Apple readying 67th St Upper West Side NYC store

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Rumors

Apple has finally removed the curtain scaffolding that was in place to hide the construction of their new Upper West Side Manhattan Apple Store location. Of course, in typical Apple fashion, the unveiling leaves even more mystery to unravel, as the entire face of the new store is covered in a vinyl curtain, along with an “Opening soon” message. Luckily, we shouldn’t have to wait much longer to get a look at the newest store, which many are saying will be the most impressive in the entire Apple Store chain. The Upper West Side Apple Store is located on the northwest corner of Broadway and 67th street, right near Lincoln Center.

We’ve got one more shot of the store, a mockup, of what the store should look like after the curtain is removed.

Click to continue reading Apple readying 67th St Upper West Side NYC store

Read More | CNET

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A glimpse at a soon-to-come Microsoft Store

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Internet, Microsoft, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video, Software

Hey, remember when we told you that Microsoft Stores were on their way, and that we’d see them cropping up starting in June? Well it looks like we just got an image of the first store that is currently under construction. As you can see, it’s in a mall, and has one of those fancy mall covering that tell you that it’s coming soon. In particular, you can see that all the expected Microsoft brands are represented, including Windows, Xbox 360, Bing, Microsoft Office, and Zune.

We’ve gotta admit, we’re a little amped to set foot into one of these retail locations. You?

Read More | Microsoft Twitter Account

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Microsoft to open retails stores next door to Apple Stores

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News, Microsoft

We do love ourselves a good battle, and it looks like Microsoft is ready to start putting their dukes up against the super popular Apple retail stores. Not only is Microsoft going to be opening up their own branded retail stores, they are going to put some stories “right next door to Apple stores” this fall. Oh yes, it’s on.

At first glance, you may be wondering what cool, eye-pleasing toys Microsoft would have to even lure people in to their stores. I mean, isn’t almost every consumer electronics store a “Microsoft Store?” Well, it’s all in the approach. We know that the Zune HD will be released this fall. We know that the Xbox 360 will have a nice dashboard update this fall that will bring with it a host of new social features, there’s the Microsoft Surface tabletop, Xbox 360 games, Project Natal, etc. If Microsoft uses some of these popular items as cornerstones for their retail presence, and even allows the chance to get first-looks at some of these things, they may be on to something.

We are ready for the war.

Read More | Business Insider via Giz

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Amazon launches Amazon Wireless, selling mobile plans

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Hot Deals, Internet, Wireless / WiFi

Amazon has launched Amazon Wireless beta, an online storefront where you can purchase voice and data plans from AT&T and Verizon, with T-Mobile and Sprint also coming soon. Normally, we wouldn’t give something like this a second look, but it’s Amazon, and they will be pointing consumers to this wireless portal from within the main Amazon site. The nice thing about Amazon Wireless is that you can compare offerings from the carriers in one easy-to-use spot, rather than visiting 2-4 different sites. Even better, all that mail-in rebate stuff goes out the window if you end up buying your mobile phone and plan on Amazon Wireless - all discounts are instant. Amazon Wireless beta is open now, and currently has over 130 phones up for sale.

Read More | Amazon Wireless

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Palm Pre launches on June 6th for $199

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Cell Phones, Corporate News, Handhelds

It is officially official: The Palm Pre is launching on June 6th at $199.99 after $100 mail-in rebate and 2-year contract. The Sprint exclusive Pre will be available across the United Stats (yes, US-only for now) in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, and certain Wal-Mart locations. As far as plans are concerned, you can get the Palm Pre with Sprint’s Everything Data plan, or the Business Essentials with Messaging and Data plan. Of course, the Touchstone charging accessory will also be available for $69.99, which includes the $49.99 Touchstone dock and the $19.99 back cover for the Pre that’s required.

So there you have it, you’ll be able to get your Pre on in 20 days.

