Camera Deals

Hot Discounts on Nook HDs that now run Google Play (aka smart digital picture frames)

For a number of people, tablets can also take on the role of a digital picture frame, at least if you don't want 24x7 digital picture frame coverage. New discounts went live today as follows:

+ $20 off 7-inch Kindle Fire HD with coupon code FIRE4MOM at Amazon. Prices start at $180 for the 16GB 7-inch With Special Offers model

+ 7-inch Nook HD for $150 OR 9-inch Nook HD+ for $180
+ the 9-inch for $180 is the best deal per screen real estate, $30 more get you two more diagonal inches
+ no coupon code needed
+ Nook HD and HD+ are getting the Google Play app-store, so you can use all the apps you bought at the Google Play store without having to buy them again and without having to deal with hacking and rooting and such
+ promotion is automatically stackable with the $25 off once-per-year discount if you are a Barnes & Noble member (if you are logged on to your B&N account) [the once-a-year $25 off is only for current year memberships. Memberships that get renewed will no longer have this benefit]

+ both promotions expire 5/12/13 or earlier if sold-out/expired/etc

New 8.9 inch Kindle Fire HD discounts for Wifi and 4G LTE models

On the tablets front (which can serve as digital picture frames as well), Amazon has officially dropped the prices of their 8.9 inch Kindle Fire HD models as follows:

+ 16GB 8.9" Kindle Fire HD (Wifi, Special Offers) for $270
+ 32GB 8.9" Kindle Fire HD (Wifi, Special Offers) for $300
+ 32GB 8.9" Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE (Wifi _and_ 4G LTE, Special Offers) for $400
+ the models _without_ the Special Offers cost $15 more

Early Adopters of Shopping Technology: shop on Twitter with AmexSync: Sony Action Cam + VCTGM1 Headband for $180

This is a new wave of shopping, perhaps of interest to boldly-going early-adopters of online shopping technology. American Express and Twitter have launched a new program where you can sync your American Express credit card with your Twitter account, and you can purchase special deals by tweeting! One of the specials is the Sony Action Cam AS10 with the VCTGM1 headband offered for $180 (plus tax where applicable) with free 2-day shipping. When you compare prices to authorized Sony dealers (eg Amazon), you are essentially getting the $30 VCTGM1 headband for free. The promotion ends on 3/3/13 or earlier if sold out.

Also participating in the promotion is the 7" Kindle Fire HD with Offers for $150 instead of its standard price of $200. The promotion ends on 3/3/13 or earlier if sold out.

Check the Favorites section of the American Express Twitter account to see all available specials. Favorites are the fourth item on the left side of a Twitter user profile. You must be logged on to a Twitter account in order to see a Twitter user's Favorites, so we are not posting a direct link to that since it will redirect to a login page, and linking to a login page (directly or indirectly) is a bad internet linking practice.

For the speed readers out there, this is a new way of shopping. You do not add to cart and checkout. To purchase, you must link your American Express credit card with your Twitter account, and then tweet special hashtags and your purchase will be processed. Details through the aforelinked pages.

8.9" Kindle Fire HD for $270 with coupon (4G LTE for $450)

For a limited time (no expiration date is mentioned), you can get the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD for $270 with free shipping from Amazon herself when you use coupon code FIRELOVE in the Amazon shopping cart. The coupon is a $30 off discount. You can also use the same coupon code on the 4G LTE versions bringing the 32GB version down from $500 to $450, and the 64GB version from $600 to $550. The coupon code is FIRELOVE for the above eligible models. Since an expiration date is not mentioned, this may or may not end at any time.

In-stock and discounted: 32GB Google Nexus 7 for $244 w/free S&H

For an Android tablet that is hard to find, finding it in-stock at an A-list retailer and discounted at the same time is nice! The 32GB 7-inch Google ASUS Nexus 7 is in-stock and shipping for $244 with free shipping at B&H Photo.

(ENDED) 8.9" Kindle Fire HD for $250 (with 4G LTE for $450)

This 1-day special coupon promotion expired... The main Gold Box deal for Monday at Amazon is a $50 off discount on the brand new 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HDs when you enter coupon code FIREHD89 in your shopping cart. This brings the price of the 8.9" Kindle Fire HD down to $250 and the 8.9" Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE down to $450. This promotion ends at 3am ET on Tuesaday (or earlier if sold out).

