The Toybox

Best Buy’s Black Friday deals already featured a $249.99 Acer laptop, as well as extremely competitive Windows 7 netbook deals, including a $179.99 Compaq Netbook offering an Intel Atom Processor, 1GB memory and 160GB storage.

See all current Black Friday deals at ZDNet’s Ultimate Black Friday Guide 2009 (newly updated!).

Image: HP G60t. HP did not announce the model number of the $197 laptop.

November 24th, 2009

Black Friday '09: $59 TomTom GPS, $78 Blu-ray player, $10 Blu-ray discs

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 2:03 am

Categories: Black Friday, Holiday Gift Guide, Toybox Highlights

Tags: Best Buy Co. Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Blu-ray Disc, TomTom, GPS, Blu-Ray, Handhelds, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, DVD

Our mammoth Black Friday guide has been updated yet again, this time with deals from many of the big dogs: Best Buy, Walmart, GameStop, Office Depot, HP, Dell, Amazon, BJ’s, J&R and OfficeMax are all included in this round.

Deals to look out for include:

$694 LG 37” LCD HDTV (list price is $1399; Amazon)
$78 Magnavox NB500 Blu-ray Disc Player - $78.00 (Walmart)
An assortment of Blu-ray movies for less than $10 (various)
$59 TomTom One 125-SE GPS (pictured at top; Walmart)
$179.99 Compaq Netbook w/Intel Atom Processor, 1GB Memory, 160GB hard drive (Best Buy)

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Check out ZDNet’s Ultimate Black Friday 2009 Guide before the big day!

November 19th, 2009

Users should be smug, and why the Apple iPhone makes you feel smarter

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 3:05 am

Categories: Apple, Feature, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone original

Tags: Apple iPhone, Apple Inc., MAYA Design, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Andrew Nusca

Manufacturers build an awful lot of complexity into their gadgets, but very few of them take pains to hide it — leaving users confused, bewildered and angry.

Who the heck wants to page through a 300-page instruction manual?

That kind of attitude can hurt a company’s bottom line when customers return products before bothering to figure out how to use them.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

MAYA Design’s Mickey McManus says products should be so intuitive that a customer feels silly explaining to another how it works.

And by silly, I mean smug — as in, “Isn’t it obvious?”

That’s why the Apple iPhone is so popular…it appears so obvious to use that you feel a little smug using it.

On SmartPlanet’s Smart Takes blog, McManus explains why such innovation is necessary as technology grows more complex and our brains stay exactly the same. Who doesn’t want to be a little smug?

November 17th, 2009

Black Friday '09: Motorola Cliq, $79; Samsung 50" plasma HDTV, $699; Sony 15" dual core laptop, $399

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 12:07 pm

Categories: Black Friday, Holiday Gift Guide

Tags: Sony Corp., Plasma, Dual-core, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., HDTV, Laptop Computer, Motorola Inc., TVs, Processors, Personal Technology

Black Friday is just 10 days away. Have you seen ZDNet’s Ultimate Guide to Black Friday 2009 yet?

We’ve recently updated it with more vendors, including Best Buy, Radio Shack and Meijer.

New deals inside include:

Motorola Cliq, $79 with 2-year contract;
Samsung 50″ plasma HDTV, $699;
Sony 15″ dual core laptop, $399;
TomTom ONE 130 GPS navigation device, $79.99;
12-megapixel Kodak MD81 digital camera, $99.99

We’ll continue to update the guide as store circulars are published. Check it out!

November 11th, 2009

ZDNet's Ultimate Black Friday 2009: Deals, steals & specials guide

Posted by Andrew Nusca @ 9:02 am

Categories: Black Friday, Consumerism, Feature, Gadget Gal's Daily Deals, Holiday Gift Guide, Toybox Highlights

Tags: Sony Corp., Nintendo Co. Ltd., Sony PlayStation 3, HDTV, Digital Camera, Microsoft Xbox 360, Microsoft Xbox, LCD, Camera, Nintendo Wii

Black Friday is almost here.

Yes, it’s that time of the year again — the time when retailers across the U.S. mark down products to bargain levels to kick off the holiday shopping season, move goods off the shelves and move the year’s profit needle from red to black.

And, you know, force Americans to wake up at ungodly hours after the previous day’s Thanksgiving meal to make financial decisions far too early in the morning.

But fear not. ZDNet’s Ultimate Black Friday guide for 2009 will digest all those rumored sales specials for you by gadget category — so you can find the electronics and gadgets you’re looking for in one spot.

It’s the gift that keeps on giving…until you pass out.

Read the rest of this entry »

November 11th, 2009

UK Santas getting gadget training before the holidays

Posted by Rachel King @ 8:15 am

Categories: Toybox Highlights

Tags: Training, Kid, Workforce Management, Training And Certification, Human Resources, Rachel King

They must really take Christmas seriously across the pond, as The Telegraph reports that British Santa Clauses will be getting a full rundown of the latest gadgets in PC World-sponsored workshops before sitting in the big chair.

Spread out at shopping malls and department stores across the United Kingdom, about 30 St. Nicks have gone through the special training. Along with knowing who’s naughty and nice, these Santas must know the difference between an iPod and a Zune, nor can they look bewildered when a kid asks for a Flip mini-HD camcorder. Heaven forbid that a kid asked for a Nintendo DSi, and Santa didn’t know what it was. The article mentions that some of them are “confused” by all the e-readers, but aren’t we all?

[Photo via The Telegraph]

November 2nd, 2009

Did you dress up as your favorite gadget for Halloween?

