Radio Shack in a terse notice today said it would begin selling the iPhone 3G and 3GS in its retail stores later this month. The initial rollout is small and will be limited to certain company-run stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as well as in New York City. Expansion to all of its stores isn't expected until 2010.
As promised, Verizon tonight launched the Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris at its primary retail store on 34th Street in New York City. The midnight opening is the first official launch in the country but follows numerous reports from those who have visited Best Buy and Walmart stores and successfully obtained the phone ahead of its official street date. Walmart Super Center stores are also typically opening sales at midnight, though the next earliest opportunity will involve the 7AM and 8AM openings at some non-mall Verizon stores.
Best Buy today struck a deal with Roxio to create a unique online and DVD hybrid movie service for the big-box retailer. The unnamed project hopes to give users buy once, play anywhere privileges: those who buy a DVD in-store will then have access to a CinemaNow-based portal for watching movies both on computers as well as on smartphones and Internet-aware Blu-ray players. Many of the movies will be new releases instead of reprints or old titles.
Apple leads in brick-and-mortar retail stores but is no match for more universally oriented stores online, Consumer Reports says in its December issue (subscription needed for results). Of all major physical retailers, Apple scores the highest in a reader study. Although tied with Costco for an official 90-point score, it ranks highest through its perceived product quality, customer help and the ease of the buying process.
A new Magellan GPS model, the SE4, is now available at Best Buy. The budget-priced SE4 has a 4.3-inch touchscreen and contains Navteq map data for 48 contiguous US states, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The spoken turn-by-turn directions can guide users to one of the preloaded six million points of interest, and the device has the ability to route to multiple destinations.
Best Buy this morning scored a minor win by revealing that it will sell the Motorola Droid for $200 on contract, but without the $100 mail-in rebate that Verizon demands at its own stores. The retail chain adds that it will start taking pre-orders later today, just over a week before Verizon opens sales itself.
Retail chain Walmart on Thursday said it's now offering technical support staff at its locations. The staff will come from NEW Customer Service Companies, and will be available in all US Walmart stores, launching in October and in time for the holiday shopping season. With the offering, Wal-Mart is following in the footsteps of big box electronics retailer Best Buy's Geek Squad.
Slacker will stop building its only hardware digital streaming music player, the G2 in the second half of 2010, according to a Wednesday WSJ report. The 2GB device was launched in 2007 and grew to include 4GB and 8GB capacities. Slacker is still selling a 4GB version for $129, while Best Buy has some 8GB models in stock, priced at $249.
The Motorola Droid smartphone, believed to be released on November 9th after an official unveiling on October 28th, may just get released on October 24th, according to leaked documents. The images of digital inventory screens from electronics retailer Best Buy clearly show an October 24th ship date, though they stop short of actually naming the handset.
Netflix this week partnered with Best Buy to endow the retailer's Insignia-brand Blu-ray players with the ability to stream Netflix movies and TV shows. This partnership has resulted in two Insignia Blu-ray players with this capability, including the Insignia Advanced Series Blu-ray Player (NS-WBRDVD) and the Insignia Connected Blu-ray Player (NS-BRDVD3). Either is Internet ready, though the former uses a Wi-Fi connection for access, with the latter relying on a wired Ethernet connection. Both are Energy Star certified and feature Dolby TrueHD sound capability. Either can upconvert standard DVDs.
AT&T today said it would bring the Nokia Booklet 3G to the US as its most advanced netbook. The US version of the portable will ship preloaded with Windows 7 and arrive on the same day as the OS, October 22nd, as a Best Buy exclusive. It will sell for $299 when attached to a two-year, $60 monthly data contract but should still be less expensive at full price than the European version and will cost just $599 by itself.
Western Digital has updated its WD TV Live Media Player by releasing its successor. Like the original, the new player has a USB 2.0 slot for thumb drives, external drives or PCs, along with an HDMI port to connect it to TVs. New features include DLNA and Bonjour support, letting users access their home networks and stream multimedia via the Ethernet port.
Best Buy stepped out of its usual role as retailer today by launching mIQ. Its service is designed to save smartphone data and will backup contacts, photos, videos and other data to 1GB of online space that can be accessed through the web or through a native phone app. Social network also plays a part as the app merges Facebook, Flickr, FriendFeed and Twitter updating.
