X
CNET logo Why You Can Trust CNET

Our expert, award-winning staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and tests our top picks. If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Reviews ethics statement

Get the RavPower FileHub Plus 3-in-1 travel router for $28.99

Lowest price to date! Plus: rare savings on my favorite password manager.

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. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter!


filehub-plus-with-iphone

The RavPower FileHub Plus is a mighty little travel companion.

Photo by Rick Broida/CNET

Today's deal is a rerun, but with the all-important "lower price" factor.

I like to travel light, which is why I'm always on the lookout for multi-function travel accessories. 

Like this one: For a limited time, you can get the RavPower FileHub Plus for $28.99 via Amazon when you apply promo code kinjarou at checkout. This super-handy gadget performs three key functions and regularly sells for $39.99. (Last time I shared it: $31.99.)

Function 1: It's a 6,000mAh mobile charger. That's enough to fully charge most phones at least once, and probably closer to twice. It's hard to tell from the photo, but the FileHub is actually quite compact -- no larger than other chargers of this capacity (and actually smaller than some).

Function 2: It's a media hub, the kind of thing that can wirelessly stream music and movies to your phone or tablet. That's a great option when you want to bring, say, an entire season of "Game of Thrones" on a long trip, but don't have space to spare on your device.

The FileHub has no onboard storage of its own, but rather offers both an SD slot and a USB port; you can add your own storage to either one. (Admirably, an SD card disappears all the way inside the unit, leaving nothing protruding.) This option also allows you to offload photos, videos and the like from your device, a good way to free up space if needed.

I did some quick and informal testing, connecting both an iPhone and iPad (the FileHub supports up to five simultaneous connections) and streaming two different MP4 videos at the same time. It worked flawlessly. Your mileage may vary, of course, and I'll note that I played the videos for only a few minutes.

Finally, function 3: It's a travel router, able to connect to any wired network and make it wireless. (Example: You're in a hotel where they charge for Wi-Fi, but you can connect via Ethernet free of charge.) It can also function as a Wi-Fi extender, nice if the aforementioned hotel allows only one device per room to connect to Wi-Fi; now all your devices can.

All this stuff can be a little confusing, but RavPower supplies a clear, if slightly brief, instruction manual to get you going on basic operations. (Not mentioned: Setting up pass-through so your device can continue to access a Wi-Fi network while still connected to the FileHub. Thankfully, it's easy to do.)

Even at the regular price of $40, this is a very worthwhile travel companion. For just $29 out the door, I'm liking it even more.

Your thoughts?

dashlane-password-changer.jpg
Enlarge Image
dashlane-password-changer.jpg

Dashlane can automatically change passwords for you, a huge time-saver and a great way to stay ahead of password breaches.

Screenshot by Rick Broida/CNET

Bonus deal: I've written a lot about password managers, without question one of the most essential tools in our modern internet world. I'm a fan of LastPass, a great freebie, and Sticky Password, which is more robust and kind of a steal at $29.99 for a lifetime subscription.

But if you're wondering which password manager I use myself, well, it's Dashlane. Which is kind of ridiculous because it's among the most expensive products in its class. (It wasn't when I started using it, though, and I've been reluctant to switch because I'm comfortable with it.)

Dashlane deals are rare, but StackSocial finally landed one: a 1-year Dashlane subscription for $19.98. Reg. price: $40. You can also get 3-year and 5-year subscriptions at that same rate, so $59.94 and $99.90. Incidentally, $20/year is what I paid when I first started using Dashlane, and I thought that was very fair.

CNET hasn't reviewed it, but PCMag awarded it a very rare 5-star rating. Me, I'd give it 4.5 stars, because I'm occasionally frustrated by its intrusiveness in some auto-fill situations. Bottom line: If you've always wanted Dashlane but just couldn't stomach paying $40/year, here's your chance to save 50 percent. (Sorry, existing users: This is for newcomers only.)