Back up your photos and charge your iPhone using SanDisk’s $40 iXpand Base

Set it and forget it.

Odds are that your iPhone is your primary camera these days, and that means it holds a ton of memories on it. No one wants to lose all of those, but we are also forgetful humans who sometimes don’t properly back up our phones. SanDisk has a solution for this, and right now it’s down to just $39.81 at Amazon.

The SanDisk iXpand Base has 64GB of internal storage and automatically backs up your photos each night when you plug your phone in, and it charges it. With 15W of power output, your iPhone will charge rapidly while connected, and the device itself isn’t overly large so you can keep it on your nightstand or desk without an issue.

It can automatically back up your iPhone’s photos, videos, and contacts every time you charge. There are no monthly fees involved. It works with your Apple Lightning cable on phones iPhone 5 or greater with iOS 10 and up.

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Mini smart plugs, Echo Dots, and more are discounted today

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on the Amazon Echo Dot smart speaker, the TP-Link mini smart plug, the WD Black NVMe SSD, and more!

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If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

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Pokémon Go Regionals: Gen 1 Regionals in 7 KM eggs until Oct. 8!

Where do you find and how do you catch Reginal Pokémon like Tropias, Ralicanth, Lunatone, Torkoal, Corsola, Heracross, Mr. Mime, Kangaskhan, and Farfetch’d?

From the very beginning, the goal of Pokémon Go has been to get you to get up and go. Around the neighborhood, sure, but also around the world. That’s where regional exclusive — or Regional — Pokémon come in. Since Gen 1, Pokémon Go has kept some Pokémon exclusive to some regions, and with Gen 2 and Gen 3, they’ve increased the number of Pokémon and places.

Here’s the updated list!

September 30, 2018: Regional hatches extended until October 8

If you haven’t hatched your Farfetch’d, Kangaskhan, Mr. Mime, and Tauros, or you just want to hatch more or better ones, good news:

Good news, Trainers! You now have extra time to hatch Farfetch’d, Kangaskhan, Mr. Mime, and Tauros in 7 km Eggs! These Pokémon are available through October 8.— Poké…

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The 2nd gen Amazon Echo Dot is just $30 today

Historically, the best direct discount ever.

Right now you can get one for just $29.99 in Black or White. That’s a price we haven’t seen since Prime Day in mid-July.

For the past couple months, the best deals we’ve seen on the 2nd-generation Echo Dot have generally been in bundle deals… like getting bundled with a smart video doorbell or the Kids Edition that comes with a FreeTime Unlimited subscription. Getting a direct discount is not quite as common. Even during Amazon’s big hardware sale in August, the Echo Dot didn’t drop this low.

This hands-free, voice-controlled device uses Alexa to do all sorts of stuff. Play music, control smart home devices, make phone calls, read the news, check the weather, hear audiobooks, set timers and alarms, and oh yeah….shop on Amazon. These things are seriously handy. I find myself asking for weather updates when deciding what to wear, and playing music through my Echo Dot to keep my phone battery full. You’ll surely find tons of uses for yo…

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Best ways to back up your Mac

Here are our favorite online services for backing up your Mac.

Anyone in the tech industry, and every IT person, and your friend that knows a thing or two about computers will tell you how important it is to back up your data. No matter how new your Mac is, it is not infallible, and therefore is subject to the laws of reality, which are that sometimes things go wrong.

You can look the other way and pretend that it will never happen to you, but the moment you see that distorted screen, or hear that weird clicking noise coming from your computer, you’re going to wish you had backed up your data. So, I’m here to give you some suggestions to help you secure and store your most precious files with a list of the best online backup services and external hard drive backup programs.

Online backup services

Online backup services allow you to save your most important data in a remote location without having to switch out hard drives and relocate the spare every week. It ensures that, even i…

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Stock up on TP-Link’s Kasa mini smart plugs for $20 each

Make everything a little smarter.

The TP-Link smart plug mini is down to $19.99 on Amazon, which is a match of its lowest price. It tends to fluctuate a bunch, but seems to bound between like $27 and $30, with the last time it hit this low being back at Black Friday time.

