Bye, bye $99 TouchPad: HP says tablet officially out of stock | Nanotech - The Circuits Blog - CNET News

Bye, bye $99 TouchPad: HP says tablet officially out of stock | Nanotech - The Circuits Blog - CNET News:

Hewlett-Packard sent out notices today that it is officially out of TouchPads, meaning there will be no more shipments of those popular $99 tablets.

The notice says, "As you signed up for updates on the HP TouchPad, we wanted you to know that we are officially out of stock. Some retailers will have some stock available, but our online inventory is depleted."

The only other avenue for getting a TouchPad is Best Buy. The retailer announced today that it will offer a 32 GB HP TouchPad for $149.99 with purchase of an HP or Compaq Laptop, Desktop or All-in-One computer.

The official demise of the TouchPad coincides with a report Friday pointing to the end of TouchPad production. Citing sources, Asia-based Digitimes said TouchPad manufacturer Inventec had laid off 400 employees because it "has to stop production of Hewlett-Packard's...WebOS tablet PCs, and also expects no new orders for other devices."

Motorola Xoom Available for Pre-Order at Best Buy for $800

By Yahoo! News: "We knew the price for Motorola's upcoming Android tablet, the Xoom, would be $800, but seeing the price on a live Best Buy pre-order page turns this haunting mental image into harsh reality.

You can pre-order the Xoom, which currently comes in only one flavor, now and pick it up Thursday, February 24, in Best Buy stores.

The Xoom is one of the first tablets on the market to run Android 3.0 or Honeycomb, the first version of Android designed specifically for tablets. It sports impressive features: a 10.1'' widescreen HD display, a 1 GHz dual-core CPU, as well as Wi-Fi and 3G support. Add to that the 5-megapixel camera on the rear and a 2-megapixel one on the front, as well as the accelerometer and HDMI output, and you might even be able to justify the price tag.

Besides the Xoom itself, Best Buy also offers several accessories, including a $70 Bluetooth wireless keyboard, a $130 speaker dock, and a $40 portfolio-style case.

- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Walmart, Best Buy in Sub-$300 Laptop Price War

Walmart, Best Buy in Sub-$300 Laptop Price War - Yahoo! News: "Walmart and Best Buy appear to have kicked off a price war in time for the back-to-school shopping season, with both retailers offering Compaq laptops with 15.6-inch screens for under US$300.

Walmart is selling Hewlett-Packard's Compaq Presario CQ62-219WM for $298 through its online store. Best Buy is selling a Compaq Presario CQ60-615DX for $299 on its website.

The laptops have similar specifications. Both come with a single-core Intel Celeron 900 processor running at 2.2GHz and include 2GB of DDR2 memory. They also have 250GB hard drives, wired and 802.11 b/g/ wireless networking capabilities, DVD burners and Intel's 4500M integrated graphics.

The systems come with Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OS and include other applications often referred to as bloatware. One notable feature absent from the laptops is a webcam.

Best Buy is also selling a $299 Toshiba Satellite C655-S5049 laptop on its website. That laptop also has a 15.6-inch screen and Celeron 900 processor, but includes 2GB of the faster DDR3 memory type.

The price war is similar to one that broke out before last year's back-to-school season, said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at The NPD Group. That battle ignited last July when Best Buy offered an Acer laptop for $299, and Walmart undercut the price by $1 with a Compaq machine.

'They are selling them because they drive traffic into the stores, provide great value to their customers [and] help each other compete against one another,' Baker said.

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Walmart, others cut TV prices in Super Bowl run-up

Walmart, others cut TV prices in Super Bowl run-up - Yahoo! Finance: "Wal-Mart Stores Inc is cutting prices on high-definition TVs ahead of the U.S. Super Bowl championship game, looking to entice shoppers to spend now that the holiday season has ended.

In its U.S. Walmart stores, the discounter is also getting more vocal about promoting its in-home TV installation service, an offering that it said is helping shoppers become more comfortable buying larger, and often more expensive, TVs.

'We do know that there are customers who are not all do-it-yourself type customers, they do want professional help for installation,' said Alex Cook, senior category director for consumer electronics at Walmart U.S.

