The Cheapskate’s best Black Friday deals

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” 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 there are definitely some winners. Below I’ve rounded up my favorites, along with some exclusives you simply won’t find elsewhere. Because being a Cheapskate reader has its privileges, am I right?

• TABLET The tablet deal — no, tablet steal — of the year goes to Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD 6, an utterly adorable 6-inch tablet that’s way better than you’d expect for $99. And today you can get the Fire HD 6 (8GB) with Special Offers for $79 shipped, which just makes me want to buy one for everyone I know. It comes in your choice of colors. And the 16GB version runs just $20 more.
• SPEAKER You know the problem with most Bluetooth speakers? They don’t fare well in the outdoors. Not so Outdoor Tech’s Big Turtle Shell, which is water-resistant, dust-proof, and shock-proof. It normally sells for $229.95, but you can get the Big Turtle Shell for $129.95 shipped when you apply coupon code CNETBIG100 at checkout.
• MAGAZINES Netflix for magazines? That’s Next Issue in a nutshell. It normally runs $14.99 per month for unlimited access to over 140 digital magazines (good ones, too), but as part of a Black Friday promotion, you can get three months of Next Issue for $14.99. The app is available for Android, iOS and Windows.

Best Black Friday tech deals of 2014

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• DVR As over-the-air DVRs go, the Channel Master DVR+ is pretty sweet, offering dual tuners, a solid interface and no monthly fees. Normally, it’s annoyingly priced at $249, but today and Monday only, you can get the DVR+ for $175. You’ll need a USB hard drive to go with it; if you don’t have a spare lying around, Newegg has this pretty sweet HGST 1TB USB 3.0 drive for $49.99.
• EARBUDS If you’ve never found a truly comfy pair of earbud headphones, maybe it’s time to consider a custom solution. Today and Monday only, you can get a set of Decibullz Contour custom molded earphones for $29.99, a savings of 50 percent. Shipping adds $3.50. This strikes me as a particularly good gift item for the music lover and/or hardcore exerciser in your life.
• SMARTPHONE For my money, the OnePlus One is the best smartphone you can’t buy : it’s been by-invitation-only for most of the year. (Annoying!) Today, however, you can actually order a OnePlus One yourself, no invitation required. The 16GB model runs $299, but I definitely recommend ponying up the extra $50 for the 64GB version.

• SMARTWATCH Despite a few annoyances, the Pebble is the best smartwatch you can buy, period. And today only, it’s never been cheaper: You can get the original Pebble for $79 or the Pebble Steel for $149. I’m loving the latter, which ditches the dorky plastic shell for a really snazzy metal frame (and glass front), but the $79 job is awfully tough to pass up.
• DESKTOP SPEAKERS If you use a laptop as your desktop, you’re cheating yourself out of a good audio experience. For a limited time, AccessoryPower (via Amazon) has the GoGroove BassPulse 2.1 desktop speaker system for $49.99 shipped when you apply coupon code CNETDEAL at checkout. This seriously sweet-looking rig features two flat-panel satellites and a subwoofer, all of which glow red. And the reviews are overwhelmingly positive.

• GAME CONSOLE If you’ve been holding out for a particularly good Xbox deal, this may be the one: Newegg (via eBay) has the Xbox One Assassin’s Creed Bundle for $329.99 shipped. It includes Assassin’s Creed: Unity, Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag and a one-year Xbox Live subscription. Not included: the Kinect. But you can always add it later if you want.
• ITUNES GIFT CARD For anyone who’s part of the Apple ecosystem, it’s hard to beat an iTunes gift-card deal — especially one like this. For a limited time, PayPal Digital Gifts (via eBay) is offering a $100 iTunes gift card for $75. It’s delivered via email in the form of a code you redeem online, so there’s nothing really tangible to give a gift recipient unless you print out the email.

Whew! Well, that’s it for me. If you’ve found a particularly stellar BF deal, share it in the comments! You can find a whole bunch more deals in CNET’s massive Black Friday roundup post here.

Bonus deal: Hey, what kind of cheapskate would I be if I didn’t offer a deal on my very own book? For a limited time, you can own the highly rated “The Cheapskate Rules: 21 Easy Money-Saving Tech Secrets” for a paltry $2.99. Talk about a great gift!