Features Archives for 2011

If you like the sound of a Caribbean-style party with historic flare, consider taking a trip to the Dominican Republic. We've rounded up deals for various hotels and activities that will bring the tropical destination within financial reach.

Ever found an item on a merchant website that requires a rebate, then found that same item sold by the same merchant through eBay or Amazon? Sometimes, the latter listing won't include mention of the rebate; does that mean it won't apply? Laura Heller has the skinny on this and other rebate redemption issues.

Turning an old muffin tin into an organizer for your button collection is OK, we guess ... but we're geeks. The kind of things we have cluttering up our house are tech gadgets: Monitors, tapes, hard drives, etc. So we started thinking, "How could we put old tech gadgets to new uses?" Then we thought, "Why bother making any of it practical?" The result is our very creative guide to giving new life to old tech items.

The dealnews Podcast proudly presents Episode 177. This week, our panel discusses Google's acquisition of Zagat (as well as how the heck you even pronounce "Zagat", in the first place), Zagat's Fast Food Survey, Sprint possibly getting the iPhone 5 and giving it unlimited data, Amazon's all-you-can-read eBook subscription plan rumor, IKEA bookshelves, the future of humanity, and more. Click here, if you know what's good for you!

At the end of a long work day, everyone needs to unwind, and there's no better way to do that than with a good movie or hilarious video. Consider boosting your entertainment system with one of our Blu-ray disc player or media receiver deals.

We see great deals on men's dress shoes all the time, but just because you found a style for cheap doesn't mean you should treat them like any old pair of sneakers. Leather shoes require proper care if you want your deal to hold up for years to come. Luckily, we have the tips and products you need to keep them shining.

This week, it's time to break away from our normal tropical hot spot deals and pave the path for a wider variety of destinations, to Europe, Asia, and beyond. To make it easier on the wallet, we've rounded up the hottest travel deals from the past week, and you can grab a quick sojourn to Puerto Rico, visit three countries in one inexpensive trip, and more.

Green Dad is back with more eco-friendly products that save energy and money in the long run. Some such products don't pan out, but others, like these air conditioners and programmable thermostats, offer valuable energy savings.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing about the iPhone 5? The iPad 3? The future of Google, Hulu, and AOL?! Well neither are we! That's why we put all the latest buzz from the Internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup! Go on, indulge your guilty pleasures!

If you're looking to keep the summer party going during those cooler, start-of-fall nights, consider taking a trip out to New Orleans. We've rounded up deals for various hotels and activities that will bring the Big Easy within financial reach.

Once the dominant smartphone platform in the U.S., Research in Motion's humble BlackBerry now finds itself in grave danger of becoming extinct, as both Apple and Google continue to swallow its market share. To find out just how severe RIM's drop in popularity has become, we analyzed our past BlackBerry deals — and the results are not good.

Here's the chance to get your hands on home theater electronics that will blow you away. From Dolby 7.1 surround sound systems and refurbished all-in-one remotes, we've gathered up five deals for superior entertainment at home.

Roughing it in the wilderness can be expensive — especially if you care about getting back alive. So when we saw a bunch of camping items at Meritline for rock-bottom prices, we thought it might be too good to be true. Watch our video review to find out which cheapie items actually prove useful in outdoors-y settings.

We frequently see daily deal sites that offer credits to online wine stores (like a $70 credit to Wine.com for $30, for example), and it's hard not to think they're an indisputable deal. But are the wines on these sites good deals to begin with, even when you factor in shipping costs? What about when your credit runs out? We talked to an expert and searched the dealnews archives to find out.

If you scored a deal on a high-quality digital camera recently, that's great! But as you go forth with your fancy new device, keep in mind that there's more to optimizing your photo-taking experience than remembering to keep your finger off the lens. Be sure to check out our roundup of some hot deals on camera accessories that will bring your pictures to the next level.

Any handyman hopeful should have an arsenal of tools at the ready to attack household problems whenever they spring up. From cordless drills to sanders, Tom Barlow gives us the details on five power tools that will help you get the job done.

Last week, Lenovo released details about its Lenovo IdeaPad A1 7" WiFi Android Tablet, including the price tag: The device will only cost $199 for an 8GB model. Knowing how well the HP TouchPad sold once the prices were slashed to something more affordable, could the A1 experience a similar popularity once it's released? And does this mean other manufacturers will follow the lead with similar pricing for Internet tablets?

