Why You Can Trust CNET Get an HP Pavilion Wave desktop PC for $269.99
This striking system will raise your home decor, not ruin it. Plus: The lowest price ever on the Samsung Gear VR 2016.
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. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter!
It's a new Bluetooth speaker, right? Nope, it's an entire PC -- and a speaker!
Whew! Now that Black Friday , Cyber Monday and my first live CNET appearance in years are in the rear-view, I need a deal-cation.
Starting with this: Today is Giving Tuesday. Yeah, kind of a silly name. And not the best timing, either: We're all broke now! They should do this the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, when we're all still in that thankful place and not totally tapped out.
Anyway, if you have any money left, consider making a donation somewhere. Anywhere. Skip today's latte and give that $5 to someone who really needs it. Buying something from Amazon (where the Amazon Echo Dot is still on sale for $29.99, just saying)? Make sure your browser is pointed at smile.amazon.com so a portion of your purchase goes to the charity of your choice. (That's giving without even trying!)
Everybody do the Wave
Today I'm bringing you a rerun of the best kind: Same product, lower price.
Earlier this year, I professed amazement that the HP Pavilion Wave hadn't crossed my radar. Also disappointment, because it's forward-thinking and gorgeous in a way few PCs ever have been.
Today only, and while supplies last, Woot has the refurbished HP Pavilion Wave mini-desktop PC for $269.99, plus $5 for shipping. It originally sold for $549 when it debuted about a year ago and currently runs about $449 new. Last time I ran the deal: $300.
Calling this a desktop PC belies its design, which I find lovely. It's a triangular, cloth-covered monolith, short and stocky, more closely resembling an oversize Bluetooth speaker than a PC. This is a tower that can actually improve the decor in your den, kitchen, home office or wherever you decide to put it. Most desktops ? Not so much.
Speaking of speakers, the Wave is one: It features built-in B&O Play hardware and 360-degree audio. It also borrows a bit from Amazon's Echo, with dual-array microphones able to pick up any commands you issue to Windows 10's Cortana.
On the spec front, it's more than sufficiently suited to typical home tasks, with a Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive.
CNET hasn't reviewed it, but you can get a nice overview of the product in this video:
If you happened to grab one of these last time around, hit the comments and share your review.
Bonus deal: Want to see what all the VR fuss is about? (My $.02: It's earned.) Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR prices have dropped considerably, but they're nowhere near this. For a limited time, and while supplies last, TechRabbit has the 2nd-gen Samsung Gear VR headset for $14.99 shipped. Price when it debuted a little over a year ago: $100.
You'll need a compatible Samsung phone for this, but if you have one, you're golden. The Gear VR delivers an Oculus Rift-powered UI and lots of similarly great games and experiences. Read CNET's review of the 2016 Samsung Gear VR to learn more.
Cyber Monday deals: See every Cyber Monday 2017 deal we've found so far. (Some might still be available!)
Holiday Gift Guide: CNET's full gift guide, including dozens of products priced under $25, $50 and $100.