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TV Converter Boxes Are Now Available

Magnavox STB

Wal-Mart has announced that they now have OTA (over the air) analog to digital converter boxes for sale. The Magnavox STB will set you back $49.87. If you remembered to send for your $40.00 coupon from the NTIA early, which should be arriving soon, that’s quite a savings. We also learned last week that Best Buy will be offering an Insignia converter box retailing at $59.99, beginning February 17, and will also accept the coupons.

 

Read More | Walmart

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Hybrids To Be Sold at Wally World

MINI Cooper

Hybrid Technologies removes internal combustion engines from cars and turns them into electric vehicles. Founder Richard Griffiths is trying to convince people to think of battery power as a high-end option. High-end indeed. Griffiths takes such cars as the Chrysler Crossfire, the PT Cruiser, and MINI Cooper and makes them hybrid. The result will be a $65,000 MAXI Cooper, which can run 120 miles on a charge and go from 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds.

Here’s the rub. Griffiths plans on initially selling his electric cars through Wal-mart at a starting price of ~$35,000.00. We are not sure what that means unless he believes that the shopping place of the “everyman” will convince us to spend twice the cost. We have two questions. If the cars do not sell at that inflated price, will Wal-mart roll back their prices? And if so, will the cars be made in sweat shops like most of their clothing?

 

 

Read More | MSN

Hurry To Wally World for Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD Player at $98.87

Toshiba HD-A2

Wal-Mart has decided to sell the Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player at a discounted price of $98.87 to get the holiday shopping season started early. So much for the second gen Panasonic’s Bluray DMP. Slated for today only, if you are reading this, you are probably too late unless you are on the west coast and the time is before noon. They are also offering Acer laptops for $348.00 and Sanyo 50-inch Plasma HDTVs for $998.00.
We poked around to find what was going on at the other stores, where the player is still being offered for $299.99.  We did find a GPX Player at a sale price of $25.00 at Kmart. We know someone who bought one of these and although it is slow, it works. Now that’s a bargain.

 

Read More | Wal-Mart Online Circular

Wal-Mart to Sell $250 HD-DVD Player, Will Customers Notice?

Wal-Mart Logo With all this talk of PS3s, 360s, and Wiis going around, it’s easy to forget that there’s also a next-gen video format war going on - one which will likely have severe repercussions for either Sony or M$. Well, the latest shot in the High-def disc format war has been fired, and this time it’s mega-retailer Wal-Mart that may help tip the scales in HD-DVD’s favor (or at least give Blu-Ray something to worry about).

This week, Wal-Mart announced that they would be producing and distributing an HD-DVD player that well be the cheapest available, coming in at around $199-$299. I haven’t spent much time in Wal-Marts (I find them noisy, messy, and crowded when compare to other retailers… oh, and generally evil). So I’ve got to ask… is Wal-Mart really a place where you want to pick up your next piece of high-end (or at least, moderate-end) electronics? My impression was that most of the folks who shop there probably aren’t too tuned-in to the next-gen DVD formats, and may not even own an HDTV set to take advantage of such hardware. Still, perhaps the lure of a ridiculously cheap HD player will pull a few bargain-hunting techno-fiends towards their blue glow. And hey wait, while we’re on the topic shouldn’t Target be the one promoting HD-DVD (think: slick red cases!), and Wal-Mart be the one promoting Blu-Ray? That would make much more chromatic sense, at least.

Read More | IGN.com

Where to get your Wii/PS3 If You Didn’t Pre-order

Wii BoxNintendo fanboy site Wiiloaded has offered up some advice for those seeking out next-gen consoles that didn’t have the chance to pre-order. While their article deals with getting your hands on Nintendo’s latest console, the same tips would seem to apply to Sony’s PS3 as well (although you might have to be closer to the front of the line to guarantee yourself a PS3, given the paltry 400,000 PS3’s available to the U.S.).

Among their tips? BestBuy will probably be the “most fun” waiting line, with lots of hardcore gamers and their lawnchairs, sleeping bags, and portable gaming systems of choice. However, given that BestBuy will only open an hour early for the Wii launch, Wiiloaded gives Wal-mart their “Stay Warm” rating - you should be able to pick up the console at midnight at most of their locations. Similarly, another great tip is the idea of looking up Sam’s Clubs and/or Costcos in your area - these venues tend to be overlooked and often have good deals on console bundles, so they may be a great last resort if you’re number 37 in line at a BestBuy that’s been allocated 36 Wiis.

Enjoy the list! And start stocking up on supplies to stay warm - you’ve only got 2 weeks left to plan.

Read More | WiiLoaded

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