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So, Gear Live reader gstill over on our message board is wondering what the best cell phones out there are right now. We figured we would throw this one out to you guys. What do you feel is hot out there? Furthermore, what should he stay away from? If you can help him out, give him a reply in this thread.
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| Gear Live Forums
Who The Hell Is Buying All The 360 Faceplates?!?
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Xbox 360,
Now this I just don’t get. While perusing the aisles at our local Target,Gamestop, and Electronic Boutique, it has become apparent that people are just simply Xbox 360 fiends. The reason we have come to this conclusion is simple - the $20 USD faceplates are selling like crazy. We were sure that these things would be a hard sell due to the fact that all they do is change the look of the front of the console, and that fact alone meant that it should maybe sell for half of its set retail price.
Looks like we were wrong. People are willing to drop good money on making their console silver, or brown camouflage. Amazing.
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Peter Moore is an clearly trying to pull a fast one on us. Seriously, trying to blame the Xbox 360 shortages on overeager retailers taking too many preorders is ridiculous. But here’s the quote:
‘It’s difficult,’ Moore said. ‘A lot of retailers, I think, stretched their allocation. Individual retail store managers said, ‘I’m going to take a fly that I’m going to get 200 Xbox 360s on day one and take the preorders accordingly,’ and they only got 100 or 150. Well that’s 100 or 50 disappointed people. We have to manage that.’
So are the retailers to blame for taking unlimited pre-orders before they knew what their allocations would be like? Sure, but that’s their job. On the other hand, an argument can be made that Microsoft knew that demand would be high, and chose to spread themselves too thin anyway. Pre-order numbers were coming in early enough that Microsoft knew there weren’t going to be enough to go around. People were pre-ordering back in July. Yet, Microsoft has kept production steady in order to ensure brisk sales throughout Q4.
Of course, there’s the other answer. The more time that passes, the cheaper the hardware will be to produce. Why make five million consoles that you have to take a $75 bath on now, when you can stretch that out over several months and reduce the cost on the consoles released later? I also take issue with the “... and they only got 100 or 150” comment. The only stores that got that many were either Microsoft’s “launch partners”, or were in California or New York.
Latest Gear Live Videos
Occasionally, “One Day, One Deal” site Woot goes all out for a few days in what they’ve glamorously termed a “Woot Off.” (Embrace wholly the vague, sexual undertones.) Their products range from brand name coffee machines to other brand name 52” televisions to MP3 players and other oddities, but they’re almost always gadget-minded. (Or at least, delightfully quirky, along with their product descriptions.) During their Woot Off, Woot cycles through a single item at a time. As each item sells out, they move on to the next item. Everything they sell is shipped (and handled) for just $5.00, and when you go ahead and check your favorite shop-and-compare site, you’ll find Woot’s usually got quite the deal going on. Take a few looks over the next couple of days and buy yourself an early Christmas present. If you don’t like what you see now, try again in another hour or so—things move quickly!
Read More | Woot
Video: GameDr. Motorized UMD Cartridge Cleaner for PSP
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Features, PSP,
We just got done messing around with the GameDr. Motorized UMD Cartridge Cleaner, and we must say that it is impressive. For $20 USD, this ultra-portable device cleans dust, dirt, and fingerprints from your UMD discs in a very ingenious way. The UMD hooks on to the cleaner using a magnet, and a piece of cloth aligns perfectly into the notch on the underside of any UMD game or movie. We put up a video, which you can see above, so you can see how it looks in motion. We have a couple of other products we will be putting up in video form as well.
By the way, if you like the above format with the video preview, go ahead and digg this story. I would love to see how popular this feature might be.
Read More | UMD Cleaner Product Page
AOL Pictures Launches Offering 100 Free Prints
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Hot Deals, Internet,
AOL has just launched AOL Pictures, a digital photo solution for consumers who want an easy way to view, share, store, print and protect all of their favorite images. The free photo sharing website offers consumers unlimited online digital photo storage in original resolution, tools that make it easier to create photo albums, and all the other standard photo sharing fare. According to a new AOL survey, Americans expect to take more than 137,000 photos in their lifetime with three-quarters sending photos to friends and family over the holidays. That being said, AOL Pictures is offering consumers 100 free 4x6 glossy or matte prints.
Read More | AOL Pictures
Nokia Acquires IntelliSync
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Corporate News, Software,
Nokia and Intellisync announced they signed a definitive agreement for Nokia to acquire Intellisync, a leader in platform-independent wireless messaging and applications for mobile devices. By acquiring Intellisync, Nokia is positioned to deliver the industry’s most complete offering for the development, deployment and management of mobility in the enterprise. Intellisync makes wireless e-mail, synchronisation and device management software and the company supports a wide range of mobile devices. The acquisition may also provide an opening for Nokia to sell to CDMA operators. Nokia’s strongest customer base comes from the GSM community but Intellisync has customers, including Verizon Wireless, in the CDMA market. Read on for the full press release.
Click to continue reading Nokia Acquires IntelliSync
Xbox 360 Omega Bundle Winner
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features, Video Games,
So, back at the beginning of September, we announced that we would be giving away an Xbox 360 Omega Bundle from Gamestop. Being the smart guys that we are, we knew they would sell out, and ordered quickly. We just needed to know where to send the damned thing. After eliminating and disqualifying those who entered more than once, we contacted two legitimate winners. The first two people gave false email addresses, which means they don’t get the prize. As they say, the third time is a charm, and Mitch G. walks away with the Omega Bundle due to his giving us valid contact information. Enjoy yourself, Mitch. We haven’t even pre-ordered our own.
To all the rest, keep an eye out. We have a giveaway that is going to be even bigger than this one in our 2006 Holiday Gift Guide.
What in the…? Is AOL seriously doing things so horribly wrong that t heir subscribers are turning away in droves? Or is this a case of customers finally having an easy way to get out of their AOL membership since AOL’s recent revamp of their cancellation procedures?
As of September 30, the AOL service totaled 20.1 million U.S. members, a decline of 678,000 from the prior quarter and 2.6 million from the year-ago quarter. In Europe, the AOL service had 6.1 million members, a decrease of 98,000 from the previous quarter and a decline of 170,000 from last year’s quarter.
Now, average that out, and you find that AOL lost 300 members every hour in that three month period. Wow.
Read More | Light Reading