A leaked image of a Best Buy inventory screen reveals pricing for its exclusive deal for the Nokia Booklet 3G. The netbook will apparently be priced at $600 when it arrives at the electronics retailer, but possibly without subsidies from wireless providers. While a launch date is still unknown, the presence of the device in Best Buy's inventory indicates it should be out soon.
PC maker Dell and online music service Napster have come to an agreement that will see the two offering Inspiron and Studio models in Germany, the UK and the US with preloaded content from Napster's music service. Through the agreement, these models will include 60 MP3s of the buyer's choice as well as 12 months of unlimited music streaming from Napster's service. Dell estimates it should save buyers at least the $60 for the individual tracks.
Sprint today provided a significant hardware upgrade to its Samsung Instinct line for the first time since launch by releasing the Instinct HD. It earns its title through enough processing power and a video output that lets it show photos and videos at HD resolution on a TV; Sprint doesn't say whether it uses HDMI and whether it supports 720p or 1080p. A 5-megapixel camera and a much improved Opera Mobile 9.7 web browser are similarly new.
iRex today branched out to the US for the first time with its first e-book device intended specifically for the US. The DR 300SG has an 8.1-inch touchscreen e-paper display but centers first on its 3G access for accessing stores. It should support the Barnes & Noble bookstore out of the box for downloads but also recognize several other store format,s including Fictionwise, LibreDigital and Newspaper Direct as well as the universal EPUB format.
Best Buy late Thursday said it would undercut Sprint's pricing for the HTC Hero when it goes on sale October 11th. In contrast to the official pricing, which has the phone selling for $180 only after the combination of a $50 immediate discount and a $100 rebate, the third-party chain says it will match the price without needing the special discounts. The price is still attached to a two-year contract.
Napster's streaming and download music service will not be coming to the iPhone via a downloable app in the App Store after all, according to a recent MocoNews report. A rep from Napster said the service, which would be offered at Best Buy stores, is not being sent out for Apple approval because of the high licensing fees involved.
Sony's loosely-defined launch date of early September for its redesigned PS3 gaming console was not only wrong, but stores are already sold out of the first shipments. Earlier this week, photo evidence showed the console arriving at certain Best Buy locations and now there is word of other electronics retailers also getting limited runs of the game system. Not surprisingly, retailer shelves were picked clean and the PS3s are now sold out at many of the stores who got the shipment.
A leaked Best Buy inventory screen capture reveals the HTC Hero for Sprint will be offered as a pre-order on September 13th, BGR reported on Thursday. While this is still not the release date for the Android-powered smartphone, it does give an indication of when users can expect to see the handset in store, as pre-orders usually start a few weeks ahead of an official release date.
Sony's slim PS3 gaming console, originally slated for an early September release, is already showing up in some Best Buy stores in Florida. One buyer has already bought the console in a Brandon, Florida Best Buy location, while a Tampa-based Best Buy employee is reporting that his store is authorized to sell the redesigned game console as of today.
The rugged XP3.20 Quest handset from Sonim has began shipping to the US, with the device's standout feature being its comprehensive warranty: Sonim offers hassle-free replacements if users manage to break it within three years. The unlocked GSM phone will work on AT&T and T-Mobile networks. It sports a 2-megapixel camera, an FM radio tuner and an MP3 player.
Exactly one quarter of all music sold in the US now comes from iTunes, the NPD Group said today. Its portion of the market for the first half of 2009 is up from 21 percent in 2008 and represents 69 percent of the digital-only market. By comparison, Walmart now has just 14 percent of all music while Best Buy claims third place with an unspecified amount. In digital, Amazon MP3 is a distant second with just 8 percent of the market.
Sony launched a new rang of bookshelf audio systems specifically meant for Best Buy. The Altus line is all built on Sony's S-AIR wireless system and is designed for multi-room audio as well as simply reducing the number of wires. Topping the range are two systems intended for iPhones and iPods: the ALT-SA31iR includes both a central dock for an Apple device as well as two wireless speakers, each with their own remote controls and on-speaker buttons. The AIR-SW10Ti has just one speaker that itself has the iPhone or iPod dock but has a wireless subwoofer and puts out a total 60W of sustained power.
Microsoft early this morning set the final launch for the Zune HD. True to leaks, the company's first touchscreen player will ship on September 15th and will come in a 16GB black version for $220 and a 32GB platinum-colored version for $290. Pre-orders start later today through Amazon (16GB, 32GB) as well as Best Buy, Walmart and Microsoft's own company store. Best Buy stores in major US cities will also have in-store previews on the 22nd and 23rd.
