Rick Broida

Translate text into a different language as you type

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET There are some amazing language-translation apps, everything from Google Translate to Word Lens. But few of them integrate with iOS proper. Translate Keyboard Pro ($1.99) does. It takes advantage of iOS 8’s support for third-party keyboards, effectively translating text from 30 source languages into as many as 80 other languages as …

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Get a Quirky Converge charging station for $28

Quirky Well, it finally happened: we’re a four-phone family. Poorhouse, here I come! Actually, I’ve wrangled pretty cheap deals for all our phones — I am the Cheapskate, after all. But one thing I haven’t been able to wrangle is the charging-cord nightmare on our kitchen counter. Solution, thy name is today’s deal! For a limited time, and while supplies …

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Call+ app provides free international calls

Call+ lets you do a little bartering to earn free international calls. Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET Most smartphone apps that offer free voice calls require the person at the other end to use the same app. That’s fine for calling the friends and family members you can cajole into installing that app, but what if you want to reach, say, …

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Dear Microsoft: Why does Outlook 2013 cost $110?

Microsoft I don’t understand Microsoft Outlook. I mean, I understand how to use it. Truth be told, I actually quite like it. As desktop mail clients go, I think Outlook 2013 is the best option out there, and certainly the best version of the program Microsoft has ever produced. What I don’t understand is why Microsoft charges $109.99 for a …

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Walmart selling prepaid Samsung Galaxy S4 for $249

Samsung Way back in 2013, Samsung’s Galaxy S4 was the hot smartphone. Sure, it’s been eclipsed in 2014 by newer models, not the least of which is Samsung’s own Galaxy S5, but there’s plenty of mileage left in this former flagship phone. And now you can get it for cheap. Like, really cheap: this week only, Walmart has the Samsung …

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Get a 28

Best Buy Not every room demands — or even accommodates — a big TV. A den, dorm room, bedroom, or similarly smallish space would benefit from something, well, smallish. Like this: Today only, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the Insignia NS-28D310NA15 28-inch HDTV for $129.99. Shipping is free, though you’ll likely be on the hook for sales tax. …

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Combat holiday stress with Buddhify 2 for Android, iOS

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET Holiday stress got you down? How about job stress? Travel stress? Facing-another-dreary-day stress? Here’s my favorite: you’re having trouble sleeping, which stresses you out, so then you have even greater trouble sleeping. Whatever’s ailing your brain, mindfulness meditation can help. A lot. And a great place to start is with Buddhify 2, an app for Android …

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The Cheapskate’s best Black Friday deals

” Black Friday” is such a dark-sounding name, isn’t it? I move we call it Fab Friday, Festive Friday, Fantastic Friday, or something similarly uplifting (and alliterative, natch). Either way, this is the day when many a store trots out its best deals of the year. Lots of those deals are nothing to write home (or a blog) about, but …

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Get an Urge SoundBrick Plus portable speaker with NFC for $36.99

Tanga Recipe for a happy life: good health, good friends, good food and drink, and a good-sounding Bluetooth speaker that can go pretty much anywhere you go. Because, really, you can squeeze a lot more happiness from your life with a steady diet of music, podcasts, audiobooks, guided meditations, NPR, movie soundtracks, and even bigger, louder audio for the games …

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Get an HP Stream 13 laptop and gift card for $199 shipped

HP Last week I shared what was arguably the best laptop deal of the entire year, an 11.6-inch Asus EeeBook for $139.99. (It’s now back up to its $179.99 regular price — still a pretty smokin’ buy, if you ask me.) If you liked the idea of a low-cost, Chromebook-style laptop but didn’t relish squinting at such a small screen, …

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