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Friday: Samsung Galaxy Note 8 for $400 [new condition]

If you are a fan of the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, you are in luck, the new condition is one of the Woot deals of the day for Friday 9/6/19 going for $400 with a 1-year Samsung warranty. This is a GSM phone, so no to the CDMA networks (Verizon, Sprint, etc). Limit up to ten per customer. This has 64GB on-board and a 3.5mm headphone jack [take that Note 10!] It is in the “midnight black” color scheme.

Meanwhile at the Amazon USA Gold Box, an Anker Nebula projectors sale includes a $20 Nebula tripod, intended for projectors but it has a universal mount and swivel ball head and averages 4.1 out 5 based on 36 customer reviews. The sale also includes three projectors ranging from $172 to $413…

September 6, 2019 Filed Under: samsung, technology deals Tagged With: ,

Google Pixel 3a XL + $100 Gift Card for $479

For a very limited time only, B&H Photo is offering the new condition Google Pixel 3a XL smartphone bundled with a $100 B&H Photo gift card and a GoogleFi SIM card (with $10 service credit), all together for $479 with free US shipping in your choice of three color schemes…

The Pixel 3a gets almost the same camera score (one point difference) at DxoMark. But since the Pixel 3 came out last year, a number of newer smartphones came out that scored higher on Dxomark with the Huawei P30 PRO and the Samsung Galaxy S10 5G leading the way.

Needless to say, the Dxomark is just one measurement of camera performance as the real-world often disagrees with the lab-world 😉

July 20, 2019 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , ,

Samsung Galaxy Note 9 (International / US compatible) for $600

The Samsung Galaxy Note 10 is going to be officially revealed next month, but if you do not want to wait and/or pay four figures for the next Note flagship, B&H Photo has a “buy it now” proposition. For $600 you can get the new condition international version (US compatible) Samsung Galaxy Note 9, model SM-N960FD, with Samsung Adaptive Fast-Charging Wall Charger and a Google Fi (formerly known “Project FI” SIM kit). It comes with a 1-year B&H warranty.

This model has dual cameras, 6GB RAM, SnapDragon 845, 128GB storage, micro-SD slot, the S-Pen included of course [hint hint Microsoft Surface], dual SIM, etc…

July 4, 2019 Filed Under: samsung, technology deals Tagged With: ,

Tuesday: Hasselblad True Zoom Moto Mod for $100

Patience is a virtue when it comes to dropping prices of previous generation tech. If you are one of the Moto Mod fans, among their Tuesday daily deals, Best Buy is offering 50% off on Moto Mods including the Hasselblad True Zoom going for $100, the Insta-Share projector for $100, and a trio of speaker mods.

April 8, 2019 Filed Under: camera accessories Tagged With: , ,

Wedn: refurbished Pixel 3 XL (128GB, Verizon Unlocked) for $520

The headliner of the Wednesday Woot-Landia deals is the refurbished Google Pixel 3 XL (128GB, Verizon Unlocked, “Just Black”, 90 day Woot warranty) for $520 with free shipping for Prime members or $6 flat shipping for others.

But if the The Verge is to be trusted, the all new Huawei P30 PRO defeats the Pixel 3 in low light photography… The P30 PRO is currently the new #1 at the DxoMark Mobile score but it is not the #1 in the Selfies score, where the Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus reigns supreme…

Meanwhile among the Best Buy dailies there’s a $900 SSD i7 Dell Inspiron laptop (15.6″, 4K Touch, 16GB RAM, Nvidia 940MX, 512GB SSD, Windoze)…

PS: per the Dxomark main page, they are hiring 20+ people…

April 2, 2019 Filed Under: daily deals Tagged With: , , ,

Sprint Kickstarter Plan offers $15/month lines with Unlimited Data (with limitations) with New or Ported phone numbers

If you like unlimited data that is speed-limited, and you have phones that are compatible with the Sprint network, AND you are willing to start new lines and/or port existing phone numbers, Sprint has a pretty good deal, it’s the $15 per month Kickstarter promotion running until 6/14/18. This can be handy if you do a lot of smartphone photography out and about and want to instantly backup your photos to the cloud…

This offer is available online. You can buy a phone new or pre-owned from the Sprint website, or for a potentially better value, Bring your own phone, especially if you already own those phones or can get them for good prices used or refurbished. A growing number of phones are “all carrier” in the US market, including the bang-for-the-buck Motorola Moto G series, the Essential Phone, not just the iPhone, Galaxy and Pixel/Nexus flagships and the LG V30S. The aforelinked page has a detailed list of eligible phones under the “How do I know if my device is eligible” FAQ, or you can enter the IMEI in the box over there.