Read More | Sprint

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Office Depot Closing 112 Stores, Cutting 2,200 Jobs

Posted by Patrick Phelps Categories: Corporate News, Misc. Tech

In an attempt to cut their losses, Office Depot’s adopting a familiar strategy; announcing today that they’ll be closing 112 or roughly 9% of their “underperforming” stores, six of their 33 North American distribution facilities and reducing their workforce by 2,200 jobs over the next three months. The plan to close 112 stores will reduce the chain’s brick and mortar stores to 1,163. It plans to close 45 stores in the Central U.S., 40 in the Northeast and Canada, 19 in the West and eight in the South - proof that “Taking Care of Business” is not only a slogan, but a business model…

Read More | Yahoo! Finance

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Hunting For Coupon Codes

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Hot Deals, Internet, Misc. Tech

When you purchase something online and see a space for a coupon code, don’t you wonder if there is really one out there? We searched around and found lots of sites to find these codes and printable coupons.

• XP Bargains
• Current Codes
• Coupon Craze
• Retail Me Not

If you like giving restaurant gift cards, Restaurant.com offers $25.00 certificates for only $10.00, with minimal stipulations. We could go on but you could probably find them as easily with a simple search of “coupon code” with the name of the store or manufacturer you are interested in.

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Cyber Monday Has Arrived

Posted by Sheila Franklin Categories: Corporate News, Handhelds, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, PC / Laptop, Portable Audio / Video

All told, about 58 million bargain hunters rose before dawn to check out Black Friday. Welcome to Cyber Monday, another effort to get the moola out of your pocket and into online retailers when shoppers go back to work. Researches say that 61 million will shop online from their cubicles, which is 18 percent higher than last year, to avoid holiday rage. 

To guard against online identity theft, watch for mass e-mails complaining there are problems with your order, use a credit rather than debit card, and check for site security (the site should read “https,” with that extra “s” for security.) Finally, if you use sites like Amazon, Shopzilla, BizRate, and NexTag, don’t automatically assume you will obtain a secure and safe purchase.

Read More | ABC

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Mercenaries 2 Delayed Until 2008

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Electronic Arts, PC, PlayStation 3, Release Dates, Xbox 360

EA‘s upcoming open-world game Mercenaries 2: World in Flames is being pushed back until 2008, further relaxing the pressure on a still crowded holiday season for games. Speaking to developer Pandemic Studios President Josh Resnick, IGN coaxed out a few more details:

We’re adding nothing at this point. Our only goal is to make gamers proud that they own a copy of Mercenaries 2 by making the highest quality next-gen open-world experience the world has ever seen. If that sounds ambitious, then you should see how many cans of caffeine our programming guys have choked down during the past two years of development.

Resnick also complimented Rockstar and said that he wasn’t concerned about competing with Grand Theft Auto IV because, as he puts it, “We know gamers are bloodhounds when it comes to sniffing out a quality gameplay experience, and we’re hoping that scent leads them directly to Mercenaries 2.” He said they were using the extra time to focus on fixing bugs, tuning the physics and working on the mission structures.

The delay was initial rumored because retail outlets adjusted their release dates from late ‘07 to 2008, forcing Pandemic and EA to confirm the delay. Commenting on the leak, Resnick said, “Those dang sneaky retailers! You just can’t seem to keep a lid on something once they hear about it.”

Read More | IGN

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Games With Online Multiplayer Sell More

Posted by Paul Hamilton Categories: Corporate News, Downloadable Content, Internet, Microsoft, Nintendo, PlayStation 3, Sony, Wii, Xbox 360

A research paper from Electronic Entertainment Design and Research has been released that suggests that games with online support can be crucial to a game’s retail success. Not surprisingly, another way to boost sales is to create a quality game (defined as those with a 90+ score on Metacritic), with these well-reviewed titles outselling the average release well above 5-to-1.

While making good games typically means making good money, naturally, it is a bit surprising to see the report indicate that sales can be doubled by dropping in an online mode. With online games selling twice the number copies that offline titles do, it’s curious to note that over half of games released don’t offer even basic online support.

Click to continue reading Games With Online Multiplayer Sell More

Read More | Ars Technica

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