Why You Can Trust CNET Monday's top deals: $85 Echo Show 8, $42 ear-detecting earbuds, discount Zvox soundbars and more
Save big on Earfun's latest (and best) AirPods alternative and get a headphone stand with wireless charging dock for $25.
Happy Monday, everyone! Things are really starting to heat up in Techville, what with Apple's thing Tuesday, the just-leaked Facebook Oculus Quest 2 and another Samsung Unpacked event coming later this month. Fun times for we the geeky.
Cheap times, too, as evidenced by today's smorgasbord of deals. First up: For a limited time, and while supplies last, HSN has the Amazon Echo Show 8 for $85 shipped, a price that includes a 1-year Food Network Kitchen subscription and voucher for a whole bunch of other freebies. New customers can use code HSNFIVE to get an extra $5 off, tying the lowest price ever for Amazon's super-popular smart screen.
I'm thinking very seriously about getting one for my aging parents. Although they both have phones and tablets, I'm seeing the value in a standalone device they can use to video-call me with a simple voice command. If you've used a smart screen in this capacity, let me know how it's working out. Meanwhile, check out CNET's Echo Show 8 review to learn more.
I like it when a thing is also another thing -- or in this case multiple things. This desktop dock has a Qi wireless charging pad for your phone, but also four USB 3.0 ports for charging other stuff. And just to top it all off (literally), there's a stand to hold your headphones. Talk about feeding three birds with one scone!
Use promo code F757KK59 to knock the price down to $25.19. It normally sells for $40.
I was already a fan of BigVu before spotting this deal. It turns your phone or tablet into a teleprompter, meaning you can record video while reading from a script. That's great for everything from TikTok to YouTube to work stuff. The app also lets you edit video, add captions and more.
This $69 deal gets you lifetime access to the Workgroup plan, which normally costs $500 per year. You can even stack up to 10 codes. And like other AppSumo offers, this one includes a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Amazing deal. Amazing.
Another AirPods competitor? Yeah, but hear me out. A previous EarFun product, the EarFun Free, is a CNET favorite, offering solid sound and some great features. The brand-new EarFun Air keeps the USB-C and wireless-charging options, but mimics the AirPods' pipe design and adds in-ear detection.
Cheapskate Jr. has been testing these for a couple months. (I received an early set.) His verdict: They sound really good and work really well overall, but he did have a couple issues. First, accidentally swiping the touch control often resulted in annoying volume jumps.
Second, on occasion he found the ear-detection feature too sensitive: Sometimes while making a small adjustment to an earbud, the music would stop and he'd have to pull the 'bud all the way out and reinsert it to get it started it again.
Still, noise-isolating waterproof earbuds for $42? Absolutely worth considering. (Use promo code EAFAIR42 to get that price, noting that it will not be active until 11 a.m. PT today.)
Old ears, struggle no more. A soundbar like the Zvox AccuVoice AV157 dramatically improves your TV's audio, in part because it's designed to enhance dialogue. In fact, it offers 12 levels of center-channel voice control. There's also a great feature called Output Leveling, which prevents big spikes in volume (like when commercials come on or there's a noisy action scene).
I'm a true fan of the product line, and this deal on the AV157 ties the best price I've seen. (New HSN customers can use promo code HSNFIVE to shave an extra $5 off, making it the best price, period.)
I gave one of these to my dad a couple months back. It's been a huge improvement and, dare I say, a marriage-saver.
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