As usual, check the details, terms and conditions of the offer over there! Depending on which carrier(s) you have now, they may be doing some things different, so don’t assume it will be the same as your current carrier.

The data speed limits on the $15/month plans are as follows:
+ up to 480p video streaming
+ up to 500 Kbps in music streaming
+ up to 2 mbps in gaming streaming
+ excessive data use leads to deprioritation as with the regular Sprint plans
+ hotspot feature NOT available

Offers like this are a good reason to go for an “all carrier” phone that is carrier-unlocked. It gives you the ultimate flexibility. And it cuts down the number of options if you are dealing with “information overload” in trying to decide “which phone(s) to buy next” 🙂

June 8, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: ,

Motorola Moto G6 down to $235 [Prime only]

For Prime members, Amazon itself is offering the new condition Motorola Moto G6 smartphone for $235 with free shipping with a limit of one per customer. The black color scheme is in-stock and shipping. This is the Prime-exclusive edition that comes with pre-installed Amazon apps, but Amazon no longer has the Amazon Lockscreen and Ads. They ended that program a few weeks ago.

If you are not a Prime member or don’t want pre-installed Amazon apps, you can get it for $250 by Motorola Mobility through Amazon, but it is not Prime-shipping eligible.

Needless to say there are many unlocked budget smartphones out there. One of the pluses of the Moto G series is that they are “all carrier”, they not only work with GSM (T-Mobile, AT&T) but they also work with CDMA (Verizon, Sprint). It has a dual camera and fingerprint reader, but it doesn’t look like it has NFC (of interest for Android Pay payments).

June 1, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order the new OnePlus 6 from China for $800

If you like what you see so far from the previews, specs, hands-on and announcements of the all new OnePlus 6 flagship smartphone, you can place pre-orders for it for $800 from GearBest.com. This will ship from China in early July. Various shipping options are available in addition to the free slow shipping. It has dual cameras, 8GB RAM (!), 128GB on-board storage, and much and more…

May 18, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , , ,

Now shipping: Nokia 6.1 Android Smartphone (ZEISS Optics) w/free Photo Kit for $269

If you are a Nokia + Zeiss shipper (ha!), the brand new Nokia 6.1 factory-unlocked Android smartphone with Zeiss optics is now in-stock and shipping for $269 with free expedited shipping at B&H Photo with a free “B&H Photo Video Basic Photo/Video Kit for Smartphones” [mount, LED light, flexible tripod] automatically included by B&H.

This runs Android 8.0, with 3GB RAM [probably the minimum these days for Android], 32GB on-board, microSD storage, GSM, NFC, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C connector [but not USB 3.x features],

One of the things Nokia is promising with their Android phone line-up is speedy and steady OS and security updates ~ after all the phone is part of Android One. It is easier to promise this when your phone line-up consists of single-figures in individual models, we’ll see how it plays out in the next couple of years ~ after all, most phone manufacturers sound/sounded very optimistic in delivering updates at announcement time, but their post-release records are spotty and patchy [pun intended?]. But they have already delivered multiple updates for their first generation Android phones…

PS: the same price is offered at amazon.com but without a free photo-video accessories kit…

May 14, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , , ,

Used Razer Phone (unlocked) for $471 (and other phones)

Participating in the previously mentioned 20% off Earth Week promotion at Amazon Warehouse Deals is the USED unlocked Razer Phone for $471~ after the 20% off in-cart discount in “Used = Very Good” condition and for $499~ in “Used – Like New” condition. The new condition price is $700…