Starting on Sunday, Walmart is cutting prices on select high definition TVs by $30 to $300. It will offer a Vizio 55-inch 1080p LCD TV for $1,298, or $200 off; a Sony Bravia 46-inch 1080p LCD TV for $778, or $300 off; and a Vizio 32-inch 720p LCD TV for $368, marked down by $30.

Electronics retailers typically roll out discounts ahead of the Super Bowl to entice shoppers to buy a new TV to watch the game. This year, the National Football League's Super Bowl is being played on February 7."

NerdBoyTV presents "Black Friday" Ads!!!

NerdBoyTV NOTE: To my faithful NerdBoyTV followers...this is for YOU! Plan your shopping NOW! ENJOY...

Target "Black Friday" Ad

Walmart "Black Friday" Ad

Best Buy "Black Friday" Ad

Best Buy Black Friday Advertisement Posted

Oh my, there are a LOT of great buys here...I may have to shop earlier this year after all! Checkout the leaked ads below. WOW!

BFAds-Best-Buy-2009.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Best Buy leverages social media engagement very aggressively

By Brian White - BloggingStocks (CLICK to read more)

"Best Buy Inc. (NYSE: BBY) is taking the world of social media by storm. Instead of relying on traditional marketing and communication methods, hundreds of Best Buy employees are chirping on Twitter.com to assist in technology advice. The retailer is becoming more transparent and communicative on its own online forums. And, it's producing video blogs to engage its consumers beyond the world of text.

What does all this add up to? As the last national big-box consumer electronics retailing chain left in the U.S., Best Buy's 'community managers' will be speaking at the Engage! to explain why they are doing what they are doing. Best Buy's strategy here is to adopt the communication and networking arenas its existing and potential customers are already in -- and win more sales that way. Its 'Twelpforce' effort of offering advice is just a start."

SHOW #059 - NerdBoyTV BROADCAST: Rocketfish A/V Composite for iPod

In this episode of NerdBoyTV, Ryan Yee talks about Rocketfish's audio/visual composite cable that let's you display videos from your iPod onto your television screen.

NerdBoyTV ALERT: Preparing Strategically for Black Friday Deals

Courtesy of ABC News: Due to the tough economic times, retailers are giving deep, deep price cuts for merchandise on the traditionally busy Black Friday sale day. NerdBoyTV is passing this videoclip along so you can plan your shopping "strategies" carefully...hehehe...good luck and GO get those deals!

10 Best Bets for Black Friday

10 Best Bets for Black Friday - Yahoo! Shopping

By Nick Mokey, Digital Trends

It takes some pretty spectacular deals to pry Americans out of their recliners late every Turkey Day and send them out into blistering cold parking lots to camp for hours, but retailers have it figured it out with Black Friday. And if you're looking to score a big-screen TV for half of what it normally runs for, get a printer bundled with your camera for free, or pick up an MP3 player for the cost of a cup of coffee, you'll be out there too. With the economy forcing consumers to pinch their pennies even more this year, and retailers trying even harder to open those cautiously held wallets, the deals are ripe for the picking. Here are a few of our favorite picks for this year."

Black Friday sales arrive early this year

Black Friday sales arrive early this year : Gina Hughes : Yahoo! Tech: "These are tough economic times, so retailers are launching their Black Friday specials weeks early to motivate budget-conscious buyers. You can normally find the latest Black Friday ads on sites like BlackFriday.info, Bargainist.com, DealTaker.com, BFads.net, and TheBlackfriday.com, so check those out before you go shopping this weekend, because it looks like retailers are slashing prices early this year.

Here's a list of sales happening right now, just to give you an idea."

Microsoft Gurus to take on Apple’s Genuises

Microsoft Gurus to take on Apple’s Genuises - U.S. business- msnbc.com

"NEW YORK - As part of its new $300 million marketing campaign and image makeover, Microsoft Corp. plans to deploy its own customer-service representatives at retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City to help people with their PC purchases.

The world's largest software company plans to have 155 'Microsoft Gurus' in U.S. stores by the end of the year, and expand based on the project's success, Microsoft's general manager of corporate communications, Tom Pilla, said Friday.

These gurus will be answering questions about PCs and Microsoft products, as well as giving demos of how the company's products work together — help designed to get them thinking Microsoft."