Why You Can Trust CNET Bonus-deal Thursday: A free game, an $18 Pebble and more!
Sometimes the bonus deals outshine the main deal -- which is also really good, by the way.
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.
Quick note before we dive into today's deals: If you're buying anything from Amazon (including any of the deals below), please do so via smile.amazon.com. Today only, the company is donating to charity 5 percent of all eligible products -- 10 times the usual amount. Good on you, Amazon.
Here in Michigan, as in much of the rest of the country, winter decided it wasn't even remotely done yet. This after a mild, almost pleasant January and February. Suffice it to say, it's not drone-flying weather.
But it will be! And soon enough, so here's a great outdoor-drone deal to get you excited for spring.
Not even two years ago, the super-sexy Parrot Bebop would have run you $500. Today, and for a limited time, Daily Steals has the refurbished Parrot Bebop quadcopter for $138.99 shipped when you apply promo code DSCheapskate. Yep, it's an exclusive extra $11 off, just for you, my friends. The Bebop is already a pretty sweet deal at $149.99.
Available in red or blue, this is manufacturer-refurbished, so it comes with a full one-year warranty. You also get two batteries, though it's not clear whether they're new or just "tested." You can buy extras for as little as $40 per pair.
The Bebop is like the sports car of the skies. It has a built-in 1080p wide-angle camera and support for Zeiss Cinemizer and Sony Personal View FPV glasses, for anyone who might like to get into drone racing.
You control the Bebop with Parrot's FreeFlight Pro app, which for $31 can be upgraded (via in-app purchase) to allow programmed waypoint and point-of-interest flights. It's worth it, but still really annoying to have to spend extra for those features. And the upgrade used to be $20 -- now it's $31? Come on, Parrot.
Also worth considering: Parrot's optional Skycontroller, which adds physical controls and greatly extends the Bebop's range. The challenge is finding one; I hit up eBay and Amazon and came up pretty empty.
Again, these are all options; the real deal here is the Bebop itself for $139. It's a fun, versatile flier, definitely worth considering at this price.
Even without a keyboard, a Surface Pro 3 for $300 is pretty tempting.
Bonus deal: You all know how I feel about Windows tablets that come without a keyboard (cough, Surface, cough). That said, a deal's a deal, so I'm just going to present this without comment: Dealfisher (via Amazon) has the refurbished Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (Core i3, 64GB) for $300 shipped, definitely one of the lowest prices I've seen for that model. Want more storage? The 256GB, Core i5 model is available for $429.99. No pen included, and no keyboard either, natch. So, Microsoft: How is this "the tablet that can replace your laptop" if there's no keyboard? Ah, dangit, I commented.
Bonus deal No. 2: Game time! Even better: free-game time! EA Origin's latest On the House giveaway is the graphic adventure Syberia II, which normally sells for $12.99 (but is actually on sale at Steam for $2.59 -- still, free is better). An oldie but goodie, this 2004 sequel combines lush cutscenes with challenging puzzles and a rich, twisty plot. Read GameSpot's review if you want to know more. As with all of Origin's giveaways, this one requires an account and its desktop client.
Bonus deal No. 3: All speakers should be Bluetooth-enabled: home, car, PC, all of them. Thankfully, Amazon is home to countless receivers that endow nearly any speaker with Bluetooth goodness. Like this one: The Ugreen portable Bluetooth receiver is $10.94 (shipped free with Prime) when you apply coupon code 6PYQ4GB2 at checkout. It plugs into any 3.5mm input jack and can run for up to 4 hours on a charge, or you can just leave it plugged in, though it's BYO USB power plug. It also has a built-in microphone, so you could actually turn a set of headphones into a headset (if it has a removable cord).
Bonus deal No. 4: I can't say I loved the design of the original Pebble smartwatch, which was a little dorky even by my standards. But it was awfully good at delivering notifications, and had the best battery life of any product in its class. (Still does, actually.)
For a limited time, and while supplies last, Daily Steals has the refurbished original Pebble smartwatch for just $18 shipped when you apply promo code CLASSICPBLDS at checkout. It's available in your choice of five colors.
As you probably know, Pebble was acquired by Fitbit last year, and the product line is pretty much dead. So there's no future for this, at least from a software standpoint. But there is a present, and that present is a solid (if dorky) smartwatch that's really good at certain things. And $18 out the door? Come on. You do get a 60-day warranty, which I believe comes from Daily Steals.
Bonus deal No. 4.5: Not nearly as sexy, price-wise, but nicer-looking overall is the Pebble Steel, which you can score refurbished via eBay for $42.99.