In-stock: 32GB ASUS Nexus 7 for $250 (pre-order 4G model for $300)

The Google ASUS Nexus 7 appears to be the breakaway pure Android tablet hit that Android fans had been waiting for and it is now in-stock for $250 with free shipping at B&H Photo which is also accepting pre-orders for the 4G version for $300. Side-stepping the 4G existential discussions, this is an HSPA+ model, so no CDMA/LTE.

B&H Photo is also offering a number of computery specials, including a variety of hard disks, laptops, video hardware, etc.

Tech Combo: Nikon J1 w/10-30 & ASUS Transformer TF300 for $560

Adorama has a technology combo deal. If you happen to want the Nikon J1 with the 10-30mm lens and the 10-inch ASUS Transformer TF300 Android tablet, you can get them together as a bundle for $560. No coupon code, just add to cart and proceed to checkout... This gives you some flexibility as well, you can keep both, or keep one of the two, and give the other as a gift. Yes, fellow procrastinators, the time has come for us to start procrastinating about holiday season gifts :)

(ENDED) Kindle Fire (2012 model) for $130 brand new (limited time)

This Cyber Monday promotion expired... Amazon itself has self-couponized, you can get the 2012 model of the Kindle Fire for $130 with free shipping when you enter coupon code FIREDEAL in the Amazon Checkout page. The regular price of this is $160. This is brand new. This is the With Special Offers model, but you can also use the $30 off coupon on the Kindle Fire Without Special Offers, bringing its price down from $174 to $144 with free shippings. The coupon code expires on Tuesday at 3am ET. Please note this is not the HD model. This is the 2012 upgrade of the original 2011 Kindle Fire model - the one that looks like the Blackberry Playbook.

In-stock alert: 8.9" Kindle Fire HD for $300

The 8.9-inch 16GB Kindle Fire HD is now in-stock at Amazon for its starting price of $300. This is the Special Offers (SO) version. Also in-stock is the 32GB for $370 and $384 (with or without SO). You can also remove Special Offers for a one-time +$15 fee.

In-stock soon: 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE on week of November 26

Now with the addition of Photoshop Touch, the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD got perhaps more interesting to photographers. Amazon has a new estimate, the 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE model with Special Offers is estimated by Amazon to ship the week of November 26 for $500. The same estimate goes for the 64GB 4G LTE version in both Special Offers and without Special Offers for $600 and $615. You can also remove the Special Offers at any time for the same +$15 from your Amazon account page.

Meanwhile, all the configurations of the Wifi-only 8.9-inch Kindle Fire HD are expected to start shipping the week of December 3rd, 2012. Prices start at $300.

(ENDED) Tablet deal: 16GB ASUS Transformer TF300 for $270 (free S&H; free returns)

This limited time promotion expired... If you are of the Android persuasion, Groupon is offering a brand new 16GB ASUS Transformer 10-inch Android tablet in Champagne color for $270 with free shipping and free returns as well and with a one year North American warranty. Limit one per customer at this price. Only 48 contiguous US states. Ships 2.5 weeks from purchase date. Groupon special expires on Thursday at 1am ET (or earlier if sold-out).

Pre-order: Windows 8 Surface RT starting at $500

It's not just iPads and Android, Microsoft is launching its own offensive with Windows 8, and their first generation Windows 8 RT Surface tablets are now available for pre-order starting at $500 at The Microsoft Store.

Amazon offers new Kindle Fires without Special Offers out of the box

One way to evaluate companies is to see what they do when the invisible hand of the consumer market gives them a wag of the finger and a spanking. Do they stubbornly hold on or make adjustments? After a number of people and reviewers complained about the Special Offers being the only option of Kindle Fire HDs, with the buyer having to dig through menus at the Amazon website in order to remove them, Amazon decided to obey the will of the consumer market and they are now offering Kindle Fires without Special Offers out of the box. You still pay a +$15 price over the Special Offers versions, but you don't have to deal with removing them manually.

