How to save money when buying an Amazon Echo, Echo Dot or Echo Show

You don’t have to pay full price for your next Echo device!

Unless you have been living under a rock, you’ve heard of Amazon’s Echo devices like the Echo, Echo Dot, and Echo Show. Odds are that you may have even considered buying one for yourself at one point in time, but it is possible that you weren’t sold on the price tag of the device. Well, luckily there are a few ways to avoid paying full price and making your next Echo purchase even more affordable.

We’ve seen all types of discounts on the hardware, from direct price drops to bundles, and refurbished options. These each have their own advantages and disadvantages, so let’s take a quick look at some of the ways to save.

Buy refurbished

One of the easiest ways to save on an Echo device would be to pick up a refurbished one from Amazon directly. While you may be hesitant to buy something refurbished, I’d put your full confidence in this purchase. Amazon backs the hardware with the same warranty and returns policy, and you are getting something that will look and feel like new, but at a lower price. How can you really beat that?

• Echo Refurb – $89.99
• Echo Dot Refurb – $44.99
• Amazon Tap Refurb – $89.99

Right now, the refurb and new Echo Dot are the same prices, so you can pick whichever one you are more comfortable with, but that isn’t always the case. As for the Echo, you can’t buy this version new anymore, and the replacement model isn’t out until the end of October. On the Amazon Tap, you are saving $40 to go refurbished, which means you can almost grab an Echo Dot with it for the same price as one new Tap would be.

Buy in bulk

Amazon often runs deals which offer savings for buying more than one device at the same time. You may think this is silly, but once you put one Amazon Echo device in your house, odds are you’ll want to add at least one more, if not a handful of extras. Once I added one, I immediately bought two more, and I wish I just bought them at the same time to get a discount.

• Buy 6 Echo Dots and get one free with coupon code DOT6PACK
• Buy 3 Echo Dots and save $20 with coupon code DOT3PACK
• Buy 3 All-New Echo and save $50 with coupon code ECHO3PACK
• Buy 2 Echo Show and save $100 with coupon code SHOW2PACK

It may seem excessive to get multiple devices at the same time, but it is a smarter way to buy them. Whether you need all of them for your house, or want to have some at the office, or even want to give some away as a gift, this is a great option.

Follow Thrifter

From direct price drops to flash sales, the single easiest way to stay informed about ALL Echo discounts as they happen is to follow our pals at Thrifter.

Whether it is a week-long price drop or a sale that will likely only last a few hours, you can be assured that they will be covering it and let you know where to score that sweet deal.

Amazon Echo

• Tap, Echo or Dot: The ultimate Alexa question
• All about Alexa Skills
• Amazon Echo review
• Echo Dot review
• Top Echo Tips & Tricks
• Amazon Echo vs. Google Home
• Get the latest Alexa news

See at Amazon

Save $100 on the unlocked Essential Phone at Best Buy

Some say that saving money is Essential.

Is this deal for me?

We’ve seen Android phones push the limits over and over in 2017, and one of the bolder moves was the near edge-to-edge display that Essential introduced. While the phone received some mixed reviews, people have fallen in love with the look and feel of it, and now owning one just got a bit more affordable.

Right now you can pick up an unlocked Essential Phone from Best Buy for $599.99, which is a savings of $100. Sprint had discounted the phone previously, but this is the first discount we’ve seen on the unlocked version.

The phone features a 5.7-inch LCD display, 4GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage. It is available in both black and white, but this discount is only on the black version. Some locations may have it available for same-day pickup, but if not you can opt for next-day shipping so you won’t have to wait long to play around with it.

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – This is the first time we’ve seen a discount on the unlocked version of the Essential Phone.
• Things to know before you buy! – This discount only applies to the black version of the phone, and the white one is available to pre-order for $699.99.

See at Best Buy

More from Thrifter:

• 8 weird things you probably have in your house that sell on eBay
• How to save money when driving

For more great deals be sure to check out our friends at Thrifter now!

Can we just relax about the Pixel 2 XL display

Relax. There’s a reason no one had anything bad to say about this display in their initial hands on articles.

Google’s Nexus phones got a lot of undeserved praise in their time. Go back and look at a lot of those reviews, and you’ll see a lot of talk about how great those phones were “for the price” with a lot of glaring flaws overlooked. Good news, times have changed! Google’s phones are priced like premium phones now, and they deserve to be critiqued as such. If you read Pixel 2 XL reviews all over the web, one thing you’ll see with the quality reviewers out there is an especially critical tone taken with the display.

But in many cases, I think people are going a little too far. While this is absolutely not the best display you can get on a phone today, it’s a damn good display and you’re more than likely going to love it in the context of the entire phone.

