Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Asus and Target have just announced that the Eee PC will now be available both online and also at 150 of their retail locations. I suppose this news should come as little surprise, because Asus seems to be spreading the Eee brand so thin with new models, that it now being available at Target almost seems normal.

I think what will end up being more surprising is just how many customers will see this as a good idea. As a geek, I love my Eee PC, and I have shown it to many non-geeks who loved it, but majority of them also stated that without having used mine, they would never have purchased one.

Anyway, hopefully Target and Asus will have better luck, they currently have a pretty full range of products available including the 2G Surf in a variety of colors, the 4G Surf in black or white, and accessories to include extra batteries, headphones, power adapters and mice. The 2G Surf is retailing for $299.99 and the 4G Surf is retailing for $349.99.

Product [Target] Via [jkOnTheRun]

Our sister site Gamertell has spotted an interesting freebie at Target retail stores. The chain is putting out a Speed Racer-themed gift card that comes with a 60+ MB USB 2.0 Flash drive built right in. It is one of those gift cards you fill with money to give to someone else, so it’s essentially free if you happen to forget to fill it before you take it home. (*wink*)

The Flash drive is preloaded with 50 MB of promotional files including the usual wallpapers, printable coupons, movie files and a videogame cheat code for the upcoming release of May 6, 2008, release of Speed Racer: The Videogame. You can, of course, keep or delete the files as you wish and simple have a nifty fat credit card sized Flash drive with a Speed Racer skin.

Read [Gamertell]

We love new gadgets and we always keep an eye on every new releases that come out of the market. We adore its shiny new look and get awed by its features. But have you ever stopped and thought about the possibility that the software that comes preinstalled in our new gadgets might be infected by viruses?

The Associated Press warns that some of today’s gadgets are coming into the market with extras - viruses. Recent cases examined by the AP pointed out that Apple iPods, digital picture frames sold by big-box retailers Target and Best Buy and the TomTom Navigation all contained viruses even before consumers ever had them in their hands.

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Target has Apple’s popular iPod Hi-Fi stereo on retail for $87 (in-store only deal). This equals to a 75-percent discount off the regular retail price of $350.

For those not in the know, The iPod Hi-Fi is a beautiful, compact sound system with an integrated Universal Dock for iPod that fills the room with rich, audiophile-quality sound. It’s the home stereo — reinvented.

Not all units have been discounted, and the price sticker will not show the discounted price. The best way to check if your unit will only cost you $87, is to take it to an in-store price checker and see if you’ve struck gold.

Via [Consumerist]

So ye olde Aunt Edna got you the second season set of The Golden Girls and a crappy Christmas sweater - again - and you could really use a new iPod. The good news is that you may be able to return that well-intentioned junk and get something better. The bad news is that not every store has the same return policy, which can be especially frustrating if she bough the stuff more than a month ago and didn’t give you the receipt. Gizmodo has put together a nifty chart of store return policies for Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Circuit City and Amazon. Though you might be racking up the RewardZone points at Best Buy, check the chart to see if there might be a better place to go and date restrictions. Based on the chart, Wal-Mart looks to be the best all-round bet, esp. If you are receiptless, many stores do have a Holiday grace period, so check your local stores. Also, if you do go to the Customer Service counter at Wal-Mart, plan to stand in line for quite a while, listening the people around you discus the pillows they just picked up for 50 cents and their love of all things wicker. *shudder*

Read [Gizmodo] Chart [Gizmodo image] Also Read [Consumer Reports] Also Read [Mouse Print]

I was lucky enough to find a few in the electronics section in the middle of the accessory displays for each game system. I took quick video of the two that actually do something you can hear or see (see the links below). The Wii card lights up on five sides (all but the back) rather brilliantly, while the Xbox 360 card includes the system startup sound and glowing green logo. The PS3 card has grid hologram encased in a thick, clear plastic body, and, as far as we can tell, doesn’t make a noise or light up. They are all standard card dimensions but 5-6 times thicker to accommodate the electronics (or in the case of the PS3, just look cool).

Grab them while you can, since most were either offered when you buy a system, or snatched up as soon as they hit the racks. They don’t come loaded with cash but do work just like the good ol’ flat gift cards.  Check out videos and pictures of the cards after the break.

I have heard, though don’t hold me to it, that second party electronic warranties from places like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, and Circuit City are the biggest ripoffs you can find. If you search around the web a bit you will see horror story after horror story of people who tried to claim problems with electronics products at these locations based on their warranty and ended up enjoying a nice runaround and no resolve. I am a firm believer in not purchasing these offerings, a good warranty is when it is directly from the manufacturer and is the only time to buy the extra protection.

As you can expect retailers don’t appreciate my thoughts, between cables and warranties these big box companies are able to stay in business and continue to offer lower shelf prices. Target is next on the list, taking a cue from their competitors by offering extended service warranties. Beginning this month, Target is rolling out three-year service warranties on electronics — including televisions, digital cameras and laptop computers, ranging from $19 for products under $200 to $79 for those $1,000 or more.

Analysts have speculated that Richfield-based Best Buy and Virginia-based Circuit City derive at least half of their annual profits from service contracts, according to some news reports. Neither electronics retailer discloses that information. But in fiscal 2006, Circuit City reported that $422 million of its $11.5 billion in sales came from extended warranty revenue. But Target will be a latecomer to competition for service warranty sales in the estimated $132 billion-a-year consumer electronics industry. Wal-Martlast year began selling two-year service plans on televisions and computers, while electronics specialists Best Buy and Circuit City have had extended service warranties on electronics for years.

One distinctive feature of its warranty program, Target said, is that customers will be able to apply a sticker to their electronic devices that gives them a number to call when they need repair service, even if they’ve lost their product receipts.

Read [Twin Cities]

In the past, there has been a lot of talk about Netflix switching to a broadband distribution method. Some possibilities include over-the-internet downloads (for rent or buy) like Movielink, delivery to a cable providers STB (like Comcast), the possibility that Netflix is creating their own STB, or distributing through TiVo or Akimbo. These are all very good possibilities and would expedite the distribution system. The company had teamed up with TiVo, and promised to deliver a service by 2005. In October 2005, Netflix postponed its Internet-based download service plans and the Netflix-TiVo deal became very questionable.

While no one really knows what will be, Netflix has recently posted these job requirements:

• Design and development of System, Networking, and Audio/Video software for a Consumer Electronics Product.


• Developing creative end-user applications.


• Interfacing with middleware and device driver components within a Linux-based environment.

What do you think? What direction will Netflix take/what direction do you think it will take?

Read [Gigaom]