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Get a TripMate Titan portable media hub for $39.99

From the Cheapskate: This colorful travel companion doubles as a Wi-Fi router and triples as a mobile charger. Plus: free/cheap games for Android and iOS!

Rick Broida Senior Editor
Rick Broida is the author of numerous books and thousands of reviews, features and blog posts. He writes CNET's popular Cheapskate blog and co-hosts Protocol 1: A Travelers Podcast (about the TV show Travelers). He lives in Michigan, where he previously owned two escape rooms (chronicled in the ebook "I Was a Middle-Aged Zombie").
Rick Broida
3 min read

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.

hootoo-tripmate-ht-tm05.jpg
HooToo

I like to travel light -- "schlepping" is my nemesis -- but it's really difficult nowadays what with all the gadgetry that's required: mobile charger, travel router, media hub and so on.

If you'll pardon this rerun: all-in-ones to the rescue! For a limited time, and while supplies last, Sunvalleytek (via Amazon) has the HooToo TripMate Titan HT-TM05 for $39.99 shipped. That's after applying coupon code D4EG538B at checkout, and $4 less than the last time I wrote about it.

Speaking of which, Sunvalleytek has apparently interpreted my previous deal post as something akin to a review, hence the all-caps "CNET'S PICK" at the top of their product page. Let me be clear: I haven't reviewed this product, and that earlier coverage doesn't meet my definition of "pick." Then, as now, I relied on the rather staggering number of positive user reviews. More on that below.

The TripMate performs three key functions. For starters, it's a 10,400mAh mobile charger, impressive given its fairly diminutive dimensions: 1.65 x 1.65 x 3.74 inches. Next, it's a streaming media hub, able to wirelessly beam music, movies and the like from any attached USB storage (flash drive, hard drive, etc.). That's a huge plus for phone and tablet users who have limited internal space available. You can even plug in a USB hub (not included) for access to up to four devices at once.

Finally, the TripMate handles any and all networking needs: bridge, access point and router. And thanks to the aforementioned hub capabilities, you can use it as a network attached storage (NAS) server as well. That's some serious multifunction goodness right there.

This gizmo's pretty cute, too, a little black-and-red monolith with its ports hidden by rubber covers.

And the reviews! Over 2,700 Amazon buyers rated it 4.4 stars out of 5. I definitely recommend reading them, though, as they address a couple limitations with regard to setup, storage compatibility (no support for ExFAT) and using it with a Chromecast (which you can do, solving a common hotel-room headache!).

If you grabbed one of these last time, hit the comments and share your thoughts with your fellow cheeps!

Bonus deal: Game time, iOS Edition! Winter is coming, but the next season of "Game of Thrones" feels like it'll never get here. Fortunately, you can while away the hours with this: For a limited time, Telltale Games' Game of Thrones: Episode 1 (iOS) is free. Regular price: $4.99. The ratings are a bit mixed, but at least now you have nothing to lose by giving it a try.

Bonus deal No. 2: Game time, Android Edition! EA is once again (or maybe still) offering a nice selection of Android games for 10 cents apiece. Dead Space: a dime. Need for Speed Most Wanted: a dime. Contre Jour: you get the idea. And don't forget the awesome Shaun the Sheep game Fleece Lightning (Psst: dime!).