Blog Archives for May 2013

Analysts have been predicting the NOOK's demise for a while, which means Amazon's Kindle line may be the way to go for those hesitant of the shaky Barnes & Noble device. And as luck would have it, we found two exceptionally good Kindle Fire deals today, including a rare discount on the current generation tablet and an all-time low price on a refurbished model.

On Monday, Intel will officially debut its fourth generation Core processors, code name Haswell. For tech aficionados, the new chips mean it's time for a new laptop. But for bargain hunters, Haswell means another round of price cuts on Intel's Ivy Bridge systems. With prices already near all-time lows, how much cheaper can laptop deals get?

Earlier this year, Amazon had a pretty unique idea – produce TV pilots and let the viewers decide which ones would become the site's first original programming. Now Amazon has given the green light to five shows, which will air later this year. But are any of them worth the Prime subscription?

With new consoles debuting, cheap Android game systems on the market, and E3 around the corner, it's shaping up to be an exciting time in gaming. To tap into that anticipation, we polled our game-playing readers to find out what they're playing, how much they're spending, and what they're doing with their consoles — when they're not shooting aliens, of course.

It's a safe assumption that no national retailer wants its name associated with Hitler, but JCPenney has unfortunately fallen victim to the mania of internet memes.

In a recent poll, 56% of dealnews readers said they felt obligated to tip even if they received terrible service. But why do we feel guilty when we stiff someone that's provided bad service? We delved deeper into the messy politics of tipping and discovered that, like everything else, it comes down to a question of nature versus nurture.

Once upon a time, shoppers seemed to care deeply about whether their kitchen cabinets were filled with familiar names and food mascots. But these days, are you any more likely to prefer Kellogg's over cereal from Target? And what if you could save more than $1,000 every year by going generic?

Prom: Never have so many spent so much on an event so crucial at the time only to have it haunt us decades later with cringe-inducing vengeance. But tell that to today's teens who have even more inventive, creative ways to blow over $1,000 on one night. Where does all that money go?

If there's one thing our fathers like, it's spouting off irrelevant factoids. So, in honor of dear old Dad, we wandered around in the internet in search of interesting facts about Father's Day. Then we spruced 'em up (using Pop's Pommade and Old Spice) and created this fancy infographic.

Microsoft's new Xbox One will radically change your living room. But with its heavy component-like capabilities, is Redmond's redesigned machine a new toy for A/V buffs or still the hardcore gaming machine we've come to love and want?

Do you guys remember New Coke? No? Well, there's a good reason why: when a current-generation product achieves monumental popularity, its successor very well may not. In fact, we can think of nine products and business initiatives that were total #fail-ures.

T-Mobile has long frustrated customers by carrying every other brand of smartphone but the iPhone. That is until the carrier brought aboard the iPhone 5 last month, at a discount to boot. But now a new 16GB iPhone 5 will cost you $629.99 upfront. What's up with that?

If you've ever wondered what happens to all those frequent flyer miles you accumulate — and why you sometimes can't track them all — you are not alone. Brian Kelly, aka "The Points Guy," set out to uncover the best ways to monitor and earn frequent flyer points.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane rumors about Google, Apple, Facebook, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the Internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

Online-only retailers have much lower merchandise return rates than other merchants. But is this because web-only merchants are better at preventing returns than other companies, or is returning items to an online retailer too much of a hassle in the first place?

Concrete details for the newest Xbox and PlayStation consoles are just around the corner, but since it's almost certain that both consoles will not be backwards compatible, it's likely that all of your video games are about to become outdated. How will this affect the trade-in value of your current-gen video games, and what can you do to get the most money when selling?

When they debuted for consumers earlier this year, 4K TVs carried a $20,000 price tag. For this reason, we'd wager that few dealnews readers realistically ever considered buying one — that is, until Seiki released a 50" 4K TV for just $1,500. Despite that crazy low price, there are still many reasons why it's not worth investing in 4K technology just yet.

Through various means, network TV is coming to the Internet in the form of live streams. In this brief but lively discussion, our experts ponder the eternal question: What will it take to get you to watch live TV online?

Although it may seem strange to get health care at your local pharmacy or big-box retailer, it can actually be less expensive (and more convenient) than trying to make a doctor's appointment. So would you head to an in-store, walk-in clinic at Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, or Target?

May is National Moving Month! All excitement aside, moving is not only a hassle but can be an extremely expensive endeavor. And while we can't help you alleviate the burden of uprooting your possessions and starting anew somewhere else, there are some ways to lessen the financial strain of hiring movers. From ideal scheduling to scoring free materials, here are some ways to cut moving costs.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane rumors about Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

Amazon's lack of profits in 2012 are mostly a result of the company's hefty investments and overall thin profit margins. And while no experts blame customers for not buying enough, it very well may be Amazon shoppers who will pay the price to make up for lost revenue.

The Senate approved the hotly-debated Internet sales tax proposal on Monday, which means the landmark legislation is on its way to the House. And if the House gives it the go-ahead, the landscape of online shopping may be forever changed.

YouTube is going to start charging money for access to select video channels, so we asked our panel of experts the eternal question: What would it take to get you to pay for YouTube?

Last week, PayPal announced a plan to expand its mobile wallet service to an estimated 2 million stores by year's end. But what are the consumer incentives behind leaving that easy-to-use credit card at home and instead reaching for a PayPal card instead?

The Electronic Frontier Foundation just released its annual "Who Has Your Back?" report, which offers an in-depth look at the digital companies that protect your data from the government — and its findings may surprise you. Looking at the privacy policies of ISPs, email providers, cloud storage providers, social networking sites, and more, it's become clear that not all of our online data is safely guarded.

Are you tired of reading rumors about the latest technology? Sick of hearing insane rumors about Android, Batman, Conroy, Apple, and more? Well, neither are we! Hooray! That's why we put all the latest biz-buzz from the internet into one place, the Rumor Roundup!

JCPenney has changed so much in the past year, usually to the customer's dismay. The higher-ups know that shoppers are losing patience with the store, so in an attempt to make amends, JCPenney made a video apology and posted it on YouTube. Is it enough to get customers back to shopping in JCP stores?

Get This is a new app that lets you purchase items you see flash across the screen during your favorite TV shows. Currently only two programs are eligible for this real time product curation, but that didn't stop us from thinking about all the ridiculous things we'd like to own from our favorite TV shows.

Details on Microsoft's next-gen console will be revealed on May 21 and while most gamers are aching to know specs and hardware, we're zeroing in on the Xbox 360, which is poised to become the cheapest game console ever.

The dealnews Podcast Episode 256 is here! In this, their final episode — EVER — our panel of jokesters have a discussion about Facebook, Antenna Gate, space travel, Google Now, McDonald's all-day breakfast, and more!