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Get two Amazon Echo Shows for $140 in an HSN bundle
Get Amazon's Echo Show 5 and Echo Show 8 for $140 at HSN.
After Math: Bigger and better
It was a bumper week for big ideas. Jay-Z's latest album went platinum in under a week, despite it only existing in the ethers of the internet. RED (of high-end camera fame) revealed that it's working on a "holographic" cellphone. And Tesla is going ahead and building the world's biggest battery array down in Australia. Numbers, because how else will we decide which is best?
TV shopping giants QVC and HSN merge to take on Amazon
QVC is combining with its rival Home Shopping Network (HSN) in a deal worth $2.1 billion. The move is the latest indication that TV shopping channels are feeling the strain from online giants, such as Amazon.
The hydrogen-powered generator that was almost a home-shopping hit
Joy, last year's film about QVC and Home Shopping Network inventor Joy Mangano, may not have been the best collaboration between superstar Jennifer Lawrence and director David O. Russell. But the fact that Mangano inspired a major movie -- as well as her continued success -- says something about both invention and entrepreneurship. Between rapidly advancing high-tech gadgetry and the huge focus on the entrepreneurs of Silicon Valley, it's easy to forget that the umbrella of invention is much wider. As Joy shows, it's about finding a new solution to an existing problem. Easier said than done, of course.
HSN's order page for T-Mobile's Lumia 521 goes live early
It feels like only yesterday we told you HSN would be the first retailer offering T-Mobile's Nokia Lumia 521, and although the place hasn't changed, the date has. The Lumia 520 variant wasn't expected to be available through HSN's online store until tomorrow, but in a bit of good news to kick off your Friday, the order page is now live. An off-contract handset will set you back $149.95, or four payments of $37.49. The next confirmed date we have for availability is May 11th at Microsoft and Walmart stores, so if you're looking to bag one of the budget Windows Phone 8 handsets before then, head to the source link and hit the virtual checkout -- not only may stock run dry, but HSN could've accidentally pulled the trigger early and hide the page when orders start rolling in. [Thanks, Tim]
Panasonic announces HSN Shop by Remote for Viera Connect
If you're the shop-till-you-drop type who can't stand to get off the couch, you'll soon be able to peruse over 40,000 HSN products directly from Panasonic's Viera Connect. The on demand channel will allow you to browse all that merchandise and see the corresponding videos, along with other info like customer reviews. Once you've selected a product you'll be able to purchase it with the remote, provided you have a TV or Blu-Ray model equipped with the service. That way, if your Snuggie is starting to get worn out, you won't have to but lift the remote to get a replacement.
Cricket takes a great leap forward, expands footprint with a little help from retail friends
After inking a wholesale spectrum agreement with Sprint last year, Leap's going for broke and rolling its "value-driven" Cricket service out nationwide on September 25th. The expansion includes a sprinkling of Walmart stores, Dollar General and even cable-shopping channel HSN, but the majority of its new reach will come from a partnership with Best Buy. In addition to offering monthly plans for dumb and smartphones alike, the operator's also serving up specific Muve Music service packages to play nice with three upcoming handsets. Along with the Samsung Vitality and ZTE Chorus (both to be available before the holidays), Cricket's introducing its first ZTE smartphone -- the Score. Don't go looking for high-end specs here, as the 3.5-inch Android device runs Gingerbread atop a 600MHz processor and includes a 3.2 megapixel camera. Feature phone users will also get a couple of new options to choose, with the Huawei Pillar and Samsung Chrono offered on the provider's PAYGo service. If you're in the mood to dig through PR spiel, skip past the break for a trio of pressers.
DXG 3D camera costs 70 bucks, or just three easy payments of $23.99
Oh, so your infant's first words were "3D camera," were they? Now you can reward your little princess with her first cam without needing to switch to store-brand baby food -- after turning off the Home Shopping Network, of course. The DXG-018 3D camera will run you just under $70, but it'll be worth every penny when your little early adopter grows up to be a gadget fiend with 15 maxed-out credit cards and $80,000 in debt. In the meantime, they'll be teething on a 1.44-inch LCD, dual lenses, an SD card (sold separately), and a pair of AA batteries. The kit also includes three 3D viewers, which apparently display 4-by-6-inch prints in three dimensions. DXG says the cam was created with kids in mind, shipping in pink, lavender, orange, green, and yellow, but it may also make a decent gift for adults, assuming they've never used a camera or viewed 3D content before.%Gallery-126391%
HSN details Nook Color update for 'mid-April': Android 2.2, Flash, apps and push email
Spent some quality time watching the Home Shopping Network this morning to hear just how the Nook Color will be improved? That's what we thought... but we bit the bullet and tuned in ourselves to get the details for you. Simply put, HSN says Barnes and Noble will start rolling out an over-the-air software package in "mid-April" that will update the Nook Color to Android 2.2, bringing Adobe Flash Player, Angry Birds, and push email of some sort. It'll also apparently include "lots of Nook apps," though the channel's pitchmen only had one to show on TV -- a kid-friendly sketchpad, with a variety of drawing utensils and colored paper. HSN hosts also claim that customers who purchase the Nook Color on the show are "guaranteed to be the very first people updated," though we're not sure we'll take them at their word, considering some of the other fabulous exaggerations we just heard on the air. %Gallery-119775%
Nook Color getting Flash and apps in April update, according to Home Shopping Network (update: official)
The little e-reader that could is about to do even more -- according to a listing on the Home Shopping Network, the Nook Color will get an update next month that brings Flash support and additional apps to the platform. That suggests that we'll finally be seeing Android 2.2 and perhaps an app store of some sort, though HSN isn't spilling the beans right now -- the cable station wants you to tune in at 12AM, 5AM or 9AM (or 12PM, 5PM or 9PM) ET this Saturday to get an exclusive sneak peek at the goods. Yours for just four easy payments of $74.97... which must seem like a tremendous deal compared to HSN's "retail value" of $504. Update: Barnes & Noble has now made this completely official itself, and confirmed that the update will include email support among other "exciting new applications." Press release is after the break.
