The Cheapskate Hall of Fame: Best Cheap Products of All Time

Lexy Savvides / CNET

I have been in love with the Amazfit Bip for years now, and the newer S model is even better. For only $ 70 (sometimes $ 60, if you do a sale), you get a smartwatch with an always-on reflective screen, one that is more readable in direct sunlight than even a high-quality Apple Watch. Plus, it can charge for weeks even if you use features like GPS and heart rate monitoring.

No, you can not reply to text messages or call Alexa, but at this price some compromises can be expected. Read CNET’s Amazfit Bip S review to find out more.

Sarah Tew / CNET

Just think back a little. When iPads burst onto the scene in 2010, the starting price was $ 500. The Amazon Fire 7 literally costs a tenth as much, but it can do even more than Apple’s original tablet. Sure, the iPad has fallen a lot since then, but it’s still starting at $ 329.

The Fire 7 may have an old-school low-resolution screen and micro-USB port, but it is $ 50. (Many times it’s on sale for $ 40, and sometimes even less than that.) Allows you to stream video, read books, play games, check emails, listen to music – all that.

Yes, the smarter buy is the Fire HD 8, which offers many improvements. But the Hall of Fame nod goes to the Fire 7, only to destroy expectations for what a $ 50 tablet can do.

Bitwarden

I’d already instructed my family to put it on my tombstone: ‘You need a password manager!’ Maybe I should include an asterisk: “… but you do not have to pay for it.” Bitwarden is an open source (read: no cost) password manager that is fast, versatile, easy to use and secure.

For me, it replaced a non-free, over-inflated app that was increasingly causing problems on my computer. Bitwarden has been sailing smoothly for almost a year; I’m glad I made the switch.

There is also a Premium option available (only $ 10 per year) and a family plan for six users ($ 40), but I suspect most users do not need it either. Bitwarden works on all your devices and offers the most important ability to automatically sync between them. I can not recommend it strongly enough.

David Carnoy / CNET

I lost count of how many AirPods alternatives crossed my desk. But the EarFun Air stood out for one simple reason: good sound, lots of features, low price. OK, those are several reasons, but it makes up for the current Hall of Fame earbuds. (Note to EarFun: lots of very good competitors shoot for you.)

The noise-isolating Air buttons do not offer ANC, but it comes in a USB-C cover that can also charge wirelessly. And they have one of my favorite features: in-ear detection. Take out a button, the music is quiet. Put it back in, the music resumes again.

EarFun calls it at $ 60, but it’s almost always on sale. At the time of writing, for example, there is a coupon on page that takes 20% off, lowering the price to $ 45. And I occasionally saw deals that dropped them below $ 40. It’s very scary for your earphones.

Hulu

Assuming you are not interested in live TV, Hulu is the best value for streaming, period. With your $ 6 you buy access to a huge library of current and past TV series, some award-winning original content and, OK, a so-so variety of movies.

Yes, Apple TV and Disney Plus are competitively priced at $ 5 and $ 7, respectively, but they do not offer close to Hulu’s content area – many of them are exclusive to the service. You will find casual looks (Seinfeld, Happy Endings), leading creations (Devs, Mrs. America) and FX superstars (Fargo, Legion, What We Do in the Shadows). I think the original Hulu from Palm Springs was perhaps the funniest movie I saw in 2020.

The bad news: the $ 6 plan contains ads. You can get rid of it, but it costs you double. At least you have the choice, unlike when you look at cable.

New Wave toys

With rare exceptions, all power banks are the same: flat, black bricks. Bo-ring! This one looks exactly like the Sony Walkman cassette player of my youth, and even has working (though non-functional) buttons and sliders on the side.

The Hotline’s 16,000 mAh battery can charge up to three devices simultaneously: one via a Type-A USB 3.0 port that supports QuickCharge, one via a USB-C port, and one via wireless Qi charging. There is even a small LED flashlight and a group of small lamps that show how much power is left.

So it’s not a mere novelty device, something that looks alone. It’s a great mobile charger, and yet it’s like a pretty ordinary price: just $ 40.

Wyze

I still look disbelieving when I tell people about the Wyze Cam, which does everything a smart security camera should do, but costs only $ 20 (plus delivery). It’s a hall-of-famer on its own, but I give the nod to the $ 30 ($ 38 shipped at Amazon) Wyze Cam Pan, which can rotate a full 360 degrees on its base and ‘ has a vertical range of 93 degrees. to begin with.

The Pan is much cheaper at twice the price, as it streams razor-sharp HD video (day or night) to your phone, provides two-way audio, alerts you when it detects audio and / or motion, and stores video locally. or in the cloud – at no extra cost.

Wyze makes a number of surprisingly affordable smart-home products that are also inducted into the Hall of Fame. For now, though, the Cam Pan is a bad addition. Read CNET’s Wyze Cam Pan review for more information.