A free Android app every day at Amazon's Appstore!

Yesterday, Amazon launched their new Android Appstore (that's a lot of A words!), which gives Android smartphone-havers an easy way to browse, try out, and download apps within the familiar Amazon interface.

To encourage people to come and check it out, they're giving away a different free paid app every day! Yesterday it was Angry Birds Rio, which I downloaded successfully. Today it's some poker game, which is less interesting to me.

The process is a bit convoluted: when you go to the appstore home on Amazon and click "Get app," it will ask for your email or cellphone number, and send you a link to the appstore app download. You need to have your Mobile 1-click Amazon settings turned on, even to "buy" a free app, but once you've done that, it works pretty seamlessly.

What will you download for your Android phone?

Just bought an iPad 1? Get a $100 refund.

In case you're one of those hard-luck folks who always seem to buy a gadget JUST before the new and improved version comes out, Apple has a soft spot in its heart for you. If you foolishly bought an iPad 1 in the past two weeks, they'll throw you a $100 bone as consolation for the fact that you didn't spend your money on the flashy new iPad 2.

(Courtesy of Consumerist)

Tanga: 1-year WIRED subscription for $3.99.

Tanga has a magazine deal today that's pretty good - a one-year subscription to Wired magazine for just $3.99. Use promo code WIRED when you check out to get the super-discount. I need another monthly magazine like I need a hole in the head, but it's soooo cheap!

Borders: Free coffee when you download their e-reader app.

Well, Borders is taking a page from Barnes & Noble for once, adopting their bizarro "download our e-reader and show it to the cafe barista for a free coffee" promotion.

The app is free, and you can always delete it afterward, and Borders has free wi-fi in its stores, so I guess if you're in there browsing with your 33% off coupon and you get a hankering for coffee, you could quickly download the app and wield it for your free cup. Shrug.

iPhone: EA apps on sale for $0.99 today.

In honor of the iPhone 4 being released, EA Games is slashing prices on a bunch of their apps to $0.99. Several of these cost as much as $7 normally, and some have never gone on sale before - the list helpfully sorts out which have gone on sale before and which are discounted for the first time ever.

I'm curious about Jewel Quest Mysteries myself, but there's a good mix of sports games, driving games, adventure/quest games, and board games to choose from. Usually I like my apps to be free, but $0.99 is pretty close.

Virgin Mobile Slash $29 at Walmart.com.

OK, I know this may not be relevant to you fancy iPhone and BlackBerry owners, but Walmart has a special deal on the pay-as-you-go Virgin Mobile Samsung Slash. It's $29 + $0.97 shipping, which is a remarkable discount off the $79 price tag on Virgin's website.

If you're holding out for the texter-friendly XTC or Rumor2, I bet there will be holiday markdowns a-coming, so hang in there.

Audible.com: Free audiobooks until Nov. 26.

Planning to travel this Thanksgiving? Nothing helps you block out your relatives' nagging like a pair of headphones clamped over your ears. Download a free audiobook from Audible.com now through November 26 and enjoy the sweet, sweet sound of a total stranger's voice, who will absolutely not nag you about when you're going to get married and make some grandkids.

This offer is good for new members only, and it says no credit card is required, but you might want to check the fine print anyway. I'm kind of curious about the novelization of Where the Wild Things Are, by Dave Eggers.

(Thanks, Jake!)

ThinkGeek: $5 off $25 or $10 off $30.

ThinkGeek has all the coolest gadgets, toys, and caffeinated soap for your favorite nerd. They do tend to be a tad pricey, but when you're saving $5 off a $25 purchase or $10 off a $30 purchase, that sweetens the deal.

Coupon code: 9HBB($5 off orders of $25 or more or $10 off orders of $50 or more)
Coupon code: UMASSFLOSS09($10 off $29.99 or more)

What will you geek out on?

4GB Kingston flash drive, $9.99 + free shipping.

I love these little flash drives! They're getting cheaper and cheaper, so there's really no excuse for not stowing one in your bag to quickly and easily transport photos, music, homework, stolen CIA secrets, or whatever data you may wish to keep handy. $9.99 for a 4GB flash drive plus free shipping is a pretty darn good price. Stuff those stockings, tech elves!

Sony Cybershot 10.1MP digital camera for $99 after rebate.

Normally I don't post techie gadget sale notices, because there are plenty of other sites out there that do it better, but this one caught my eye because a Sony Cybershot is the same camera that I have (well, except mine is a lot older and lamer, obviously). At Staples, you can get a 10.1MP Cybershot for $149, and then you'll get a $50 rebate gift card from Staples.

Of course, one of the biggest factors in me buying this camera was that mine came in pink, and this sale one only comes in boring silver. But you could always gussy it up with a pretty case and enjoy the color of green in your pocket instead.

Wii would like a $25 Amazon gift card, please.

Just in case you're one of the handful of people left in the world who wants, but does not already own, a Wii - the price finally went down $50, so the Wii is now $199 at Amazon. Plus, if you buy one before October 3, you get a $25 Amazon gift card mailed to you, so really it's more like $175.

Then you can get started forking over $40-50 per game, like the rest of us chumps.

Top-secret super-spy 8GB flash drive bracelet.