Non-issues everywhere

Here’s a quick list of the complaints you’ll find with the Pixel 2 XL display if you go looking around the web:

• Color Shift: If you have a flat white background, say on a Google Search results page, you’ll notice a subtle shift from white to blue to red when you rotate the phone in your hand. This means from some angles it will look a little funny, but you’re never going to perceive this shift while holding the phone in your hand straight-on. This isn’t unique to the Pixel 2 XL; unsurprisingly, the LG V30 has the exact same “issue” when looking at the display from various angles.

• Grainy/Muddy colors: If you have the display brightness down as low as it can go, flat color spaces will have some grain to them. It makes flat white backgrounds look like they have a texture. You have to be really looking to see this, and with the screen brightness above 30%, I’ve yet to see this grain. This may be something that bothers you if you’re looking for it. I can count the number of times I have set my phone to minimum brightness on one hand and still have three fingers left to do something else, so it’s never a thing I’m going to notice, much less care about.

• Washed out colors: Surprise! If you use a Galaxy S8 or Note 8 with factory settings, every display that isn’t tuned to be extra saturated looks a little on the dull side. This has nothing to do with a “defect” in the Pixel 2 XL display, and everything to do with some folks preferring more saturated displays and setting two phones side-by-side. This couldn’t be any less of an issue. Google calibrated this display to reproduce 100% of the DCI-P3 color space, and if you go in and turn off Samsung’s display “improvements” you can get the exact same color gamut.

All caught up now? Great. Just so we’re clear, some of these things are actual, legitimate flaws in the display panel. They are things that are really, actually part of the experience of using the Pixel 2 XL. But none of them are constant concerns that will have you screaming about how Google could have let you down like this as you go to actually use this phone. It’s a solid display for just about everything, including virtual reality and seeing in direct sunlight.

What’s the actual ‘problem’ here?

Basically, LG’s P-OLED displays are, conservatively, about one generation behind what Samsung is doing with its Super AMOLED displays right now. That’s not surprising: Samsung has been a leader in the display world for several years now, just look at anything it’s made since about the Galaxy S5. There’s a reasonable argument to be made for wanting an $849 phone to have the best of everything, and right now that means it would have to have a Samsung display.

As a consumer, you should absolutely be critical of the things you spend money on.

But there’s a lot more to any phone than its display. The Pixel 2 XL is amazingly fast, packs a pair of cameras that delight with every press of the shutter, and features Google brains under the hood that often feel like witchcraft. On one hand, who wouldn’t want a phone where every single line in the spec sheet is the absolute best? On the other hand, this is reality and there are always trade-offs. With the Pixel 2 XL, that trade-off is the display isn’t completely flawless.

And really, that last bit is super important. These “flaws” are, at their worst, non-issues for most people. If I turn the brightness on this phone down to the minimum and hand it to 10 random people to ask them what they think of the display, the answer will be “wow, that’s a nice phone” nine out of 10 times. I know, because I did exactly that. (I was also wearing a lab coat at the time, so you know it was all totally legit.)

As a consumer, you should absolutely be critical of the things you spend money on. Google is asking you to spend $850, and telling you this thing you should buy is better than the other $750-$950 things available today. In my opinion, Google is absolutely right — and if you like large phones and the Google experience, you’re going to love the Pixel 2 XL. If you’re on the fence, go into a store and test it for yourself. Whatever your buying decision, you’ll see for yourself this display is a thoroughly enjoyable part of an incredible phone.

Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

• Pixel 2 FAQ: Everything you need to know!
• Google Pixel 2 and 2 XL review: The new standard
• Google Pixel 2 specs
• Google Pixel 2 vs. Pixel 2 XL: What’s the difference?
• Join our Pixel 2 forums

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Stop letting cords win the war with this $11 Emarth cable management system

Time to get organized!

Is this deal for me?

The Emarth 4-pack cable management sleeve is down to $10.94 with code ISZ8L4YN on Amazon. This is $15 without the code, which has been its regular street price since July.

What separates this from other cable management systems, like this one from Monoprice, are the multiple entry and exit holes that allow you create a sort of do-it-yourself entry point where ever you need it.

Features include:

• This cable management is made of thick high density neoprene. Zip-up design makes it easier to manage the cluttered cable tube. Ten piece cable ties can be used to tie up computer cables, TV cords, etc
• Every cable wire organizer has one buckle at both ends. Join multiple sleeves together to extend their length. Its suitable for all cable bundling solutions in your home/office
• Multiple entry/exit holes enable cables to entry/exit. The hole can be cut with scissors to fit or just create DIY holes to allow a breakout where required
• The desk cable management is 19.7-inches long and 3.7-inches wide and comes in four packs. Capable of bundling multiple cables without tearing while protecting cords from foot traffic & chewing pets
• You will get four piece cables management sleeves & 10 piece cable ties

The sleeve comes with a one-year warranty.