In other smartphone action, the USED Samsung Galaxy S8 (unlocked, 64GB) goes for $422~ with free shipping, while the USED Samsung Galaxy Note 8 goes for $648~. The previous links show only the offers eligible for the 20% off in-cart discount. For comparison, the following links show the “default” view with multiple sellers: Samsung Galaxy S8 and Samsung Galaxy Note 8…

If you are a fan of the previous generation of Sony, the USED Xperia XZ1 starts at $320 (depending on color), while the Xperia XZ1 starts at $120 (depending on color)…

On the Nokia front, the unlocked Nokia 6 starts at $155 depending on color and condition. Note that Nokia revealed a “Nokia 6.1” version a few weeks ago and that one should be coming out soon.

April 19, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , , ,

Motorola Moto G5 Plus for $210 [Prime only]

As flagship smartphone prices keep climbing, so is the average consumer’s interest in alternative bang for the buck smartphones. One such line is the Motorola G series, especially the “all carrier” phones, the ones that work out of the box with all four major US carriers. Among them is the G5 Plus with the 4GB RAM and 64GB storage option. And if you are a Prime member, you can buy ONE unit on sale for $210 with free shipping at Amazon by Amazon itself. This is fully unlocked with USA warranty. Amazon no longer has lockscreen ads, they just pre-install their apps and widgets on the phones.

NOTE that this phone does not have NFC (no contactless mobile payments with it) and it is microUSB power (no USB-C). At this price range, even if it had USB-C, it would likely be USB 2.0, not USB 3.*. It has a fingerprint reader and a headphone jack though which can be a plus for security and convenience.

If you are interested in bang for the buck phones discussion, save this date, on Thursday 3/29/18 at 9pm eastern, the PhoneCast YouTube channel is going to have a live-stream with another YouTube who specializes in bang-for-the-buck phones.

March 28, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , ,

Huawei Mate 10 PRO (dual Leica camera) drops to $700

The new condition, factory unlocked, with USA warranty Huawei Mate 10 PRO with its dual Leica camera on the back is now down to $700 with free shipping by Amazon itself (maximum four per color per customer) and at B&H Photo.

Note that a number of three-letter US security agencies have issued a warning against Huawei and ZTE devices, so it’s up to you to decide, especially if you are working on things that you wouldn’t want potentially falling into the hands of China. Others argue that this is politics and lobbying by Huawei’s competitors. We blog, you decide!

March 19, 2018 Filed Under: other cameras Tagged With: , ,

Kodak EKTRA 32GB Smartphone with Case and Remote for $120

If you are feeling Kodak nostalgic and need an Android smartphone as well, B&H Photo is offering the new condition Kodak EKTRA 32GB Smartphone (Unlocked, Black) for $120 with free shipping and TWO free accessories: a Kodak leather case for the camera phone and a Kodak remote shutter release.

The phone has a 5″ FHD (1920 x 1080) display with 3GB RAM, the Helio X10 ten core processor, 32GB storage, USB-C, NFC (so you can pay with your cameraphone too), 21mp f2 OIS lens, and a DSLR Dial simulated on the touchscreen using vibrations.

March 14, 2018 Filed Under: other cameras Tagged With: , ,

B&H now offers Unlocked Samsung Galaxy S9* pre-orders

We rounded up the various carrier options for the brand new Samsung Galaxy S9* earlier today, but if you are a fan of factory unlocked with US warranty purchased from independent retailers, you are in luck! B&H Photo now has them available for pre-ordering as follows:

+ Samsung Galaxy S9 for $720 in four color schemes

+ Samsung Galaxy S9 PLUS for $840 in three color schemes

March 2, 2018 Filed Under: other cameras, samsung Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order the new Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ today

The Mobile World Congress party is over but the Samsung Galaxy S9* party has just began! Today is the first time pre-orders are accepted for the new Snapdragon 845 duo [remember, only the S9+ gets the dual camera], with orders shipping/delivered two weeks from today (March 16).