With white sandy beaches that seemingly extend into the horizon, Mexico is a tropical paradise right in our own backyard. Best of all, there's an abundance of vacation packages for every budget, regardless of which area you choose to visit.

Many of us own so much stuff that figuring out ways to simplify, store, and condense should rank as a top priority. This week, Green Dad Lou Carlozo looks at some handy deals that streamline storage and simplify living and working spaces.

From drill sets to sanders, get the tools you need to finally tend to those lingering, unfinished home repair projects around the house. Our roundup of tool deals and sales includes options from Lowe's, Home Depot, and more.

Each month, we analyze the dealnews archives from the past few years to glean information that might arm readers with useful advice on how to shop in the coming weeks. From Labor Day sales to airfare deals, here's our guide on the best and worst things to buy in September.

The dealnews Podcast proudly presents Episode 176. This week, our panel discusses the resignation of Steve Jobs, the future of Apple (including an Apple HDTV rumor), the future of webOS, Amazon's tablet, insidious product placement, and more.

Click here for links to the topics discussed in this week's show.

Camping in the fall can be a delight, but at the end of the day, your comfort depends on picking the right sleeping bag for the weather and your needs. How do you make the right choice? Tom Barlow has the factors you should consider, and some deals to make the purchase even easier.

You might think fitting your laptop with a solid state drive (SSD) is a luxury, but the truth is — it's not. We dug into the dealnews archives and discovered that prices on both 64GB and 128GB SSD drives have seen significant price cuts since last summer. So if SSD drives are now ripe for the picking, what prices can you expect?

It's bag-to-school time — and that's no typo, deal lovers. No matter your carrying needs, the bag's the thing. Find great deals on bags, backpacks, and other travel gear just in time for fall.

So you stumbled across a website selling $200 iPads, but you're not familiar with the vendor — and the site's animated gifs and midi theme song aren't filling you with confidence. What do you do? Keep yourself protected from scammers and fraud by implementing these investigative steps that the editors of dealnews use every day.

Each week, the Internet churns out so many technology rumors that it might be hard for you to sort through them all. As a public service to you, we've created our Rumor Roundup. We put all the important consumer rumors in one place, for your convenience. Then we add a dash of snark, to liven things up a bit. Enjoy!

With hurricane Irene around the corner, Lou Carlozo reminds us of the crucial items everyone should have in order to combat emergencies, including first aid kits, extra batteries for cell phones, and more.

If you're planning a vacation, you've probably already found yourself a great deal on airfare and accommodations. (You read dealnews, after all.) But what about those exhilarating city-specific activities and scrumptious must-eats that make vacationing all the more memorable? With the birth of local deal sites, you can now unearth savings in other areas of your trip — and we have the tips you need to effectively integrate those deals into your trip.

LCD TVs have become the format of choice for flat-screen TV buyers, but they've yet to give plasma TVs their final death blow. And that's a good thing because when it comes to pricing on big-screen sets, plasma TVs trounce their LCD competitors with better savings. We took a look at the past year's TV deals to find out where the real savings are.

Netflix is set to change its pricing tiers next week, and many grumbling customers are considering dropping service (if they haven't already). But is there actually a better alternative for what Netflix provides? We compare the merchant to the other available streaming options to see who offers the best value.

The dealnews Podcast proudly presents Episode 175. Our panel discusses Fox piracy, deadly television, HP's killing of WebOS and the Touchpad, slacking to be more productive, and more.

Choose your favorite way to listen:
Subscribe via iTunes
Subscribe via Zune Marketplace
See our RSS feed
Direct download it

(And don't forget to check out our Shownotes for links to the topics discussed in this week's show.)

Your staid beige sedan doesn't reflect your sparkly personality, you say? dealnews has you covered. Our own Tom Barlow offers some stellar deals to spice up your ride, from a pistol shift knob to a Star Trek musical horn.

A smartphone may be easy for taking pictures, but if you've been longing for crisper, more complex images, then check out the Samsung digital camera we found at an all-time low. Then, stick around for our roundup of the top photo-related offers we've listed on the site recently, to make use of your shiny new toy.

