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December 2, 2008 5:32 AM PST

Get a Wi-Fi multifunction printer for $75 shipped

by Rick Broida
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Check out the wide-screen LCD on this wireless MFP.

(Credit: Buy.com)
Fwip-fwip-fwip. That's the sound of my beanie propeller spinning furiously. You see, Buy.com has the Brother MFC-490CW multifunction printer on sale for $75.24 shipped. Why all the fwipping? Because this baby's wireless.

As regular readers know, I've seen sweet deals on wireless inkjets and lasers and on Ethernet-equipped multifunction printers. But I've never seen such a great price on a wireless MFP.

Built for smallish offices, the Brother MFC-490CW prints, scans, copies, and faxes, all in color. It features an unusually large (3.3-inch) wide-screen LCD, Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity, a media-card reader, and a 15-sheet document feeder.

It also has a couple offbeat features I find cool, like the option to scan documents directly to a USB flash drive. I particularly like the four-cartridge ink system, which eliminates the ink waste associated with tri-color cartridges.

I have an older, less wireless Brother MFP I use for making copies, sending faxes, and the like, and to my thinking it's a compact champ. It's rare enough to find a network-ready MFP at a price this low, but wireless? Icing!

Rick Broida, a technology writer for nearly 20 years, is the author of more than a dozen books. In addition to writing CNET's The Cheapskate blog, he oversees BNET's Business Hacks. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CBS Interactive. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers. Follow Rick on Twitter at cheapskateblog.
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by Mac128 December 2, 2008 7:38 AM PST
Just for everyone, especially those in the NYC. J and R Music world, www.jr.com is selling this all in one for $69.99. The sale is good only until 12/6/2008. The bad news is there will be a shipping charge so it probably will not be worth it with the S/H. But if you are in NYC, that an extra $5 less.
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by Benoneya December 18, 2008 9:22 PM PST
LOL, I got mine from Amazon.com on December 5th, and paid 79.00 with free shipping:)
by rickbroida December 2, 2008 7:53 AM PST
Yeah, I actually saw that price as well, but shipping is around $24!
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by anokaflash December 2, 2008 9:25 AM PST
I keep trying to add it to my cart and it throws me to JR. Kind of wierd . . . it says it is in stock but won;t giv e me the deal
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by December 2, 2008 9:37 AM PST
Just followed the Buy.com link and found the price, including shipping, to be $93.75
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by rickbroida December 2, 2008 10:21 AM PST
Buy.com must have run out. It's weird that they're steering people to J&R, but maybe they have a partnership with them or something.
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by anokaflash December 2, 2008 11:07 AM PST
Well, its still 79.99 at Office Max. I think I'll eat the tax and save the shipping and by it in store. I've been eying the Brother Brand and now athat my Scanner went belly up I am ready to pull the trigger
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by anokaflash December 2, 2008 1:02 PM PST
NewEgg may have a similar deal:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828113328
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by doconn7 December 2, 2008 1:45 PM PST
Why bother Brother is simply the worst printer ever! Not even for free!
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by Benoneya December 18, 2008 9:27 PM PST
I've had a Brother mfc 210c for over 4 years, and it just finally gave up the ghost. I've loved that printer, I bought it on sale at office Depot for 89.00 and change, it had a small footprint and it was decent on ink. But then again, I got my ink for about 4.50 for a refilled cartridge. That's the only reason I'm buying another Brother, the first one was trouble free until it just wore out.
by doconn7 December 22, 2008 11:02 AM PST
Benoneya, you are the only one! In my experience these printers guzzle ink and the software and support are the worst of all manufacturers! I got mine at Staples and in just a few short months it was in the recycler .
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About The Cheapskate

The best things in tech are cheap. "The Cheapskate" scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets, and all the other tech stuff that makes life worth living. Send your own cheapskate tips to thecheapskate@gmail.com. Rick is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. Deals found on The Cheapskate are subject to availability, expiration, and other terms determined by sellers.

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