+ Samsung’s own website offers the S9 for $720 and the S9 Plus for $840, unlocked with USA warranty
+ optional financing available on 24 or 36 month plans
+ up to $350 trade-in credit of eligible phones
+ Unlocked with USA warranty is the best way to buy it unless you prefer a carrier or their leasing/buying/upgrade options
+ Samsung also offers carrier versions of the phone, sometimes with lower prices than the carrier themselves if you plan to buy it outright (the carriers are favoring the 18-month and 24-month plans and leases instead of outright purchases)

+ Unlocked not available for purchase yet at 3rd-party retailers like B&H and Amazon (phone manufacturers and their carrier friends intentionally delay them because … carriers)

+ Verizon Galaxy S9 for $800 outright or $33.33/mo on 24 month plan
+ Verizon Galaxy S9 PLUS for $930 outright or $38.74/mo on 24 month plan
+ up to $350 trade-in credit on eligible phones; $150 if you switch to Verizon
+ $150 off if you buy it together with a Samsung Gear S3 smartwatch

+ AT&T Galaxy S9 for $$790 outright or $26.34/mo on 30-month plan;
+ AT&T Galaxy S9 PLUS for $915 out right or $30.50/mo on 30-month plan
+ AT&T NEXT options also available;
+ up to $350 trade-in credit on eligible phones; $150 if you switch to AT&T

+ T-Mobile Galaxy S9 for $720 outright or $30/mo for 24 months
+ T-Mobile Galaxy S9 PLUS for $840 outright or $120 down plus $30/mo on 24 months
+ up to $360 trade-in o eligible phones
+ all you can eat magenta is FREE 🙂

+ Sprint Galaxy S9 for $792 outright or with 18-month Flex Lease plans
+ Sprint Galaxy S9 PLUS for $912 outright or with 18-month Flex Lease plans
+ up to $350 trade-in credit; $150 prepaid VISA if you switch to Sprint
+ note that Sprint lease plans do not pay the full price of the phone; at the end of the lease you have to pay the difference if you want to keep the phone

+ Xfinity Galaxy S9 for $720 outright or $30/mo on 24 months
+ Xfinity Galaxy S9 PLUS for $840 outright or $35/mo on 24 months

+ other regional and emerging carriers should also be announcing their offers

+ as usual, the carriers have a variety of terms, conditions, restrictions and traps when you sign up for their installment plans, so be sure to read through it all!

March 2, 2018 Filed Under: other cameras, samsung Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order the new Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+ on March 2nd

The Samsung S9/S9+ was officially revealed earlier today and pre-orders are scheduled for March 2nd, and they include trade-in offers if you are willing to part with your existing smartphones (at least the ones eligible for the trade-in promotions). You can reserve and be notified but the actual pre-orders will happen on March 2nd. Which may sound like it’s in the future but it’s actually Friday at 12:01am ET! Shipment and in-store availability is March 16 (two weeks later, also a Friday obviously).

+ Samsung’s own website offers the S9 for $720 and the S9 Plus for $840, unlocked with USA warranty
+ their website will also offer carrier versions of the phone when they become available

+ AT&T offers it through their NEXT plan on a 30-month installment plan of $26~ and $30~ per month respectively

+ T-Mobile offers them on a 24-month $30/month installment plan; the S9+ has $120 down, while the S9 does not

+ Sprint offers them on a 24-month installment plan of $33/mo and $38/mo respectively

+ Verizon has 24-month installments of $33~ and $39~ per month respectively

+ other regional and emerging carriers should also be announcing their offers

+ as usual, the carriers have a variety of terms, conditions, restrictions and traps when you sign up for their installment plans, so be sure to read through it all!

February 25, 2018 Filed Under: other cameras, samsung Tagged With: , ,

Pre-order Essential Phone with new super-tiny 360 camera add-on for $500

Andy Rubin’s Essential Phone is back with a new super-tiny 360 degree camera (optional accessory, $218 on its own), and a new color of the phone, the Halo Gray with a pre-order price of $450 (ships 2/21/18).

Better yet, if you want both the phone and the new super-tiny 360-degree camera, you can buy them together as a bundle for $500 in the new Halo Gray and the existing Pure White color scheme (this combo is shipping already).

February 17, 2018 Filed Under: other cameras Tagged With: , , , ,

Samsung Note 8 (USA warranty, Unlocked) for $839

If you must have a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 right now but don’t want to deal with carriers and faux-contracts and carrier-branding and such, the new condition unlocked by Samsung with USA warranty Samsung Note 8 in the Orchid Gray color scheme is currently on sale for $839 with free shipping by Amazon itself with up to four per customer at the sale price. This is not a lightning deal, so expiration date unknown.

February 14, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: ,

(SOLD OUT) Aukey Optic Phone Camera Lens (2-in-1 Fisheye and Macro) for $3.50 after coupon

UPDATE 1:24pm ET: it looks like they have sold out for good. I tried multiple devices and networks and they all show out of stock and unorderable on the product page…

[Read more…]

February 13, 2018 Filed Under: camera accessories Tagged With: ,

(ENDED) Essential Phone drops to $450, with 360 Camera for $500

Prices of these are fluctuating, so YMMV depending on when you check…

[Read more…]

February 8, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , ,

Prime Exclusive Phones now without Lockscreen Ads: LG G6 for $420, LG G6+ for $520

Starting today (Wednesday 2/7/18), Amazon is selling their Prime-exclusive smartphones that previously had “Lockscreen Ads” without them! If you have an existing Amazon Prime phone with “Lockscreen Ads”, an update will arrive that will disable them. If you paid out of your pocket to remove the ads, you can contact customer service and have it refunded.

As a result of the ad removal, their prices went up by $20. As of the time of writing, $420 gets you the LG G6 (32GB, Platinum) while $520 gets you the LG G6+ (128GB, Black).

These are factory unlocked, new condition and with USA warranty and with USA carriers in mind. The Moto models look like they have already been sold out. I don’t know if Amazon plans to discontinue this program once all available phones are sold out…

Only Prime members are able to buy them.

February 7, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , , ,

Alcatel 4S Windows Phone Unlocked for $100

You can get a piece of Windows phone history for $100! The official Microsoft Store is offering the unlocked Alcatel Idols 4S Windows Phone for $100 with free shipping and free returns. It has a Snapdragon 820 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB on-board plus microSD (plenty of storage for photography), 5.5-inch 1080p AMOLED screen, 21mp back camera, 8mp front camera, Continuum support, GSM, etc. The model with the VR package costs $169.

NOTE that Windows Phone is dead as a platform (in case you haven’t heard).

January 11, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: ,

LG V30 (Unlocked, No Contract, USA warranty) for $675

If you are looking for a flagship top tier Android cameraphone with a USA warranty, factory unlocked, and without carrier requisites, B&H Photo is offering the new condition LG V30 US998 64GB Smartphone (Cloud Silver) for $675 with free shipping and handling.

January 3, 2018 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , ,

Kodak EKTRA smartphone (unlocked, 32GB) for $100

It’s back in-stock again and down to $100 with free expedited shipping, it is the new condition, unlocked with warranty Kodak EKTRA smartphone (32GB, black, GSM) at B&H Photo.

January 2, 2018 Filed Under: other cameras Tagged With: , ,

Essential Phone + 360 Degree Camera for $500

I need to stop using the word “essential” because it messes up the blog search results for the Essential phone 🙂 Which brings us to the Essential Phone + 360 Degree Camera going for $500 with free shipping, in either the black or white color schemes. Limit three per color per customer.

This is an old fashioned sale, not a lightning deal. This combo went for $400 during Cyber Monday.

December 21, 2017 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , ,

Kodak EKTRA 32GB Smartphone (Unlocked, Black) for $100

Feeling a bit of a Kodak nostalgia? $100 is what it takes to feed the nostalgia in a modern kind of way as B&H Photo is offering the new condition Kodak EKTRA 32GB Smartphone (Unlocked, Black) with free shipping. This is a GSM phone, no contract, North American variant. Limit up ten per customer. This is a limited time offer, expiration date unknown. This is an Android phone wit USB-C.