The Zune HD may ship a week later than expected if a Best Buy retail promo is an indicator. Although two previous sources have cited an in-stock date of September 8, Gizmodo now sees a pre-order campaign that will have the Microsoft player available September 15th, or exactly a week later. They additionally confirm 16GB and 32GB versions of the touch player.
Amazon has recently posted a product page for the 16GB and 32GB Microsoft Zune HD portable media players, revealing their prices but not shipping dates. The prices match those from a recent leak from Best Buy regarding the very same products, and the Zune HDs are expected to launch at Amazon as the same time as Best Buy, which should be September 8th.
A leak from within Best Buy tonight has potentially confirmed planned pricing and a ship date for the Zune HD. Microsoft's rumored pricing of $250 or more appears to have been lowered significantly and now, according to a Gizmodo tip, would start at $220 for a 16GB model -- $10 less than an entry iPod touch, which may have the same capacity at or near the Zune's launch. A 32GB version would be priced at $290, or again slightly less than what the next-closest iPod is likely to cost.
Yoostar has announced that its movie production system will be available on August 24th from Bloomingdale's stores and on September 8th from Best Buy outlets. Yoostar is an entertainment system consisting of a webcam with built-in dual microphones, a portable green-screen, and editing software that enables users to recreate well-known film scenes.
A leak Tuesday evening suggests Sony's new Reader devices should come in step with a price drop on the e-books themselves. Pointing only to an individual "briefed on the matter," the Wall Street Journal both confirms the pair of devices leaked earlier and says that prices on bestseller books will drop from $12 to $10, falling in line with both Amazon's Kindle Store and the Barnes & Noble store. Sony has already helped drive lower-cost books by adding Google's catalog of free, public domain titles.
(Updated with Best Buy response) Best Buy this weekend quietly cut the price of the Palm Pre to $100 when paired with a two-year contract. The discount slashes the multi-touch smartphone's cost in half and comes less than two months after the phone was released. No explanation has been given for the move, including whether or not the new price is permanent or a temporary sale.
Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette today said that Palm Pre sales are still healthy over a month after the phone launched. Referring to his own checks, he estimates that about 40,000 of the multi-touch phones are now shipping each week and that the numbers could hold through at least August. He also expects that sales could improve if Palm can improve its shipments to Best Buy and Radio Shack, which have had short supply ever since launch.
Electronics retail chain Best Buy and digital video recorder maker TiVo on Thursday announced a partnership that will see Best Buy carry a specially developed TiVo set-top box that will let Best Buy advertise its products and services to TiVo subscribers, among other benefits. What TiVo execs are calling the biggest marketing move in the DVR company's history, will see Best Buy committing to a multi-year deal to advertise, promote and carry the TiVo devices, though no financial details have been released.
Sony chief Sir Howard Stringer on Wednesday dismissed pressure on his company to drop the price of the PlayStation 3 when the subject was presented at the Allen & Co conference. Responding to implications by Activision CEO Bobby Kotick that his game development firm might stop developing for the PS3 if its price remains too high, Stringer said it was simply the "nature of business" for companies to put pressure on each other and that it wouldn't necessarily push Sony to cut prices.
Best Buy and Sprint sought to lure customers into shops today with a special promo for the Compaq Mini 110. Normally $390, the netbook now costs 99 cents when tied to a two-year data plan and bought through one of Best Buy's stores. Carriers like AT&T and Verizon currently offer only partial discounts, typically offering their own systems for $200 on the same terms. No mention is made of whether or not the deal will expire, though it should need a monthly $60 plan that allows 5GB of data per month.
Sales of the Palm Pre have cooled off to where supply is keeping up with demand, JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster said in an investment note today. He believes that about 270,000 Pres will have shipped in the first month of sales but that waiting lists have largely been reduced, revealing a near-ideal balance in what Palm ships each day. About 40,000 of the smartphones are estimated to now ship each week through Sprint directly, while more should also arrive through Best Buy and Radio Shack.
About half of all prospective smartphone buyers don't get one because of the glut of models, Best Buy noted today in a study. Of those who don't already own a smartphone, 47 percent said they were "too confused" by the sheer number of phones and range of features. Roughly 63 percent of all those studied didn't own one because they thought it was too expensive; 39 percent of those who don't own one specifically hated the shopping experience.
