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Archives for October 5, 2016

Pre-order new Pixel Phones [updated with more options]

Google generated some waves in multiple dimensions with today’s Google-centric Made-by-Google announcement (raw video stream which I was live-tweeting at high speed). One of those waves was a new flagship “made by HTC for Google” Pixel phone duo. Already this phone got reviewed by DxoMark which gave it the highest camera score ever for a smartphone camera.

The said phones are now available for pre-orders. If you prefer to go through a carrier, it is available through Verizon Wireless only which is running a trade-in credit promotion.

If you prefer an unlocked no-contracts no-obligations phone or to prefer the other carriers, you can purchase it from the Google Store (not to be confused with the Google Play Store) or through Project Fi. Yes, it is Project Fi compatible! They offer financing as well (through Symphony Bank) and for a limited time, you can get a free Daydream View VR headset for FREE ($79 value).

Prices are flagship prices here, the 5-inch model goes for $650 (32GB storage) while the 5.5-inch model goes for $770 (32GB). If you prefer the 128GB model is an extra $100 for each model. If you are used to Nexus pricing, it’s a bit of a sticker shock 🙂

UPDATE: Best Buy is offering pre-orders for the Verizon Wireless versions with a free $100 Best Buy Gift Card and a free Chromecast.

UPDATE #2: if you purchase the Unlocked Pixels, you can activate them with Republic Wireless using their budget-friendly BYOD plans (if you don’t need a lot of cellular data).

October 5, 2016 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , ,

Refurbished GoPro HERO4 Silver Edition Camera w/1yr warranty for $274

More action at the Trending eBay Deals, the official GoPro eBay store (ships from Colorad[o/a]) is offering the manufacturer-refurbished in factory-sealed packaging with a 1-year warranty GoPro HERO4 Silver Edition Camera for $274 with free shipping. Over 6600 units have been sold from this eBay listing so far.

October 5, 2016 Filed Under: other cameras Tagged With: , , ,

Imported Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 for $650 OR Certified Refurbished w/full warranty for $720 (Canon)

The Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 DC DSLR lens goes for $800 in new condition at authorized Shiguma dealers which are allowed to offer promotional rewards or bundle it with various free accessories (eg Adorama).

Alternately you can get it in certified refurbished condition with full warranty for $720 with free shipping by Beach Camera thru Amazon (not Prime eligible).

Or if you are willing to take on even more risk, among the latest Trending eBay Deals, Hong-Kong seller “e-Infinity Shop” (99.7%, ships from Hong Kong) is offering the Canon version of the Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 DC for $650 with free shipping with a 1-year warranty from the seller (not Sigma). This ships from Hong Kong.

October 5, 2016 Filed Under: dslr deals, sigma Tagged With: , , , ,

New Prime Benefit: borrow latest Shutterbug, Consumer Reports Magazine Issues and more, plus borrow 1000+ ebooks for FREE

A few days after adding free Audible content to Prime memberships, Amazon is back with a new feature for Prime members, Prime Reading. This feature has two components:

  • you can read over 1000 e-books for FREE. You do not own the books, but you can read them for free and take as long as you like to finish them
  • monthly selection of Magazine Issues you can borrow and read for FREE, the current selection includes the latest issues from Shutterbug and Consumer Reports, N-Geo Traveler, Pop Mechanics, among others

This is essentially a “Kindle Unlimited Lite” membership, it contains a subset of the ebooks available through that for-pay membership.

You can read as many of them as you like but there is a checkout limit of ten at a time. This of this as your local library, you can only have ten items out at any time, but you can return them and borrow new ones as many times as you like. The magazines count towards the ten item limit.

The magazine selections will change monthly, so there’s no guarantee the same magazine will be available next month. Magazines can only be read using the iOS and Android Kindle apps. You cannot read them with the Cloud Reader, nor the Windows Kindle app, nor using e-readers. eBooks can be read with all options including Cloud Reader and e-readers.

Of the 1000+ books, only one is photography-related (as far as my searches can tell), “How to Archive Family Photos: A Step-by-Step Guide to Organize and Share Your Photos Digitally” by Denise May Levenick.

As usual with the Netflix-style membership, you don’t get to keep any of them, but you can keep reading them as long as you are a paying member.

UPDATE: indeed this is single issues, which you can download to your Kindle app for later reading (eg if without internet connection). Here’s a screenshot of the app with Shutterbug, the October 2016 issue:

shutterbug_primereading

Co-Promotion: KINDLE E-BOOK READERS Get DISCOUNTED
To celebrate (okay, sale-a-brate) this new Prime benefit, Amazon is also discounting some of their Kindle e-book readers for Prime members (so they can read all these 1000+ e-books) as follows:

+ Kindle Voyage e-reader for $150
+ Kindle Paperwhite e-reader for $90
+ Entry-Level Kindle e-reader for $50
+ for all the Kindles, you see the discount after you add it to the shopping cart and proceed to the Checkout page

October 5, 2016 Filed Under: books and magazines Tagged With:

Imported Grey-Market Sony Zeiss Sonnar T 55 mm F/1.8 ZA FE for $700

The Sony Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA E-mount lens goes for $1000 at authorized dealers which are bundling it with various freebies, including a $50 gift card at Adorama, but if you are comfortable with imported grey-market items that come with a 1-year warranty from the seller (not from Sony USA), to the eBay Deals we go where eBay seller “Electronics Valley” (99.7%, New Jersey) is offering new condition grey-market imported Sony Zeiss Sonnar T 55 mm F/1.8 ZA FE Lenses for $700 with free shipping with a limit of five units per customer. The usual grey-market trade-offs apply.

October 5, 2016 Filed Under: mirrorless deals, sony, zeiss Tagged With: , , , ,

(ENDED) Thursday Daily Deals: Studio/Lighting Kits, Case Logic Sling, DJI 4 Case, Movo, McoPlus, Etc

These lighting deals expired… For future ones in the future, check the Amazon Gold Box and Camera & Photo page…

[Read more…]

October 5, 2016 Filed Under: camera accessories Tagged With: