The Cheapskate

Let's do some math, shall we?

When it comes to portable storage, you can get a 64GB USB 3.0 flash drive for $39.99 shipped. Or you can take advantage of RedTag's today-only deal: a Western Digital My Passport 320GB USB 3.0 hard drive for $39 (plus $1.95 for shipping).

Update: Dang! Already sold out. It's worth checking back throughout the day in case RedTag releases more inventory. But, interestingly, I'd say few people were scared off by the drive being a refurb.

Pricewise, they're a wash. But the Western Digital drive … Read more

I've always had a soft spot for the iPod Shuffle. Tiny, simple, elegant, and able to clip just about anywhere on your person, it's arguably the best MP3 player ever for the gym, the treadmill, or the open road.

It's also $49. If you don't mind a knockoff, MidnightBox has an iPod Shuffle-like clip-on MP3 player (2GB) for $7.95, plus $3.99 for shipping. That deal is good today only, and while supplies last.

Details about this no-brand, no-name player are slim, to say the least. It's available in your choice of eight colors, … Read more

If there's one smartphone that looks like it could challenge the Samsung Galaxy S3's supremacy, it's the HTC Droid DNA.

CNET's Brian Bennett called it "the best phone I've seen from HTC in a long while, especially on Verizon," and a "better buy" than both the S3 and Motorola Droid Razr HD.

But the $199.99 Verizon charges for it (with a two-year contract, natch)? Ouch. Thankfully, there's a deal to be had: for a limited time, Wirefly has the HTC Droid DNA for $49.99 shipped. That's for … Read more

Microsoft's Surface RT tablet has seen its share of headlines since it debuted in October -- not all of them good.

For example, last month a patch prevented some users from accessing the Windows Store, and before that, the 32GB Surface RT was revealed to have only 16GB of available storage.

Well, hey, bugs are to be expected in any OS, and cheap microSD cards can solve your storage problems. The bigger question: Are you willing to pay $499 for that tablet?

If not, how about this: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Staples has the Microsoft Surface RT 32GB tablet for $424 shipped (… Read more

Recently, cloud-storage service Box was offering free 25GB accounts to new customers.

I meant to write it up, but other things got in the way. Good thing, too, because now Box is offering free 50GB accounts to new customers. My foot-dragging is your gain.

Before I go any further, take note that the signup page says "Dell Exclusive Offer." There's no indication you need to actually be a Dell customer or employee or anything like that, but there's always the chance Box will get flooded with unintended/unwanted sign-ups and decide to end or even rescind … Read more

Tablets are great and all, but if you're mostly into reading, it's hard to beat an e-reader. Eye-friendly screens, ultra-light designs, amazing battery life -- the perks go on and on.

And let's not forget price. Amazon's entry-level Kindle is now down to $69. But here's an even more wallet-friendly option: Best Buy has the Kobo Mini e-reader for $59.99 shipped (plus sales tax). That's for the white model; the black one literally sold out while I was writing this post.

So that's only a $10 difference, right? And when you factor … Read more

So here's something I didn't know: When Motorola released the inevitable successor to its popular Xoom tablet, it was called the Xoom 2 -- in Europe. Here in the U.S., Motorola decided to call it the Droid Xyboard.

Droid Xyboard. I'll let that sink in for a moment. That may not rank among the dumbest tech-product names of all time, but it's up there.

How about we just agree to call it the Xoom 2 and get on with our lives, 'kay? Good. Today only, and while supplies last, Daily Steals has the refurbished Motorola Xoom 2 + 4G LTE tablet for $219 shipped. … Read more

It costs me around $80 per month to operate my iPhone 4S, which will soon be out of contract.

When that joyous day comes, I will very likely ditch AT&T in favor of something like Solavei, one of a growing number of companies offering cheaper, no-contract mobile service.

Specifically, Solavei gives you unlimited voice, text, and 4G data for $49 per month. OK, there's an asterisk next to "unlimited": the 4G data bounty ends at 4GB, after which Solavei throttles you back to 2G-level service. More on that in a bit.

Unlike Walmart's AT&… Read more

Running out of space on your hard drive? Hey, even in these days of seemingly endless gigabytes, it happens.

Bitcasa is a new service that aims to supplant your hard drive with unlimited cloud storage. And by supplant I mean replace -- kind of.

I'll circle back on that in a minute. For now, consider this: a year of Bitcasa no-limit storage normally runs $99, but right now you can get a year of Bitcasa Infinite for $69. If that doesn't immediately butter your bacon, how about a 10GB Bitcasa account absolutely free?

Update: As eagle-eyed reader brotherj2k … Read more