The Without Special Offers out of the box models are:
+ 7-inch 16GB Kindle Fire HD for $215 (in-stock now)
+ 7-inch 32GB Kindle Fire HD for $265 (ships October 25)
+ 9-inch 16GB Kindle Fire HD for $315 (ships November 20)
+ 9-inch 32GB Kindle Fire HD for $385 (ships November 20)
+ 9-inch 32GB Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE for $515 (ships November 20)
+ 9-inch 64GB Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE for $615 (ships November 20)

Strategery
From a bargain hunter's perspective, it may be a good idea to check the various forums to see what kind of Special Offers Amazon is offering with the new Kindle Fire HDs. If they are as good as the ones they offered when they launched the Special Offers with the Kindle e-readers, you can get some good savings and freebies if you are a regular Amazon shopper. The Kindle e-reader Special Offers were hot for a few months, but after that, they slowly fizzled out and got replaced mostly by AmazonLocal specials.

In-stock alert: 7-inch Kindle Fire 7 HD for $200

Another hot gadget du jour is in-stock today! The brand new 7-inch 16GB Kindle Fire HD with the 1280x800 display is now in-stock at Amazon by Amazon for its opening price of $200 with free shipping. The 32GB version remains in pre-order.

Also in-stock is the 7-inch Kindle Fire (2012 edition) for $160 with free shipping. This has a 1024x600 screen, and that alone, may be enough to justify spending the extra $40 for the 1280x800 Kindle Fire HD model.

Based on the specs and features of the 2012 models, it doesn't make sense to buy the 2011 Kindle Fire unless you find it significantly cheaper than the $160 model. The 2011 model does not have Special Offers. At times the 2011 Kindle Fire goes in slugfest mode to the point of being irritating.

All the 2012 color-screen Kindle Fires come with Special Offers and Sponsored Screensavers. You can remove them for a $15 per device fee after you activate the device. Having said that, you may want to wait and see what kind of Special Offers they have. Check reviews and forums and such. When they launched the e-ink Kindle Special Offers they had a lot of good offers for regular Amazon shoppers. Some of the offers were actually net profit type of deals, and frequent Amazon shoppers could effectively get back the price they paid for their e-Ink Kindle price is multiple product savings. Time will tell...

Kindle Fire (refurbished w/1-year warranty) for $159

Amazon itself is offering refurbished Kindle Fires for $159 with free shipping and with a full 1-year warranty. This is $40 less than the new-in-box. This if you have a near-term buy-interest in the Kindle Fire. Amazon is expected to announce new Kindles before the holiday shopping season and the Google Nexus 7 is getting a lot of positive reviews. When Amazon had this model as a gold-box deal in the past, it was offered for $140.

Meanwhile, the Kindle e-Ink with Amazon Chase VISA promotion has been extended until August 24, 2012.

In-stock: 7-inch 16GB Google Nexus for $250

While checking the latest camera offers at Radio Shack, we stumbled upon this hard to find gadget, the 7-inch 16GB Google Nexus tablet is in-stock for online buyers at the Radio Shack website for $250. The product page says: "Usually ships in 1 - 2 business days". Shipping is under $10 (depending on zipcode) or free if you select Ship-to-Store.

Canon D-Rebel T4i body + 32GB iPad 3 + camera connection kit for $1376

If you want to get the new Canon Digital Rebel T4i and also the new 32GB Apple iPad (3rd generation) and the Apple iPad Camera Connection kit, Adorama has created a Canon D-Rebel T4i + 32GB iPad (3rd generation) + camera connection kit bundle for $1376 with free shipping.

The above bundle is a discount of around $100 versus buying the items individually: the T4i body only goes for $850 on its own at authorized Canon dealers. The 32GB iPad (3rd generation) goes for $600 on its own at blessed-by-Apple dealers. The Apple MC531ZM/A iPad Camera Connection Kit goes for under $30. Add them together, and you have $1480~.

(ENDED) Flash Sale: refurbished Fuji S2940 for $110, new Canon VIXIA HF G10 for $1100, etc

This 24 hour flash sale ended! Original post after the jump for the deal historians only...

Nikon Mirrorless + iPad combos return starting at $850

The Nikon mirrorless camera kit + iPad (16GB, Wifi, 3rd generation = current model) specials have returned at Adorama! For $850, you can get the white Nikon J1 w/10-30 & iPad. Or if you prefer the V1, you can get the black V1 w/10-300 & iPad for $1150. There is no coupon code to enter, simply add to cart and checkout. If you buy them separately, you pay +$150 for the J1 bundle, and +$100 for the V1 bundle.

In the previous post we were e-yelling at marketing, now it is time to praise marketing for coming up with creative ways to offer technology at a discount.

For a refresher on the V1 and J1, check their list of completed reviews, now with review-links working again in index/category/tag/archive pages.