Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

We all have them.  Old gadgets and gizmos tucked away that we don’t use anymore, but for some reason…we just can’t find it in our heart to toss them.  For some, it might be that we don’t want to “clutter the environment,“ for others, “but I paid freakin’ HOW MUCH for that five years ago?!“  And for others still, well, we don’t even know why it’s still shoved it the closet or drawer.  Well, you might be heartened to know that Radio Shack is now providing a way for you to get some cash for those old tech goodies.  Well, not cash exactly, but the next best thing.  Gift cards for more tech goodies.

Launched just yesterday, Radio Shack is now offering a “trade-in policy“ for your old stuff.  It’s pretty much what it sounds like.  You give them your stuff, and you get a gift card for their store for a specified trade-in amount for your item.  They obviously don’t take every single item from every manufacturer from the dawn of time, but there is a pretty broad range on their trade-in site.

Keep reading to find out what a laptop is worth to Radio Shack.

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Best Buy has updated their HD DVD Trade-In website and is now offering up some pricing details. Sadly it seems that most people would be better off keeping the players and simply using them as an up-converting or spare DVD player around the house.

Remember those Toshiba A2 players that we were seeing become quite affordable, they are now, according to the Best Buy Trade-In website worth a measly $39.60 and that is assuming its in good condition with the remote, power cord, and manual included. Coming in a little less than the A2 is both the A3 at $32.40 and the A1 at $36.90. As for the Xbox HD DVD player add-on, that is at a sad $18.90.

While the pricing may seem low, I suppose it is nice that the offer is at least available, just not sure how many people would find it worth the time to complete the offer.

Read [Best Buy Trade-In]

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In a move to help those upset customers who purchased an HD DVD player, Best Buy has announced they will begin offering $50 gift cards for those who made their purchase before February 23, 2008. Considering the HD DVD players will still function and work fairly nice as an up-converting DVD player this $50 gift card offer sounds nice, but just in case you absolutely want it gone, there is also a trade-in program to consider.

The $50 gift card offer requires the HD DVD player have been purchased at Best Buy, however, and this is where some good news comes in. The Trade-In Center Program will allow anyone to trade in their ‘old’ HD DVD player and also their HD DVD movies whether purchased at Best Buy or not. This program will begin on March 21, 2008 and you can visit BestBuyTradeIn.com to get an “instant estimate of the value of your HD DVD player and movies.“

We have also seen a similar return policy from other big-box retailers Circuit City and Future Shop, I wonder who will be next.

Read [Best Buy]

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Thanks to a leaked memo entitled “HD DVD - The End” that was posted on an internal Circuit City forum we have learned about the possibility of having your HD DVD player exchanged for a new Blu-ray player to include a Playstation 3.

With that, you cannot expect to simply walk in and hand over your current HD DVD player and just walk out with a new Blu-ray player. There are a few small (and obvious) catches. Circuit City is basically granting an open ended return policy for HD DVD players, and you will have to pay any difference in price. Also noted in the memo is that if you no longer want the HD DVD player and also do not want to purchase a Blu-ray player you will be given a gift card refund for the amount the player originally cost. Similar to other software and media titles, they (once opened) are not able to qualify for a refund.

Sounds like a great way to stay current with your next-generation player. It does make you wonder why other big-box retailers do not have a similar policy in place, or just how soon they will start one up.

Continue reading to see the full memo that had been leaked…

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The International Trade Commission has agreed to investigate a complaint of patent infringement made against Sharp Corp. Samsung claims that Sharp has infringed on 4 different patents for LCDs. Samsung is attempting to block imports of products using Sharp LCDs. These products include HDTV’s and the Motorola RAZR2. The companies are suing each other in various federal courts and in Seoul, South Korea. A decision is not expected to come for about 15 months.

Read [Bloomberg]

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