Microsoft is considering offering Windows 7 on USB flash drives to make upgrades easier for systems without optical drives, a source claimed on Friday. The unnamed contact explains to CNET that the company is looking at the move to make it easier to upgrade netbooks in particular, which currently need either an external drive or else the elaborate creation of a bootable USB drive. Whether this would involve copy protection beyond a CD key isn't known.
Sonic Solutions, the company behind Roxio, on Thursday announced its streaming movie service CinemaNow will be made available for the Nintendo Wii. Sonic will partner with Fujisoft to bring the former's content to the game console via the latter's video-on-demand Everyone's Theater Wii service. While the announcement only covers Japan, its successful integration potentially leads to the service arriving in other countries as well. CinemaNow offers more than 1,500 streaming movies, short films, and concerts to buy or rent.
Best Buy is planning to extend its insurance options to the iPhone 3GS, say people close to the matter. When the phone goes on sale through the retailer on June 19th, beginning at 10AM, buyers should have the option of attaching Black Tie Protection, which alongside conventional issues can cover various forms of accidental damage, such as drops and spills. Apple's two-year AppleCare warranty omits much of that coverage, and AT&T has refused to provide any form of insurance.
Sprint today confirmed that its version of the HTC Snap will ship this month. A close variant of the reference phone that was unveiled in April, its version switches to CDMA for calls, adds EVDO-based 3G and changes some of the visual design without affecting the QWERTY keyboard. It keeps the trademark Inner Circle feature for showing messages only from the owner's most important contacts but extends the GPS to work with Sprint's navigation service. The 2-megapixel camera and Wi-Fi have also been preserved in the adaptation.
Estimates by JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster published on Friday suggest that Palm may have already doubled its shipments of the Pre. Earlier predictions had Palm shipping as many as 55,000 units, but Coster concludes through studying retail activity that Palm has already shipped another 50,000 of the smartphones in less than a week. Many Sprint stores have received between 10 and 15 more phones every two days, while Radio Shack has also received an update. Unusually, Best Buy appears to have received none extra since the June 6th date.
(Updated with photos) Sprint today officially started sales of the Palm Pre, its first multi-touch phone and what's been regarded as the most direct contender with the iPhone. Initial reports of stock sent to Electronista vary and show that both supply and demand vary heavily depending on the region: Sprint stores, particularly in major cities like New York, have relatively large supply of as much as 100 or more. However, third-party stores like Best Buy and Radio Shack have relatively much smaller supply and little to no queuing.
In advance of Windows 7's October 22nd release date, Best Buy has begun circulating an internal memo on upgrade options. At the core of the retailer's plans is the Technology Guarantee, which will provide buyers of Vista PCs and software packages with a free copy of Windows 7. The option will only apply for the Home Premium, Business or Ultimate editions of Vista however, and only between June 26th and October 22nd.
Actus LLC, patent holding company based in Marshall, Texas, has sued Apple, Amazon, Ebay, Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, and a number of other companies for infringing on several patents relating to methods for "conducting electronic commerce transactions using electronic tokens." The patents - Nos. 7,328,189; 7,249,099; 7,177,838; and 7,376,621 - were originally filed by a company named PayByClick.
iPhone inventory is now extremely limited in the Best Buy supply chain, a memo from the retailer's corporate division is said to warn. Shipments of the device are expected to be light or non-existent over the course of the next few weeks, the memo elaborates, and it is suggested that some stores may run out of product completely. The Best Buy situation follows reports of low stock at AT&T and Vodafone Australia.
Sprint may drop its controversial mail-in rebate for the Palm Pre in a bid to keep customers. A contact within Sprint said late Thursday that there are "minor rumblings" within the carrier that could switch the $100 mail discount to an instant rebate. The move is said by Palm Goon to be a reaction to pricing at Best Buy and Radio Shack, both of which are already promising an immediate discount to sell their Pres at $199.
Best Buy's limited stock of Palm Pre devices has been discovered to be evidence of a much more pronounced shortage. An internal company launch guide obtained by BGR warns that Best Buy Mobile stores will have to manage the release in two phases. The company expects the first phase to be characterized by extremely limited supply until at least late July and that there will be "little or no replenishment" for the first few weeks.
Best Buy stores are allegedly restricted to an initial distribution of 4,250 Palm Pres for the June 6th launch day, an unnamed source has told the Boy Genius Report. If true, each of the 1,000 stores to sell the device will only get 4 units at first. A separate source claims that RadioShack will only receive two phones per store, with availability limited to coastal areas such as New York, New Jersey and California.