Last Thursday, HP announced that it will no longer produce webOS devices, and many have speculated that the manufacturer will eventually ditch its entire PC business. But dealnews CEO Daniel de Grandpre thinks that this is an epic mistake. Inside, he details how HP can come back from the brink and carve out a better PC brand.

Amazon's new textbook rental service offers an opportunity for students to save big bucks on college books, but that's only if they can find the titles they need. Laura Heller searched for books from three actual reading lists for this fall, and the results were not good. So before you snatch up an eBook reader thinking it'll save you money in the long run on discounted titles, read on.

There's no arguing that Apple's iPad is the most desirable Internet tablet on the market right now (if you exclude the recent rush to snag a cheap HP TouchPad), but just because everyone wants one doesn't mean everyone is happy to shell out the cash. We've got the top five iPad alternatives, and, conveniently, most of them have been available at all-time lows recently. So it just might be a good time to go alternative.

Once a week, we scour the Internet looking for the latest rumors about consumer technology. (You know, iPhones, iPads, iPods, Apple ... oh, and one or two other companies, too!) The results of this search are compiled in our Rumor Roundup, where we make fun of them with extreme snark. It's the kind of thing you've come to expect of us. Enjoy!

The HP TouchPad is no more. That's bad news for the webOS-based Internet tablet, but good news for bargain hunters, who are licking their lips at the chance to score an aggressive deal on an iPad alternative. But what kind of discount can you expect and how soon?

There are many ways to make a refrigerator (including an EnergyStar model) more energy efficient, which means saving more green for your wallet. Lou Carlozo gives us eight easy tips to help you cut back on the juice.

Happy people like to tell you that it takes more muscles to frown than it does to laugh. So why not relax your face by reading our Friday Funnies? It's a collection of our deals from the past week that include a joke or humorous element. We do it all for you! Enjoy!

While a smartphone can easily be used for navigational purposes, many people still desire one of today's stand-alone GPS devices, which are jam-packed with features. But which ones do you really need? Inside, we list what premiums you should consider springing for when making a purchase.

The dealnews Podcast proudly presents Episode 174. Our panel discusses Google's acquisition of Motorola Mobility, Netflix "Just For Kids", Kindle Cloud Reader, eBook price-fixing, extreme couponing, and more.

Choose your favorite way to listen:
Subscribe via iTunes
Subscribe via Zune Marketplace
See our RSS feed
Direct download it

(And don't forget to check out our Shownotes for links to the topics discussed in this week's show.)

If you need a new pair of headphones, but you can't tell the difference between your Sennheisers and your Shures, then check out our inside look at five headphone deals recently listed on the site. Audio and recording junkie Lou Carlozo details what about each pair should make you sit up and listen.

The dealnews staff writers and editors are among the site's biggest fans. (For proof, just count how many of us "like" dealnews on Facebook.) That's because we're constantly getting good deals while we work, and as a result, each of us has made at least one purchase that was so spectacular, we wanted to scream it from the rooftops. But in lieu of rooftop-hopping, we've opted to share the stories of our proudest purchases here. Got one of your own?

Buying a new smartphone shouldn't be a major expense. In fact, it shouldn't be an expense at all. Our dealnews archives show that months after a phone's release, you can snag that same handset for free (contract and data plans required). But which smartphones hit the $0 mark the fastest, and is it ever possible to get an iPhone for free? We tracked past deals on popular handsets to predict how long before some of today's hottest models are handed out for free.

Once a week, we scour the Internet looking for the latest rumors about consumer technology. (You know, iPhones, iPads, iPods, Apple ... oh, and one or two other companies, too!) The results of this search are compiled in our Rumor Roundup and made fun of with extreme snark. It's the kind of thing you've come to expect of us. Enjoy!

You want to be environmentally-savvy, but you also want to be smart with your green — the stuff in your wallet, that is. Our Green Dad columnist Lou Carlozo takes a look at five energy-saving products and determines whether they'll actually save you money in the long run.

There are two things that separate us from the animals: Opposable thumbs and the ability to laugh. (Though several times when we've visited the zoo we could swear the penguins were laughing at us.) Show your superiority to the lower beasts by reading our Friday Funnies! It's a collection of the deals from this week which we've added a dash of humor to. Enjoy!