Unlike most other smart plugs on the market right now, this one only covers up a single outlet, meaning you can stack two of them in the same receptacle, or use just one with another plug. The free Kasa iOS and Android apps allow you to control the status of the plug from anywhere, and you can also use a voice assistant, like Alexa on the Echo Dot (down to its lowest price today) to turn it on or off. It can be scheduled and has an away mode to turn devices on and off at random times so it appears as though you’re home.

If you’ve been looking for some extra smart plugs for the house, or want to try one out for the first time, this is one of the best options available.

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Get 10 amazing apps and for whatever you want to pay!

Software can get expensive, and if you do a lot of different things on your Mac you may find yourself spending a lot of money on various apps to optimize your Mac’s performance and get your tasks done. Sometimes the cost prevents you from purchasing the app and forces you to find another way to accomplish the task, right? Well, don’t let that happen again, and don’t miss out on this bundle that will score you 10 great apps for the cost of one.

Pay what you want! Learn More

That’s right! With the The Ultimate Mac Bundle, you can pay one price and unlock 10 great Mac apps. All you need to do is beat the average selling price for the apps, and then they are all yours. If you want to name your own price, you can pay whatever you wish and pick up just a few of them instead.

The programs included in:

2Do ($49.99 Value)
NetSpot Home ($49 Value)
Mosaic Pro ($32 Value)
HyperPlan Home ($40 Value)
PDF Manager Ultimate ($69.99 Value)
RoboForm Everywhere ($47.76 Value)
Art Text 3 ($29.99 …

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Best Bands for the Gold Apple Watch

You bought the new gold aluminum Apple Watch Series 4, so you’re into keeping active while making walkie-talkie calls, monitoring your heart rate, and being super sophisticated and stylish.

Or maybe you have an older model of gold Apple Watch and have been on the hunt for the perfect band for a while. Never fear! iMore’s here!

Not just any band goes with a gold Apple Watch, so we’ve rounded up the best of the best just for you. (Aren’t you special?)

Milanese Miracle

OULEDI Stainless Steel Apple Watch Band

OULEDI makes some gorgeous Milanese Loop-style bands that are guaranteed to match the color of your gold Apple Watch (or any other color of Apple Watch, really). These bands are flexible, comfortable, and especially easy to put on and take off, thanks to the fold-over clasp design.

$11 at Amazon

Li’l bit of Leather Luxury

Mkeke Genuine Leather Apple Watch Band

When you think of sophistication, do you picture lush leather armchairs overlooking a fireplace with a snifte…

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What you missed last week at CordCutters.com

You can spend a fortune on a new TV. But you really don’t have to.

You can spend a couple thousand dollars on a TV. And if you have a couple thousand dollars to spend on a TV, by all means do it. You’ll get something pretty incredible with an OLED panel.

But for those of us who don’t have a couple thousand dollars to spend on a TV, it’s not like we have to settle for some kind of lesser class of living. You can get a really good TV for less than $1,000 these days.

I’ve spent a few months with a 55-inch TCL 6-Series. It’s $649 (retail) for the 55-inch model, and $999 for a 65-incher. 4K resolution, Dolby Vision and HD 10, and Roku built in. For a lot of folks — a whole lot of folks, seeing as how Roku TVs make up a quarter of the smart TV market these days — that’s going to be plenty.

No, it’s not the same as Android TV or Apple TV, though you certainly can plug in a box (and set up the TV to use it by default) if you want to. It’s not quite as quick, perhaps, …

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Every amiibo you can use with Super Mario Party

Now is the time to start building your amiibo party!

Super Mario Party for the Nintendo Switch will be coming out on October 5. That means that there is all sorts of mini-game action headed our way very soon. You may be one of the many people wondering what sort of amiibo functionality there will be for the game. The good news is that Super Mario Party will be amiibo compatible. By tapping your amiibo you will gain access to in-game Party Points, stickers, music, and other extras.

The big question is what amiibo should you be dusting off in anticipation of Super Mario Party. Well, there is no solid information on that quite yet. However, there are a few amiibo featured prominently on the official game page and I think it’s probably a pretty safe bet that those figures would be a great place to start!

The main man himself

Super Mario

Perhaps one of the most widely used amiibo figures ever released, this version of Mario is a pretty safe bet for any collection. You can get you…

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