Have you held off on getting a new streaming media player hoping to get an even better deal? Amazon and Roku are offering Cyber Monday deals on a number of models, but prices are only good until the end of the day, or until supplies run out.
Roku is cutting prices on two of its less expensive models, the Roku Streaming Stick and the Roku LT, plus it's bundling the players with three free months of Hulu Plus and two free months on the Rdio Unlimited online music service. The Streaming Stick is now priced at $40, rather than $50, and the LT is priced at $30, down from $50.
The bundle deals are only being offered to new subscribers of the services, but they're good for any Roku streaming player (or Roku TV) purchase until Jan. 15, 2015.
Find the right streaming media player with our buying guide and Ratings.
Amazon says that it will be taking $30 off the price of the Amazon Fire TV set-top player, so today you'll be able to get it for $69 instead of its usual $99 price.
The company recently also introduced a less expensive stick-style player, the Amazon Fire TV Stick, which is priced at $69. We recently did a preliminary First Look review of the player, which appears to be a credible contender to established stick-style players such as Chromecast and the Roku Streaming Stick.
Cyber Monday vs. Black Friday
So how do the Cyber Monday deals compare to the streaming media player prices we saw during Black Friday? We didn't see deals on the Roku LT, but several retailers had the Roku Streaming Stick for the same $40. There were also a few deals on the pricier, speedier Roku 3 for $15 off its usual $100 price. Walmart had the Roku 1 player for $28, down from $50.
The Amazon Fire TV for $69 is actually a better price on Cyber Monday, since we saw it for $85 on Black Friday at a few places. The Fire TV Stick, usually $39, was $24 or $25 at few retailers over the weekend.
The real question, of course, is whether any of these players will return to their usual prices, or whether some could be even cheaper as we get closer to Christmas. We'll be keeping our eye on pricing right through the holidays, so keep checking back for our latest updates.
—James K. Willcox
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