December 14, 2017 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , ,

B&H Photo Motorola Moto G4, G5, G5S, Z Play Doorbusters

If you are looking for bang for the buck smartphones that work with all four major US carriers, B&H Photo has $25 off clip-on coupons on select models, bundled with a free Republic Wireless SIM card and six month Republic Wireless service (you don’t have to activate the service if you don’t want to). You have to manually click on the $25 off clip-on coupon which will get you a $25 off discount in the shopping cart…

+ Moto G4 Play XT1607 (16GB) in black for $85

+ Moto G4 XT1625 (16GB) in black for $95

+ Moto G4 XT1625 (32GB) in black or white for $105

+ Moto G4 Plus XT1644 (16GB) in black for $130

+ Moto G4 Plus XT1644 (64GB) in black for $170
+ this has 4GB RAM

+ Moto G5 Plus XT1687 (32GB) for $180

+ Moto G5 Plus XT1687 (64GB) for $215
+ this has 4GB RAM

+ Moto G5S Plus XT1806 (32GB) for $255
+ this has 3GB RAM

+ Moto G5S Plus XT1806 (64GB) for $325
+ this has 4GB RAM

NOT eligible for this promotion, but this is praised for its massive battery and Snapdragon 625 processor, the Moto Z Play XT1635-02 32GB goes for $260 with free shipping.

December 12, 2017 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , ,

Smartphone Sales Round-Up (Unlocked with US warranty)

Not everyone wants to buy cameraphones with carrier ties, so if you are repulsed by our previous $300 off LG V30 or Pixel 2s Verizon post, we have a safe space for you in this post: these cameraphones are in new condition, factory unlocked with USA warranty…

+ Huawei Honor 6X Dual Camera for $150, three color options, up to three per color per customer
+ currently the #1 best seller in Unlocked Phones at Amazon ~ among the phones that are properly categorized that is 🙂

+ Huawei Mate 9 with Amazon Alexa and Leica Dual Camera for $400, in two colors, limit up to three per color per customer

+ Nokia 6 with Lockscreen Offers & Ads for $150 (limit one per color per customer)
+ Prime members only; the ones without ads go for $225

+ Samsung Galaxy Note 8 with $100 B&H Photo Gift card and Samsung Qi Charger for $929
+ not as good as the Black Friday deal of $780 to $800 but gets close
+ only two colors are US warranty. B&H also carries International models which are not eligible for the promotion. Only the North American models (Midnight Black or Orchid Gray). Not the Maple Syrup color!

+ the Essential Phone + 360 degree camera deal has not returned. The Black Friday sale decimated Amazon’s inventory 🙂

December 11, 2017 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: ,

$300 off the LG V30 or Google Pixel 2s with 24mo Verizon Installment Plan

Two of the top Android cameraphones at the moment are having a promotion running at Verizon Wireless. The promotion is a $300 off promo credit when you purchase either the LG V30 or the Pixel 2s (Pixel 2 or 2 XL) with a 24-month installment plan. The discount will be a monthly discount during each one of the 24 months. At the end of the 24 months, you will have a $300 off discount on the phone price. You own the phone at the end of the 24 months, it is not a lease. Credit check and Verizon plan required for this.

The discount is not available on an outright purchase of the phones. Only when purchased with a 24-month installment plan. These are the “Nu Contracts” 🙂

As usual, check terms, conditions, restrictions, etc before buying.

December 11, 2017 Filed Under: other cameras Tagged With: , , , ,

Monday: Essential Phone + 360 Camera for $400

Cyber Monday is here and the Temptation is Real if you are Essential Phone curious! Into the Amazon Gold Box we go where it is one of the deals of the day, bundled with its modular 360-degree camera, together Essential Phone + 360 Degree Camera going for $400 with free shipping, in either the black or white color schemes. Limit one per color per customer.

The phone on its own went for $450 on sale, and the bundle with the camera I believe went as low as $500. Sale ends on Tuesday at 3am ET or earlier if sold out. Note that this does not have a headphone jack. Music comes out of USB-C or over bluetooth.

November 27, 2017 Filed Under: technology deals Tagged With: , ,