Lazy Man and Money

PSA: Grab this Nexus 7 for $160 Now…

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I almost never write a post to highlight a quick deal like this… then again, I rarely see a deal this good on an awesome product.

If you’ve been looking for a good tablet, you don’t have to look further than the Google/Asus Nexus 7. There’s a reason why it is currently the 6th best technology product (and best tablet) in the CNET 100. Products this great are usually priced at a premium, but right now (as I publish this) you can get 30% off a refurbished unit that is “Asus Recertified with a Asus Warranty.”

I bought one of these myself a months ago. I liked it so much that I switched to a Nexus 5 phone. My wife ended up using the tablet more than me and also switched to a Nexus 5 phone. A couple of weeks ago, I realize that it would be perfect for my mother. She’s not a techy person and the super light-weight tablet can do most of she needs… with minimal technology support from me. So I went and bought one for her.

I wish I could have got a deal this good. I’m sure it won’t last, so if you are in the market for a great tablet at a great price… get this Nexus 7 now….

My $0 iPhone Data Plan

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I use my iPhone a lot.  I watch baseball games, view Netflix movies, catch the occassional American Pickers, read personal email, catch up on work email, follow baseball chatter on Twitter, listen to podcasts, read books, and much more.

I also have the world’s cheapest iPhone data plan.  It costs me $0 per month.  What’s my secret?

The phone

The iPhone 5 is the current iPhone model, with the iPhone 6 in the wings. [Editor’s Note: I think Apple is going with an iPhone 5S rather than 6 in this iteration.]

My iPhone is a 3GS.  When my wife upgraded to the iPhone 5, I got her hand me down.  It may not have all the bells and whistles, but it does all the things I need it to do, so I’m happy (but crossing my fingers that MLB.TV doesn’t drop 3GS support before my wife hands the iPhone 5 down to me.

The plan

I don’t actually have any sort of voice or data plan tied to the iPhone.  I just use it as a wireless device.  In theory, I could have sold the iPhone, bought an iPod Touch, and pocketed a few bucks in the arbitrage process … but I opted to avoid the potential issues of an eBay sale.

I’m on call 24 X 7 for my job.  I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.  I’m an IT guy.  The fact that the iPhone doesn’t make or receive calls does means that I have to carry two devices.  Obviously, this is less convenient than carrying one.  However, it does mean that I’m not going to drain the battery of my “real” phone by watching baseball games.  I don’t have to conserve any battery life – full speed ahead – and watching live streaming video does drain the battery a bit.  (Note: my “real” phone is a no frills Pantech Pursuit that features great battery life).

I know that some of you are jumping to the conclusion that I could just activate the iPhone and opt to not have a data plan … but most providers check the see if you have a smart phone activated, and will automatically enroll you in a data plan if you do.

WiFi

WiFi is the lifeblood of my iPhone.  I have two small kids, and spent a large chunk of my life trying to get then to go to sleep.  I can sit in their room watching the Rockies game as they drift off to sleep.  My wife likes to watch reality TV and occassionally wants me to be in the same room while she’s watching.  Again, baseball to the rescue.  I watch the small screen while she watches the big screen.  Doing the dishes?  Not a problem – prop up the iPhone and kill off the boredom.

When I’m not at home, I have to rely on the WiFi of others.  I have an ad hoc WiFi network set up on the in-laws’ Mac Mini (I provide free tech support for them, so it’s a good deal for them).  There are a lot of business that provide free WiFi these days.  McDonalds and Hardees have done this for years, and Target has been rolling it out in my local stores during the past few months.  A lot of mom and pop places also have free WiFi, as do many hotels, airports, stadiums, etc.

Naturally, sometimes I’m going to be without a WiFi signal.  That doesn’t make the iPhone worthless, though.  I can still read books on the Kindle app and listen to podcasts (a life saver on the 70 miles round trip commute each day).  If an internet emergency pops up and I’m with my wife, I can always have her pull up the info on her cellular-enabled iPhone.

Not for everyone

This plan isn’t for everyone.  If you absolutely need to have internet access 24×7, it’s not for you.  If you need to have the very newest smart devices, it’s also not for you.  But if you want to save a few bucks and don’t mind having to sniff out WiFi networks when you’re on the go, the Kosmo iPhone plan may be just the thing for you.

[Editor’s Note: If MLB.tv discontinues support for older Apple devices, I would highly recommend Kosmo get a 7″ Android tablet (maybe the first generation of the Nexus 7 that I recently got). That iPhone 5 should have great resale value (assuming they aren’t iPhone 7s out) and the bigger screen is great for watching video. An iPad Mini will do the same job, but it is even bigger and probably still going to be costly for awhile.

Get the New Nexus 7 for $183

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I’m running off to look into expanding the real estate empire, so today’s post is going to be quick. I just wanted to pass on what I consider a great deal.

A few weeks ago Google released the new Nexus 7. Since then I have been obsessing about it like Carrie Bradshaw obsesses about designer shoes. The problem is that I don’t really need a new tablet. The HP TouchPads that I got for $99 are still perfectly functional, especially since I can put Android on mine.

However, I’ve noticed that they’ve become more picture frames than tablets. I have my Asus Zenbook, which is ready to go in under 3 seconds. That makes it my go to device for looking up quick information or writing a blog post. My wife has been using her phone more and more. I asked her why she doesn’t use the HP Touchpad and she said it is big, heavy, and slow. For the most part it was built with parts in the original iPad, but with a faster processor.

The Nexus 7 solves all those problems for my wife and it pairs well with the Android phone she already has. At $229 it was even a good price – $100 less than a Apple Mini with much worse screen resolution. When I saw this Slickdeals page showing that OfficeMax is giving 20% of tablets, I decided it was time to spring into action. It’s very rare that you can get a deal on new technology… especially when the new technology is priced low to start.

OfficeMax is running the promotion, but they only sell the 32GB version. That is also a good price at $269. However, there isn’t an OfficeMax near me. There is a Staples and Slickdeals users were reporting success in price matching the discount there. I gave that a shot on Wednesday and it worked. It was $183, plus tax.

My wife and I have been using it the last few days and it lives up to the high expectations. It is great to be able to have our own profiles on the device. We don’t really need two unless we both want to use it at the same time… or we use too much space on the device. (My biggest complaint is the lack of SD storage for music/movies. That can be somewhat mitigated with a device like the SanDisk ConnectWireless Media Drive). The 7″ size is much better for my wife than using her phone, and it is almost too light, feels like it is empty. Countless technology sites have done in depth reviews and I can’t honestly say that I have too much to add other than being a satisfied customer.

If you are going to take advantage of this discount, don’t delay, it ends August 10th. The first Nexus didn’t get significantly cheap for a long time and I’m not expecting this one to get discounted either (except for general deals like these).

One last thing that I noticed… The HP Touchpads that we have are going for around $130 on Ebay. If we are able to get that, the net cost to upgrade is going to be around $60. I feel like I should be selling my Apple stock because I don’t see how they can keep their margins on iPads at this rate.

It’s tempting to pick up a second one, I don’t know if I can resist the urge.