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CNET’s Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page.


In case you missed it yesterday, be sure to check out my evaluation of Amazon’s new Music Unlimited service. It sounds like a good deal, but is it really? (Spoiler alert: Meh.)

A lot of you really loved the $9 Bluetooth speaker deal from yesterday, and a lot of you were bummed about it selling out. So today I’ve rounded up a bunch more under-$10 deals — each, hopefully, with enough inventory to satisfy ma cheeps!

Look! Up in the sky! Free comics!

For anyone who loves comics, Marvel Unlimited is a pretty sweet deal at $9.99 per month. As you can probably guess, it affords you unlimited access to Marvel’s library — over 17,000 comics — on the reading devices of your choice.

Usually there’s no free trial, but for a limited time, you can get one month of Marvel Unlimited free when you apply promo code NY16 at checkout. Just be sure to add a reminder to your calendar 29 days from now, as next month (and every subsequent month) you’ll be billed the usual 10 bucks — unless you cancel.

Five books for five bucks

Do you like thrillers? StoryBundle currently has two e-book collections that should be right up your alley: Pulse Pounders and Political Thrillers.

Here’s how it works: For as little as $5, you can buy either bundle. All books are DRM-free and compatible with pretty much every kind of e-reader, Kindles included.

If you’re feeling flush and can scrape together $15, you get the bonus tier: five or six additional books, depending on the bundle.

Portable desktop speakers for eight bucks

You know the only thing worse than TV speakers? Laptop speakers. The ones in my Asus are a joke. And yet I spend a good deal of my time at the same desk. Why don’t I plug in a set of real speakers?

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These are $8, is all I’m saying.


Best Buy

I dunno, but that’s about to change: Best Buy has the Insignia USB-powered portable speakers for $7.99, plus sales tax and around $5.50 for shipping. (You can avoid the latter charge by picking them up in-store.)

I’m not expecting miracles from these flatties, but over 90 percent of nearly 500 buyers would recommend them, so…you know. They’re powered entirely by USB (though you still need a headphone or audio-out jack), meaning one less power brick, and one less cord running behind your desk. On the other hand, be prepared to give up a USB port.

Seriously, though — eight bucks for a set of desktop speakers. Yes, please!

Return of the $10 Bluetooth earphones

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J&L

In case you missed these last time, or the time before that, Vafee LLC is once again offering the J&L Real waterproof Bluetooth sport earphones for $9.99, shipped free for Amazon Prime subscribers. That’s after applying discount code WUXRCUNC at checkout.

Waterproof? Really? Supposedly so, but I wouldn’t necessarily count on these for pool use. Instead, take them to the gym without worrying about ill effects from your sweaty noggin. Also, ignore the “noise cancelling” description; these are noise-isolating earphones, the kind that make a seal inside your ear canal to block out ambient noise. (My favorite kind of earphone, incidentally.)

Reviews: 4.1 stars from nearly 800 buyers. Review-rating site Fakespot scored it a “C,” which is better than average for most products like this. Some folks got free or discounted products in exchange for their review, but it seems enough people bought them outright — and liked them. And, here, you’re getting a discounted product not in exchange for a review.

Your thoughts?

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CNET’s Cheapskate scours the Web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page.


Cheeps! Four incredible deals today. Can’t promise any of them will last (except the third one — it’s good until next week), so if something catches your eye, act fast. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!

Small phone, small price

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Just don’t drop it face-down in the woods. You’ll never find it again!


Otterbox

Not everyone wants a big phone, as evidenced by Apple’s recent introduction of the iPhone SE. And I can understand that: Small phones are lighter, easier to pocket, easier to operate one-handed and, in some cases, way cheaper.

For example, while supplies last, Daily Steals has the refurbished, unlocked iPhone 5 (16GB) with an Otterbox Defender case for $99.99 shipped. It’s available in black or white, and it’s compatible with all GSM networks including my current no-contract carrier of choice, Cricket.

Although the phone itself is refurbished and may have a few cosmetic blemishes, the case is new — and it would run you at least $42 if purchased separately. Can’t say I’m a big fan of the Realtree Camo design, but when it comes to protection, Otterbox rules.

I could imagine grabbing one of these to keep on-hand as a backup phone, or as a starter phone for an iPhone-hungry teen, or even to use for various non-phone functions (security camera, anyone?). There’s no warranty to speak of, but Daily Steals does offer a 30-day money-back guarantee.

It’s Pebble Time time

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Pebble

Not much explanation needed here: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Groupon has the refurbished Pebble Time smartwatch for $89.99 shipped. Even better, if you start at Ebates, you can score a 15% rebate, bringing your effective price down to $76.49.

I mentioned this same Ebates rebate for an iPad deal a few days back. Newcomers to that service should do their homework on how the process works.

That price is for the square model with your choice of a black, white or red band. (The Pebble Time Round is also available, but for $129.99.) It’s compatible with both Android phones and iPhones; I highly recommend it if you own one of the former, and recommend it with caveats for the latter.

The best news of all: These include a 90-day warranty from Pebble proper. Read CNET’s review of the Pebble Time if you want to know more.

Learn to code, advance your career

I love e-learning. Armed with little more than a computer and an Internet connection, you can learn to do just about anything. And you can do it on your own schedule — nights, weekends, whenever works.

Best of all, you can learn marketable skills on the cheap. Sometimes, really, really cheap.

Today, for example, StackSocial has the Complete 2016 Learn to Code Bundle for $49 when you apply promo code LTC10 at checkout. That’s an extra $10 off the already rock-bottom price of $59.

These eight courses — which cover everything from Python to Ruby on Rails to Web development — are accessed through StackSocial’s StackSkills site. But eagle-eyed readers may notice that similar ones are available from Udemy, in some cases for much less than the “value” listed on the bundle page. So if you’re interested in only one or two of the courses, you might do better to just buy them individually from Udemy.

That said, the entire bundle at $49 is still way less than you’d pay for all eight. And coding and Web development are among the most sought-after skills in today’s job market (look it up), so doesn’t it make sense to cover as many bases as you can?

The best on-ear headphone deal to date

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These headphones for $6.99? For real?


Sound Intone

Usually, if you want a cheap pair of headphones to toss in your gym bag or travel bag or to give to your kids, you’re stuck with earbuds.

Not today. Reader Ray alerted me to this amazing deal: Alien Shop (via Amazon) has the Sound Intone HD850 on-ear headphones for just $6.99 when you apply coupon code B4RP8WVX at checkout. (I know the code works with the black version; not sure about the other colors.)

Take note: If you see a seller other than Alien Shop — which may happen if their stock runs out — the code may not work.

I have no ears-on experience with these, but they look pretty decent, with an adjustable padded headband, inline microphone and remote, and — something uncommon — a “sharing” port that allows a friend to plug their headphones into yours. That way both of you can listen to the same music, podcast, movie or whatever. Nice!

Sound quality and headphone durability? Tough to say. The hundreds of user reviews average out to 4.1 stars, but as is common these days, many of the reviews were the result of free or discounted samples. Still, for $6.99 out the door (assuming you have Amazon Prime to cover shipping), this is pretty tempting. Thoughts?

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