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Until last month, buying an Amazon Prime Exclusive phone meant putting up with ads on the lock screen -- or paying extra to get rid of them. Thankfully, those ads are gone -- which makes today's deal that much sweeter.

For a limited time, Prime subscribers can get the Motorola Moto G5 Plus (4GB + 64GB) for $209.99 shipped. That's $20 less than the regular price of the 2GB + 32GB model!

To clarify, those numbers refer to RAM and storage. With 4GB of the former, you should see somewhat better performance, especially with lots of apps running. As for the storage, you can easily expand it by popping in a microSD card -- but who's going to turn down extra internal space?

Just under a year ago, CNET dubbed the G5 Plus the "best budget phone," and with good reason(s): It's packed with features and compromises almost nothing. You could pay more for a phone... but why?

Here are some key things to know about the Moto:

• It has a metal body.
  
• It has a 5.2-inch 1080p screen.
  
• It's universally unlocked, meaning it will work with any of the Big Four carriers and their MVNOs.
  
• It has a fingerprint sensor.
  
• It doesn't support NFC, so you can't use it for in-store Google Pay purchases.
  

As for things like performance, camera quality, battery life and the like, allow me to turn you over to CNET's Moto G5 Plus review. Save for the NFC issue and a complaint about the tinny quality of the built-in speaker, the verdict was overwhelmingly positive: "It looks, feels and operates like a much pricier phone, which means that wallet-watchers are getting a great deal."

And, remember, that was based on a $299.99 price tag (for this model, anyway), so at $209.99 it's an even greater deal.

I really like what Motorola is doing in the mid-range phone space. The simple fact that you can take this to any carrier is huge. A lot of the iPhone and Galaxy deals I've shared of late had carrier limitations, which might preclude you from choosing an especially low-cost plan.

Indeed, it's getting harder and harder to justify the expense of a premium phone when you can pay around $200 for one that does nearly all the same things.

Agree? Disagree? You know the drill: Share your thoughts in the comments!

Bonus deal: If you're an iPhone user, here's your chance to get a rare deal on a top-rated photo-editing app: Pixomatic (iOS) is free for a limited time. Reg. price: $4.99.

The app lets you easily mask photos so you can change or remove backgrounds, apply fun stickers and effects and so on. It has a rather amazing 4.8-star review rating from over 1,300 users. So grab it while it's free!

Bonus deal No. 2: As I promised not long ago, you no longer have to pay $200 or even $150 to indulge your Star Wars Jedi fantasies.

For a limited time, and while supplies last, Yugster has the refurbished Star Wars Jedi Challenges AR Headset for $119.99 shipped -- the lowest price I've seen.

The kit features an augmented-reality headset you can use with your phone (make sure it's compatible), a replica lightsaber and a tracking beacon. Read CNET's Jedi Challenges review to learn more about it.

It's something I'd really like to try, but I may wait a bit longer and see if the price dips below $100. Your thoughts?