effort HTC put into “upgrading” last year’s One M8, which in turn was a little too similar to the M7.
The million 50-dollar question is should you buy the reduced M9? It’s far more tempting, we’ll give Verizon and Sprint that, but it still doesn’t feel like a wise purchase compared to, say, the $200 and up LG G4. Maybe if carriers give it away for free…?
Lenovo Vibe Shot – starting at $378
Never heard of the camera virtuoso before? Well, it literally just went on sale stateside (via importers), and if you’re into digital photography, it’s a must-buy. Not particularly expensive, it offers 16 MP triple-LED flash imaging muscle, 8 megapixels of selfie prowess, octa-core 64-bit Snapdragon 615 punch, Full HD 5-inch resolution, 3 GB RAM (!!), and 32 GB internal storage (!!!).
Not to mention the stunning, unparalleled design and 4G LTE connectivity, albeit restricted stateside.
Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge – $786 unlocked
Finally, some breathing room for cash-strapped S6 Edge prospective buyers. Granted, the tariff still sits dangerously close to the prohibitive $800 mark, so perhaps it’d be smarter to keep an eye on the listing and wait for a further trim. At $700 or so, it’d become impossible to refuse the dual-curved metal-and-glass beast.
LG G3 S – $198
Not a powerhouse by any means, an exciting newcomer or even respectable upper mid-range soldier, the diminutive G3 S nonetheless provides plenty of bang for your buck. A 5-inch 720p display, Lollipop software, quad-core S400 chip, 8 MP LED flash cam, 2,540 mAh battery and standout build quality. Be afraid, Motorola, be very afraid!
Huawei SnapTo – $160
Another direct Moto G rival, the SnapTo saw daylight more recently, but is stuck on decrepit 4.4 KitKat at the moment. It also fails to impress in the photography and autonomy departments, with a 5 MP shooter and 2,200 mAh cell, but it’s cheaper now and touts a sharp HD 5-inch panel.
Inexpensive tablets for everybody
Acer Iconia One 7 – $55 certified refurbished with 16 GB storage
You never imagined you’d be able to score the One 7 for even less than $90, did you? Then again, at $55, you have to make a very serious compromise, settling for a pre-owned Jelly Bean 7 incher with only 90 days covered by the manufacturer’s hardware warranty. Tough call.
Dell Venue 8 – $125 in red; $130 black
Want us to make your next pad buying decision easy as pie? Enter the $125 Full HD 8-inch Venue. It’s larger than the Iconia above, much sharper (1,920 x 1,200 pixels), KitKat leads the software show, and you have your zippy Intel Atom inside, backed by 1 GB RAM.
Lenovo Tab A10 keyboard bundle – $249
Looking for something slightly more productive than the Venue 8? You can’t go wrong with the versatile Tab A10, which also stands out courtesy of generous screen real estate, stellar battery life and top-notch audio performance.
LG G Pad 8.0 – $169
Back to compact, ultra-affordable tabs, the G Pad 8.0 files Android 5.0 Lollipop under major selling points, alongside decent design, a quad-core Snapdragon 400 SoC and 16 GB memory.
Wearable deals and steals
Sony SmartWatch 3 – $175
You know what’s sad… for Sony, and extremely pleasant for us? The SmartWatch 3 is really worth more, what with its GPS tracking abilities, waterproof skeleton, new version of Android Wear and all-around rich sensor support.
But so many early smartwatch adopters let aesthetics cloud their judgment, which is why this somewhat unattractive, bulky timepiece may soon go down to $150. Yay!
Jawbone Up 24 – starting at $65
Technically archaic and discontinued, the non-screen-sporting activity tracker can do the job it knows best as proficiently as when it started selling. It’s not fancy, it’s not pretty and strictly from a visual standpoint, it doesn’t merit $65.
But if you want something simple, uncluttered and skilled in the step-counting, calorie-measuring, sleep-monitoring areas, you better act before the Up 24 vanishes altogether.
Mobile accessories promotions
AmazonBasics Ultra-Portable Mini Bluetooth speaker – $29.99 (25 percent off)
Five colors, 3W power, 30-feet Bluetooth range, up to 10 hours autonomy on a single charge, one-year warranty (straight from Amazon), 0.6 pounds weight, 3.3 x 1.7 x 2.6 inches dimensions, 4.4 stars average on 282 customer reviews. Shall we go on? Clearly, this is a very robust low-cost, compact speaker proposal.
Philips BT100B/37 wireless mini compact portable Bluetooth speaker – $21
Talk about a battle that’s too close to call. Even smaller, lighter and cheaper than the AmazonBasics speaker, this Philips item only provides 2-watt output power, lasts around eight hours between charges and sports a built-in microphone for hands-free phone calls.
Yootech Qi wireless charging pad – $13.99 (72 percent off)
It works with all Qi-enabled Androids around, from the Galaxy S6 to the LG G4, Moto 360, Nexus 5 and HTC Droid DNA (!!!), and it’s dirt-cheap. What more do you need to know?
RAVPower 3,000 mAh power bank – $5.99 ($34 savings)
Oh, come on, a universal external charger for 6 bucks? I’ll take a dozen, leave one in every piece of luggage I own, and that way, make sure I’m always prepared to travel, never dependent on power outlets. Of course, the exterior doesn’t recommend the accessory as a manly holiday item, but I’ll find a way to camouflage them.
LG Tone Infinim Bluetooth stereo headset – $84
It’s perhaps expensive for a typical wireless headset, but the Tone Infinim isn’t very “typical” or humdrum, with “premium” Harman Kardon sound, retractable earbuds, robust metallic finish and AptX compatibility.
Flexion Kinetic Series wireless Bluetooth headphones – $49.99
It goes without saying these tiny headphones aren’t as potent as LG’s, yet their main selling point lies elsewhere – in resistance to sweat, signal enhancement technology, custom fit design and very easy to master interface, all of which combine to yield the ideal workout smartphone aid.
The post This week’s best deals on phones, tabs, wearables and accessories : June 29 – July 5 appeared first on The Droid Guy.