Entourage Pocket Edge reveals itself on the Home Shopping Network
We're still trying to understand why Entourage has chosen the Home Shopping Network of all places to reveal its new Pocket Edge, but at least we now know that the previously spied dualscreen tablet / e-reader lives! Although the 1.35-pound device has been shrunken down with smaller displays -- a 6-inch "Wacom Penabled" e-ink panel and 7-inch LCD -- it actually doesn't appear like much else has been changed from the original. Unfortunately, that means our biggest complaints about the device are very much present -- it's got a resistive touchscreen and appears to run an older version of Android. If it's any consolation, the trackball on the right edge has been replaced with an optical touchpad and there are now red and black color options. Spec-wise, it still boasts 4GB of storage, a 2 megapixel camera (hopefully there's software now that takes advantage of it), 802.11 b/g, a USB port, and micro-SD slot. It is, however, more affordable -- though it's originally priced at $499, HSN has a sale running that puts it at $399. Of course, no word on if a 3G version will be arriving at Verizon as we've previously heard, but we're sure this thing will get its official unveil sometime soon. Until then feel free to keep yourself preoccupied with the gallery below and at the source link -- just don't get lost in the cookware section. %Gallery-106304%
Home Shopping Network pitches the Kinect
"Now, it you're wondering what in the world is Xbox 360 Kinect, we're giving you an idea of what it is: Gaming is a big part of it, but there's even more! Because there's a feature called 'Xbox Live Entertainment' that's going to allow you to not only play your favorite games, but you will be able to now go ahead and download movies; you can download music; you're going to be able to access your Facebook and your Twitter; and there's a lot more to this. "The interesting thing about Xbox 360 is that you get rid of con-trollers -- there's no controllers! "So Cory Bergeron is our gaming expert, and he's going to show you how your body -- and check out what Cory's doing -- your body is the actual controller for Xbox 360 Kinect!"
HSN teaches valuable lesson about Wii accessory safety
We were certain -- absolutely certain -- that the epidemic of fractured television screens which cropped up with the release of the Wii had passed. Everyone's heard the horror stories, seen the blackened eyes and witnessed the ruined electronics, we thought. Everyone now knows the methods of avoiding Wiimote accidents during their exuberant Wii Sports bouts, we thought. The Home Shopping Network recently proved the inaccuracy of this observation. The hilarity unfolds in the video after the jump. While some might grimace at the fate of the poor television featured in the video, remember that they're charging $330 for a Wii and 15 completely unnecessary controller attachments. Call it an accident, if you'd like -- we call it Karma in action.
HSN secures coveted exclusive on new Honeywell branded LCDs
Remember that terrible Honeywell LCD reviewed a couple months back? Somehow SOYO and the HSN plan on convincing shut ins across the country that there will be a special debut February 7 as the Altura ML line hits the screen in 32- and 42-inch sizes with an extra long 5 year manufacturers warranty as its distinguishing feature. Who knows, maybe they've corrected the poor blacks, gamma and image processing that plagued the last model. We don't plan on picking up the phone and finding out.
Couch potatoes rejoice as HSN partners with DISH for 'Shop by Remote'
The long-promised day that die-hard sofa jockeys have been yearning for is almost upon us, friends, with a partnership between Echostar and the Home Shopping Network promising to finally bring the first large-scale shop by remote project to the US. Rather uninspiringly called, um, "Shop by Remote," the service will allow DISH customers to simply click a button on their remote (plus 15 other buttons corresponding to their phone numbers and zip codes) when they want to buy the current item being shown on HSN -- a process that is supposedly "three to four times faster" than ordering by phone, but only slightly lazier (especially if you've got all these shopping channels on speed dial like certain people we know, Mom). If the current product isn't doing it for you, you can also select from the two previous items or the deal of the day, all of which allow you to further customize your choice (color, size, etc.) through a series of contextual menus. Sure we're not yet able to one-click Rachel's pants while watching Friends like the futurists predicted oh so long ago, but this is still an important step on the path towards the completely-impulsive, thought-triggered shopping experience that will finally enable us to accumulate crap at an even faster clip than we've managed to already.
Ojo Shadow video phone hitting the US market
Just in case you were losing faith in WorldGate's ability to build back steam behind the trusty Ojo, we've got some positive news. The Ojo Shadow video phone will soon be loosed on the US market through a slightly unorthodox venue, as the Home Shopping Network snags the exclusive first launch privileges. The device is slated to make its television debut to American consumers at 8:00AM EST on HSN (set your alarms, folks), but for those of us who aren't down with waiting, a set of two is available right now from the company's webstore for $499.90. Users can expect a 854 x 480 resolution display, up to 20 minutes of video messaging, photo-based caller ID, and automatic white balance and backlight compensation, but we still say a webcam-based video chat would be much kinder to your wallet.