TL;DR

• What makes this deal worth considering? – This is a really low price on this cable management system, and it’ll help make your office look a little nicer.
• Things to know before you buy! – Don’t be afraid to get a little organized! I know it’s a big step for most of us.

See at Amazon

Happy thrifting!

Smart lock company August home purchased by actual lock company Yale

Smart-lock outfit Yale’s parent company is buying August Home, in a move that may consolidate some of the smart lock market. Sweden-based Assa Abloy will pick up August Home for a cool $60 million, and the regulatory bodies involved are expected to approve the purchase by year’s end. “August Home strengthens our residential smart door strategy with complementary smart locks, expansion into video doorbells and comprehensive solutions for home delivery,” ASSA’s executive vice president Thanasis Molokotos said in a statement.

“We have always admired the design and quality of Yale locks,” August CEO Jason Johnson said in a press release. “This is a great opportunity for us to work with the world’s largest lock and access company.”

While this might be good news for August, customers now have to deal with a potential oligopoly where a few firms control the entire space and innovations therein.

Source: Assa Abloy

Congress seeks transparent online political spending with Honest Ads Act

Following revelations that Kremlin-backed online actors bought and ran divisive social media advertising during the 2016 presidential election, three Senators introduced a bipartisan bill aimed at regulating online ad buys. If passed, it would require Google, Facebook, Twitter and the rest of their ilk to follow the same rules as traditional media.

Democratic Senators Mark Warner and Amy Klobuchar devised the bill, dubbed the Honest Ads Act. Republican Senator John McCain announced his support for the bill earlier this week and has since been added as a co-sponsor.

“In the wake of Russia’s attack on the 2016 election, it is more important than ever to strengthen our defenses against foreign interference in our elections,” McCain wrote in a statement read by Senator Klobuchar during a press conference on Thursday. “Unfortunately, US laws requiring transparency in political campaigns have not kept pace with rapid advances in technology allowing our adversaries to take advantage of these loopholes to influence millions of Americans with impunity.”

This bill would close those loopholes by demanding that online and social media companies make and retain copies of all political ads run on their networks, and make them available to the public. These rules would apply to any online entity (ie websites, apps, search engines or social/ad networks) with more than 50 million uniques in traffic per year, Re/Code reports. On the other side, for any campaign that spends more than $500 on ads per year, these platforms will need to make not only the ad itself available to the public but also information regarding who bought it, who it’s targeted at and how much it cost to run. These new rules mirror those that broadcasters have had to conform to for decades.

“We know that our next election is only 383 days away,” Senator Klobuchar said. “We know that Russia will continue to divide our country and, worse than that, we may have other foreign interests trying to divide our country.”

“I’ve been a state candidate four times, statewide in Virginia,” Senator Warner chimed in. “I think as a candidate, or as someone running against me, I ought to have the ability to at least go and look at the content of the ads being run for or against an individual campaign.”

“What we have now is ads that are in many ways set to disappear after they’ve targeted a very select demographic group,” Warner continued. “That is not the kind of transparency we need.”

Despite its good intentions, the bill will likely face a slog through both houses on its path towards passage. Some factions within the GOP have expressed doubts that the Russian government had anything to do with the 2016 election and are not likely to support this legislation, despite McCain’s vocal support for it. Nor is there any guarantee that it will find widespread support in Silicon Valley despite the industry’s efforts to solidify their defenses against external interference.

The Senators estimate that the Honest Ad Act could come up for a vote by early next year, if not sooner, should it get rolled into a larger national security package.

Facebook’s news subscription service will debut on Android, not iOS

Back in June, we reported that Facebook was working on a subscription deal with The Wall Street Journal. Then in July, we learned that the social platform was launching a news subscription service which would layer a paywall above Instant Articles. Now, TechCrunch reports that Facebook is, in fact, in testing mode for subscriptions for Instant Articles.

Facebook is offering publishers two options. The first is to allow a certain number of articles for free and restrict users once free articles have been used up. The other is to lock certain articles only. It’s debuting with the following ten publishers: Bild, The Boston Globe, The Economist, Hearst (The Houston Chronicle and The San Francisco Chronicle), La Repubblica, Le Parisien, Spiegel, The Telegraph, tronc (The Baltimore Sun, The Los Angeles Times and The San Diego Union-Tribune) and The Washington Post. Interestingly, The Wall Street Journal is not on that list, though Facebook was reportedly in discussions with the publisher News Corp.

The most interesting part of this news is the subscription model. Facebook will allow users to sign up for subscriptions through their app, but they will be redirected to the publisher’s site to actually pay for it. This means that Facebook won’t be keeping a chunk of that revenue, a very attractive proposition for publishers. Users will be able to activate subscriptions on Facebook as well, granting them access to articles if they already subscribe.

