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Today’s offer might be a repeat, but the price is slightly higher than before. What’s the catch? It seems like we’re breaking the rules!
Hear me out: The price is just $20 higher than last time, but still $70 lower than the regular price. And I continue to consider the product the best in its class.
I’m not sure why you’d want it to, but the Lenovo 110S can lay flat.
Josh Miller/CNET
The class in question: budget laptops. And as of this moment, I can think of no better option than this one: For a limited time, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the Lenovo Ideapad 110S for $129.99 shipped (plus tax). Normally it sells for $199.99.
Does the name sound familiar? You might be thinking of the Ideapad 100S, which I dubbed the best cheap laptop of 2015. What’s different about the 110S? Aside from being cheaper, at least during this sale, it actually solves two of my big problems with its predecessor.
First, the 110S has a USB 3.0 port (along with a pair of 2.0 ports). The 100S was USB 2.0-only – something you could live with, but a bummer all the same.
Second, the touchpad on the 110S supports gestures, most notably two-finger scrolling. With the 100S, you pretty much had to use a mouse to preserve your scrolling sanity.
Beyond that, the specs are pretty much the same: slow processor, limited RAM and storage (2GB and 32GB, though the latter is easy enough to expand via flash drive or microSD) and mediocre battery life (courtesy of a mere two-cell battery).
However, you do get an HDMI output and, better still, a one-year subscription to Microsoft Office 365 Personal – which has a value of $70 all by itself.
Want to learn more? Read CNET’s review of the Ideapad 110S. Conclusion: “A simple but capable budget laptop for those with basic needs and who don’t want to make the Chromebook leap.” That review, of course, was based on the $199.99 price tag.
But “basic needs” is the key phrase: This laptop is suitable for everyday web stuff and Office-powered productivity. It’s almost cheap enough to keep on hand as a spare PC in case your primary machine suffers a meltdown.
Your thoughts?
Bonus deal: I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords – provided they’re willing to sweep and mop. For a limited time, Cheapskate readers can get the Ecovacs Deebot M88 floor-cleaning robot for $309.99 shipped with promo code CNET90. Price elsewhere: $450!
Yep, it’s a lot like a Roomba – except the M88 can be controlled by app! Choose the cleaning mode, check battery status, turn Max Suction mode (whatever that is) on/off and so on.
The most important feature, IMHO, is the charging base, which the little droid will return to and dock with automatically when power is running low. I haven’t found any deep-dive reviews to speak of, but most users reviews are very favorable.
Bonus deal 2: If I didn’t wreck your drone budget with yesterday’s deal, check this out: Today only, and while supplies last, BuyDig has the Propel X-Wing Battle Quadcopter for $149 shipped – plus a $25 BuyDig gift card! – when you apply promo code CHEAPSKATE at checkout. Another exclusive from yours truly!
You can also get the TIE Fighter and Speeder Bike for the same price with the same code. List price on all of them: $180.
These aren’t the Air Hogs Star Wars drones you’ve probably seen. Propel’s models are much more advanced, with sounds effects emanating from the controller and the option to engage in aerial laser fights with other models.
So if you’ll forgive a little mixing of sci-fi metaphors, here: Resistance is futile.
