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Get a Zus smart car charger and locator for $22.99

From the Cheapskate: Normally $29.99, this top-rated gizmo features two reversible (!) USB ports and a companion app to help you find your car. Plus: three bonus deals!

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. And find more great buys on the CNET Deals page.


Yesterday I carpooled home from a convention, and the six-hour drive was pleasant except for one thing: The car had just one USB port. #thehorror #firstworldproblems

Needless to say, the three passengers were all fighting for that port. ("My phone is down to 28 percent!" "But mine is at 16 percent!") Which is why every car owner should stow a multiport charger. It's just common courtesy, people!

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The Nonda Zus promises to charge your mobile devices faster than some other car chargers.

Nonda

Such chargers run cheap, but I'm here to make the case for spending a little extra. For a limited time, you can get the Nonda Zus smart car charger and locator for $22.99 shipped when you apply promo code CNETDL25 at checkout. Regular price: $29.95.

Not quite a year ago, the Zus launched on Indiegogo and surpassed its funding goal by 2,522 percent. Now it's a shipping product, and if the reviews on Amazon -- 4.8 stars out of 5 -- are any indication, it's a good one.

The Zus is a sleek, black cigarette-lighter plug with a pair of 2.4-amp USB ports. What's so special about that? They're reversible. Doesn't matter which way you plug in your charging cable (and, let's face it, it's always the wrong way), it'll fit.

I'm not sure if heat is a real problem with car chargers, but the Zus claims to operate much cooler than others and therefore promises to last longer.

Beyond that, it offers a couple parking-related conveniences. A companion app pairs your phone to the Zus via Bluetooth. Then the app helps you navigate back to your car -- helpful if it's parked in a huge lot and you have no recollection where you left it. You can also share that parking location with friends or family; great for "meet you at the car." And the parking-meter alert will notify you before your time runs out, effectively helping prevent parking tickets.

Of course, any number of third-party apps can do likewise. So I wouldn't let the app dictate your decision. Instead, if you want a top-rated, two-port car charger for 25 percent less than everyone else pays, well, here you go.

Your thoughts?

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All this for $50. Not bad!

Best Buy

Bonus deal: Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably heard of a little game called No Man's Sky? Because it's brand new, your only option is to pay the full $59.99 list price -- unless, of course, you're an Amazon Prime subscriber, in which case you can snag No Man's Sky (PS4) for $47.99. (The discount is automatically applied at checkout.) That said, if you can wait six to 12 months, you'll almost certainly be able to buy it for half the price. Cheap games come to those who wait!

Bonus deal No. 2: Look, free office suites are all well and good (some of them very good), but some folks just prefer or require Microsoft Office. If you're one of them, check this: For a limited time, Best Buy has Office 365 Personal for one year for $49.99, a price that includes Kaspersky Internet Security 2016 and a Microsoft wireless mouse. Shipping is free; Office normally runs $70 all by itself. Not a bad bundle!

Bonus deal No. 3: Lots of subscription services try to hook new customers by offering cheap introductory rates. But Audible has a deal that's good for existing past customers as well: three months of Audible Gold membership for $1.95 per month when you redeem promo code NEWTRAVEL. That nets you one book per month, and you get to keep them if you decide to cancel your subscription once the promo ends. If you continue, the service will run you $14.95 per month.

Update: Aargh, sorry, poor choice of words in describing this. If you WERE an Audible customer, but aren't currently, you can take advantage of this deal. Usually promos like this are for "new customers only." Current customers aren't eligible. Sorry for the confusion.