Three-deal Thursday: A Dell, a drone and a dynamite tablet
Most likely to sell out: the $50 duplexing wireless laser printer. Get one while you can!
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Today's deal is really a main deal and two bonus deals, but the latter went long, so I took a little liberty with the headline and indulged my love of alliteration. Forgive my foolish foibles, friends. (Lord, I need help.)
First up: Although Staples seems to burn me almost constantly with great deals and obnoxiously limited inventory, I can't help but share this.
For a limited time, and while undoubtedly limited supplies last, Staples has the Dell E310dw laser printer for $49.99 shipped (plus tax). It's not available in stores, but as of this writing (around 5:30 a.m. PT), it's in stock online. Price elsewhere: at least $90. Dell proper will charge you $99.99 for it.
This ultra-compact monochrome laser, which looks very much like similar models from Brother, offers 600-dpi output, a 250-sheet paper tray and multiple connectivity options: USB, Ethernet and Wi-Fi. The latter includes Wi-Fi Direct support, which greatly simplifies printing from mobile devices.
Most impressively, the E310dw includes an auto-duplexer, meaning it can produce double-sided prints. That's really rare in a printer with a $50 price tag.
CNET hasn't reviewed it, so I'll turn you over to PC Mag's review from summer, 2015. Verdict: Except for less-than-perfect text quality, the E310dw is a superb small-office printer. For the record, over 130 Staples customers collectively rated it 4.5 stars out of 5.
I really hope these don't sell out before you get a crack at them. If they do, well, you know I'll continue to scour the Earth for similar -- or even better -- deals. Remember that cheap things come to those who wait!
I love any tablet that can stand up for itself.
Bonus deal: One of my all-time favorite non-iPad tablets is on sale! For a limited time, and while supplies last, Adorama (via Ebay) has the Lenovo Yoga Tab 3 10 for $172.99 shipped. The tablet is new, not refurbished, and lists for $229.99.
Why am I so geeked about this model? Although the 10-inch display is a little low-res by modern standards at 1,280x800 pixels, the Yoga Tab 3 offers phenomenal battery life, excellent front-facing speakers, an ingenious rotating camera and a cool cylindrical edge that includes a kickstand and hook-hole. (Yes, hook-hole: This is the world's easiest tablet to hang on a wall.) Read CNET's review of the 8-inch model if you want a good sense of how the tablet performs.
By the way, Amazon's 10-inch tablet (the Fire HD 10 ) has the same screen resolution, but sells for almost $60 more. I like the Yoga Tab 3 for offering a true Android experience and advancing tablet design beyond the usual slab o' screen.
Bonus deal 2: I promised you another wicked-good drone deal, and here it is: Tomtop has the Skytech TK110HW folding quadcopter for $47.99 shipped when you apply promo code RM5505BR at checkout.
Sexiest sub-$50 drone around...
That's $2 more than last time, but the benefit here is that it's coming from a US warehouse and should therefore arrive in just a few days rather than a few weeks. Ebates users can shave another 3.5 percent off the total price.
If the Elfie is my favorite pocket drone (and it is), the TK110HW is my favorite outdoor drone. It comes with a remote, though you can add your phone into the mix for extra capabilities. One of those extra features is flight-plan plotting, which I haven't yet had the chance to test, alas. It also offers push-button takeoff and landing, headless mode, auto-hover, a 0.3-megapixel camera (bleh) and folding arms for easy transport.
It's fast, fun, good-looking and a sweet deal at $48 out the door. If you want a folding drone you can fly outdoors, skip the Elfie and get this. Update: Some folks are heading to Tomtop via Ebates and landing a price of $34.99, albeit with shipping from China. Take note, however: That version does not come with a remote! You can still pilot via app, but I think the remote is a big part of the appeal.