Happy Amazon Prime Day! (And a Non-Amazon DEAL!)

Happy Amazon Prime Day!

(I’ll get to the non-Amazon deal at the end, but you probably want to scroll down and read it first if you are reading this around 9AM EST. I doubt you’ll read about this ANYWHERE else until it is too late.)

What does that really mean? I don’t know. This is a first for me. I’m writing this on Monday and I have no clue to what to expect other than Amazon’s marketing that it is going to have more deals than Black Friday. Well we have a small clue because they leaked out a couple of deals ahead of time. Here’s a list from CNET:

• Amazon Fire Stick for $24 (normally $39)
• Kindle: $30 off (Amazon didn’t specify which one, but if it’s the entry-level e-reader, that would mean a price of $49)
• Fire HD 7: $79 (currently $139)
• Brand-not-specified 32-inch LED TV: $75
• Brand-not-specified 40-inch LED TV: $115
• Brand-name (but not specified) 32-inch smart TV: under $200
• Unspecified Chromebook: $199 (not an uncommon price unless it’s a high-end model)

I like our Amazon Fire TV Stick, but if you have something similar (such as a ChromeCast) it probably isn’t worth buying. I’m looking into the Fire HD 7. We have a Nexus 7, but with a wife and two pre-toddlers, maybe a second tablet on the cheap isn’t a terrible idea?

If I were in the market for another television, I could definitely see getting a 32-inch or 40-inch one.

By the way, you might also want to listen to to an Amazon Prime song today, you might win a $1000 gift card (or more!).

The specials are only for Amazon Prime members. If you aren’t one, Wal-Mart will happily take your business. It’s going to put on its own sale. They make a great point… you shouldn’t have to spend a $100 to get in on the savings.

I’m going to quibble with Wal-Mart’s point. Surely, Amazon would love for this to drive sales of Prime memberships. However, many millions of people have been happy Prime members before Prime Day was announced. Amazon Prime membership of free 2-day delivery is similar to Wal-Mart’s 3-day ShippingPass, which costs $50 a year. Amazon’s Prime includes video (such as Go, Diego, Go – my son’s new favorite show) which is something that Wal-Mart doesn’t offer. Finally, Sam’s Club (owned by Wal-Mart) proves they are hypocritical… it requires a membership to get the savings.

When you live in a glass house, you probably shouldn’t throw stones.

That said, the real winner here, could be you and me, the consumers. I say “could be”, because I don’t know if the deals will live up to the hype. As an Amazon Prime member, I’m going to be on the look out for the good deals. I’ll also be keeping an eye on Wal-Mart.

I’m not sure if we need anything, which could lead to spending on stuff that I shouldn’t be spending money on. I’ll have to wear my frugal shirt to remind me not to spend. (If only I had such a shirt.)

Who knows, maybe this day will become an annual tradition. We could call it the Ides of July Sale. The month of March has had a run on “ides” for far too long anyway.

The Non-Amazon (and non-Wal-Mart) Deal

A very small start-up company Jide, has created a custom version of Android. They are a group of ex-Google employees with a vision of making Android work like Windows – multiple apps running with a taskbar. They launched a successful campaign on KickStarter for a tablet that is inspired by the Microsoft Surface.

I’ve been looking to try out their version of Android, but I wasn’t willing to take the plunge of a few hundred dollars for the tablet. However, for between $20 and $40 (depending on the memory and storage), I’m happy to take the plunge.

It feels like this may be what I envisioned with my WebOS Touchpad about 4 years ago.

I’m not sure the best link to get in on the action, but I’m going to head to the main Jide Mini page at 9AM and go from there…