However, the revenue model also the reason that this feature will be launching on Android devices only, and not Apple, according to Recode. Android has no restrictions on how subscriptions can be sold in apps, but Apple takes up to 30 percent of the price of all subscriptions sold within its apps. Facebook and Apple were unable to come to terms on this despite months of negotiations, so for now, this feature will roll out across Android devices only over the next few weeks.

Source: Recode, TechCrunch

Facebook Won’t Add News Subscription Service to iOS App Due to Apple’s 30% Cut

Facebook is planning to introduce a feature that will let publishers sell subscriptions to their news sites directly on Facebook, but subscription purchases won’t be available on iOS devices because Apple and Facebook are having trouble working out terms, reports Recode.

The feature will add paywalls to some articles in the Facebook news feed, directing users to the publisher’s site to purchase a subscription. Apple wants to take a standard 30 percent cut of any subscription revenue brought in through the Facebook iOS app, while Facebook wants all of the money to go directly to publishers.

Facebook and Apple have reportedly been “discussing the impasse” for several months, and Facebook has decided to go ahead with a version of the feature that will only be available on Android phones. Facebook will be working with publishers like Bild, The Boston Globe, The Economist, Hearst (The Houston Chronicle and The San Francisco Chronicle), La Repubblica, Le Parisien, Spiegel, The Telegraph, tronc (The Baltimore Sun, The Los Angeles Times, and The San Diego Union-Tribune), and The Washington Post.

Through its subscription rules, Apple can take up to 30 percent of subscription revenue from in-app sales, though that number drops after a person has subscribed to a service on an iOS device for more than a year.

News subscription services won’t be purchased directly on Facebook, but Apple still considers the feature to be an “in-app” purchase. Google does not plan to take a cut of revenue.

In a statement to Recode, Facebook said it is “committed to this effort” and “optimistic” that a test will expand to “all mobile platforms” in the near future.
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Apple CEO Tim Cook: Mac Mini Will Be ‘Important Part’ of Future Product Lineup

Apple’s Mac mini celebrated its third birthday this week, marking three years since the device was last updated. The lack of attention Apple has given to the Mac mini has left many Mac users wondering about the future of the machine and whether there are updates to come.

MacRumors reader Krar decided to email Apple CEO Tim Cook to get an update on the Mac mini and he received a response. Cook said it was “not time to share any details,” but he confirmed that the Mac mini will be an important part of the company’s product lineup in the future.

Cook’s response echoes a similar statement from Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller, who commented on the Mac mini when Apple’s plans for a new Mac Pro were unveiled. “The Mac mini is an important product in our lineup and we weren’t bringing it up because it’s more of a mix of consumer with some pro use,” he said.

Positioned as a “bring your own peripherals” machine that comes without a mouse, keyboard, or display, the Mac mini is Apple’s most affordable desktop machine. The current version is woefully outdated though, and continues to use Haswell processors and integrated Intel HD 5000/Intel Iris Graphics.

It’s not clear when Apple will introduce a new Mac mini, and aside from a single rumor hinting at a new high-end Mac mini with a redesign that “won’t be so mini anymore,” we’ve heard no rumors about work on a possible Mac mini refresh.

With 2017 coming to a close, we’re not likely to see a new Mac mini until 2018 at the earliest. A refreshed machine could use Kaby Lake Refresh chips, and as all chips appropriate for the Mac mini feature four cores, a new machine would likely reintroduce quad-core performance.

Related Roundup: Mac miniBuyer’s Guide: Mac Mini (Don’t Buy)
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Verizon aims for spring 2018 to debut its streaming TV service

We first heard that Verizon was interested in launching a streaming TV service back in March, but getting it off the ground has been a real struggle. It was originally scheduled to debut this past summer, though rumors had it slipping to the fall. Now, Bloomberg reports that Verizon is eyeing a launch in spring 2018.

Verizon’s faced multiple issues in regard to this streaming service. As recently as August, the company was unable to secure enough broadcasters to make the effort worthwhile. Media companies were hesitant because there wasn’t a solid plan in place for the service in terms of pricing, programming and tech. It didn’t help that they’d lost multiple executives during the process; what’s more, news broke last month that the company’s media head Marni Walden will leave the company in February 2018.

Adding to the uncertainty is the fact that Go90, Verizon’s venture into producing original, streaming, ad-supported shows didn’t exactly go well, according to Bloomberg. Still, the company is big enough, and this is clearly important enough of an endeavor, that they will figure out how to make their streaming service work, at least in the short term. It remains to be seen how users and potential subscribers will respond, given the ubiquity of options already available to them.