Posted by Rachel King @ 6:05 am

Categories: Reader Poll, Toybox Highlights

Tags: Gadget, Smart Phones, Consumer Electronics, Personal Technology, Rachel King

Anyone can dress up as a witch or ghost for Halloween, but the best costumes are usually the ones that are outside-the-box. I especially love it when I see people dressed up as their favorite gadgets, like classic Nintendo Game Boys or these guys dressed as iPhones. Did you dress up as your favorite tech toy this past weekend? If so, please share in the TalkBack section!

October 30th, 2009

Trick or Treat: Five spooky gadgets and accessories for Halloween

Posted by Rachel King @ 5:59 am

Categories: Feature, Toybox Highlights, Uncategorized

Tags: Speaker, Accessory, Skull, USB Flash Drive, USB, Rachel King

If orange isn’t your favorite color, there are plenty of other quirky, spooky ways to spruce up your gadget collection this Halloween. Here are five gadgets and accessories that would otherwise be considered odd, if it weren’t time to celebrate All Hallows’ Eve.

1. Ideal Case iPhone covers: Ideal Case has released a special set of Halloween-appropriate iPhone protective covers called the Demon series. The pointy-eared cases, available in black, devilish red and another that glows in the dark, the 100% silicone cases are compatible with both the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS, starting at $14.99.

2. Skull USB Drive: If you’re looking to scare your co-workers, just stick a human skull into the side of your computer. This 2-gigabyte USB stick is just plug-and-play with both Mac and Windows OS, and for only $20, it’s something you can at least use all year! Read the rest of this entry »

October 29th, 2009

Trick or Treat: Five fun orange gadgets

Posted by Rachel King @ 6:00 am

Categories: Feature, Toybox Highlights, Uncategorized

Tags: Hard Drive, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Apple iPod Nano, Camera, Gadget, Keyboards, Netbooks, Nettops & MIDs, Digital Music, Memory, Digital Media

With Halloween just a few days away, it doesn’t hurt to get in the mood a little with some pumpkin-colored gadgets for the Fall holiday. Here are five orange treats to go with your costume this weekend:

1. Sony Webbie HD MHS-PM1: If you either want to record your child’s first trick-or-treating experience or all of the best moments at a Halloween party or parade, this attractive Sony Webbie is a frugal option. Far cheaper than its competitors like the Flip UltraHD or the Kodak Zi8, the Webbie HD MHS-PM1 is typically available under $150. While its quality hasn’t been reviewed as highly as the other previously mentioned cameras, it does shoot HD footage at 720p and 1080p. Not to mention it also features a swiveling lens and a memory card expansion shot for more recording time. [Check Prices]

2. Samsung DualView TL225: Attracting a lot of hype in the last few months for its dual-screen design, this 12.2-megapixel, orange and black pocket camera is a innovative and perfect for any party or parade. On its touchscreen navigation menu, photographers can select between another of special preset functions, including night portrait, children, dawn and “perfect self-portrait.” [Check Prices]

Read the rest of this entry »

October 19th, 2009

Fare thee well, lovely ToyBox readers: My Top 10 favorite posts

Posted by Jennifer Bergen @ 5:30 am

Categories: Toybox Announcements, Toybox Highlights

Tags: CD, RIM BlackBerry, ToyBox, Handhelds, Hardware, Jennifer Bergen

The dreary weather couldn’t be better for writing a sad goodbye to my faithful ToyBox readers. The time has come for me to pack up and move on out of the ZDNet family. The last nine months spent as your Gadget Gal have been wonderful, but I have to pass the torch on to another.

Don’t worry; Andrew will still be blogging his brains out, and there will soon be a new co-blogger on the ToyBox!

Besides writing Gadget Gal’s Daily Deals posts, I’ve enjoyed sharing my thoughts about other tech-related topics. Below is my Top 10 list of my favorite ToyBox posts. Feel free to peruse them and take a trip down memory lane. I appreciate everyone who took the time to read my writing, and I always loved reading the comments — whether they were nice or not.

Here it is: My Top 10 favorite ToyBox posts:

10. “WikiReader: Over 3 million Wikipedia entries in the palm of your hand” - I got to share with the world about my constant confusion of the difference between Bill Paxton and Bill Pullman.

9. “Star Trek limited edition flash drive stores new movie” - Even though we can’t get it in the U.S., the Starfleet Insignia flash drive is still freakin’ cool.

8. “Are you suffering from BlackBerry Tour trackball problems?” - We got to commiserate together about BlackBerry trackball problems, and I got to say ball problems.

7. “Hands On: RIM BlackBerry Tour” - I got to test out the BlackBerry Tour, and that was fun.

6. “Sony PSP Go: Hands-on first impressions and photos” - I got to play with the PSP Go, and that was also fun.

5. “Celebrating 27 years of the Compact Disc: Does anyone really care?” - I’d like to add that I have hundreds and hundreds of CDs sitting in those giant CD binders back in Colorado (along with my boxes of vinyl records). Another reason why CDs are becoming more obsolete: they weigh a ton! Moving your music collection across the country is pricey, especially with airlines charging per bag.

4. “Della: Dell’s answer to what women want?” - Your comments helped to justify my harsh critique of Dell’s new woman-centered Web site.

3. “Cops strike out, caught Wii bowling during drug raid [Video]” - Oh, man. Who doesn’t love meaningless posts about people getting caught doing something they’re not supposed to be doing?

2. “Best Buy to sell vinyl records?” - This is the first time you heard me rant about the wonder of vinyl, and how I am not a huge fan of CDs.

Read the No. 1 post after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Jennifer Bergen Jennifer R. Bergen is a journalist and blogger living in New York City. See her full profile and disclosure of her industry affiliations.