OK, this isn't free (though it is on sale), but it's so weird that I just had to post it anyway. It is an 8GB Bracelet Wrist Band USB Drive Flash Memory Stick, and when you apply coupon code MLC40142835P you'll get 35% off, for a total of $12.35, with free standard shipping.

I'm not sure I agree with the website that it's the "ideal decoration for your wrist," but I guess if you needed to be somewhere that you had 8GB of data handy... and... you didn't have pants... this would be pretty useful?

Anyway, someone thought of it and now it exists.

Fist-shaped vibrating massager for $1.49.

I'm posting this, not because I think it's a good value or anything that you should own, but because I'm so mystified by it. It's a fist-shaped vibrating massager, which you would think is pretty self-explanatory, except... not. Why is it a cartoon Mickey Mouse gloved fist? Why does it have an articulated arm? It's trying to be cute and friendly, which makes it even more creepy. Or do they actually intend it to be used as a back massager, as the model demonstrates?

"This fist-shaped vibrating massager features an angled design that makes it easy to scratch those hard-to-reach itches."

No thanks, Deep Discount. (But if you want it, use promo code 23017 at checkout for 50% off, making it a mere $1.49)

Free wi-fi at all Barnes & Noble stores, starting now!

Finding free wi-fi in the city can be surprisingly hard, as I've recently learned. Barnes & Noble just made it a little bit easier, with their announcement this week that they will be providing free wi-fi to anyone who walks in the store, starting now. Their hope is that you'll download their B&N iPhone app or their e-reader, but you don't have to.

There is this slightly irritating paragraph, though (emphasis mine): "The existing AT&T Wi-Fi network at Barnes & Noble has been available to customers since 2005. Now, anybody walking into a Barnes & Noble store anywhere in the country will have complimentary and unlimited access to the network at all store locations." Wait... isn't anyone who walks into a store a customer? Just because you're not buying something at that precise moment doesn't magically make you NOT a customer, or less special.

I was about to feel a bit guilty for diverting all my business to Borders because they're so generous with the coupons and free beverages, but... not now! I will help myself to B&N's free wi-fi from now on, though, even though I'm evidently not a customer.

20% off Virgin Mobile phones through August 9.

Just in case you're a cheapskate Virgin Mobile pre-paid cellphone user like me: Virgin is having a 20% off sale on six of their pre-paid phones through August 9. Just enter the promo code “EXTRA20” on the checkout page and click “redeem.”Your 20% discount will be applied to your shopping cart.

Of course, I'm still using the same trusty clamshell I've had for almost 3 years now, which I realize makes me an embarrassingly antiquated anomaly among consumers. What can I say, I watched that horrifying documentary about disfigured and sickened Chinese disposal workers scrounging through heaps of electronic trash to strip out wires and components, and vowed to use my phone until it broke...

2,000,000 e-books for free!

Two million books, you say? Yes, it's true! The World eBook Fair is making several lifetimes' worth of books available online for zero dollars, now through August 4. One of the organizations contributing to this is Project Gutenberg, the online public-domain library of the classics that sustained me through many a boring job (and broadened my horizons on 18th-century gothic novels).

If you've been toying with the idea of an e-reader but didn't want to pay through the nose for reading material, worry no more! There are many other options for free e-books out there, but this one sounds like a bonanza, so you may as well go nuts with the downloading.

500GB Toshiba hard drive for $90.

Okay, I don't know if this counts as a bargain per se, but it is a pretty good deal if you were considering getting a portable hard drive: the Toshiba 500GB portable hard drive for $89.99 at Buy.com. Looks like it has pretty good reviews, and I like the sleek ribbon design on the black case.

I paid more than this for about half as much storage capacity about a year ago, so obviously the prices are getting better and better. By this time next year, they'll be throwing these things in with boxes of Cracker Jack.

Free keychain flashlight.

I have a mini flashlight on my keychain, and I love it. It's great for illuminating your car door at night so you don't fumble the keys and scratch the paint, or for lighting your way on uneven terrain, or looking for something you dropped at the movie theater. Now you can get your very own free mini keychain flashlight! It won't be as cute as mine, but then, mine wasn't free.

Today only, 8GB flash drive + PC game for $14.99.

I am not one of the cool gamer kids, but even I can recognize a deal: today on Woot.com, buy an 8GB Dane-Elec flash drive for $14.99 (plus $5 shipping) and it comes pre-loaded with your choice of violent PC game.

There are four color choices, with associated games:

• Red: Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Lockdown
• Camouflage: Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30
• Black: Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
• Blue: Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII

I can't say I care about the bonus game , but $14.99 is a great price for an 8GB flash drive just by itself. I have a Dane-Elec flash drive, which I call "the blue bean," and I love it for its colorful rubberized exterior and gosh-darned cuteness. Here's a better link so you can see the actual drive up close.

Anyway, if you've been looking for super-tiny portable data storage or you frequently swap music and videos with friends, then these guys can't be beat.

4GB memory card for $8.

In need of some handy, portable data storage? Who isn't, these days? This 4GB card will be enough to capture many a photo and video, and it's just $8.25 PLUS free shipping, which is a pretty awesome price.

I haven't bought from this store before, so caveat emptor, but if you just want some backup/duplicate storage for your camera, this is a steal of a deal.