price posts
You know what's worse than showing your Bitter Beer Face to the world after you passed on Apple's iPhone and let AT&T enjoy the spoils? Raising your early termination fee to stratospheric heights. Just over a year ago, we honestly though this whole ETF thing was headed in the right direction, as most of the major carriers (VZW included) sought to prorate contracts in order to lessen the charge as one's contract drew closer to an end. Now, however, Big Red is evidently gearing up to pull a 180, with the slide above showing a $350 ETF for "advanced" devices (read: probably anything deemed a smartphone). The newly hiked rate will go into effect on November 15th, and while that $350 will decrease by $10 per month over the life of the agreement, this pretty much guarantees that you won't be adding a line, disconnecting and then flipping that phone on eBay.
Archos 9 up for pre-order in America for $50 more than anticipated
Uh, Archos? You do remember telling us that your Archos 9 media tablet would ship on October 22nd for $499 back in late September, right? 'Cause if our eyes are being truthful to us, that's not at all what's happening here. The outfit's official web store has the 8.9-inch device listed (complete with Windows 7 Starter, WiFi, Bluetooth and a 1.3 megapixel camera) for $549.99, and worse still, it's only up for "pre-order." You know what happens after the second strike, right guys?[Thanks, Trini]
Chuwi rips off Teclast's T56 with its P7 PMP, prices it for the everyman
You know things are getting nasty in Shenzhen when even the KIRF supporters of the world are KIRFing one another. We can't say that's exactly what happened here, but Chuwi's "new" P7 sure looks exactly like Teclast's T56. The 1080p-outputting PMP boasts a 5-inch screen, 8GB of internal storage, a format support list to make your iPod weep and a 600MHz ARM processor running the show. There's also an FM tuner, a sleek silver casing and a 699 yuan price tag, which converts to just over a Benjamin here in the US. So, Teclast -- care to price your own now that the thunder has been sufficiently stolen?
[Via PMP Today]
[Via PMP Today]
International Kindle ships October 19 to over 100 countries for $279, 'US' edition falls to $259
We can't say that we never saw this day coming, but we definitely didn't it see it coming today. After months of forcing us to twiddle our thumbs (and a good bit of pressure from other e-reader players), Amazon has finally taken the Kindle international. Aside from being able to wirelessly download content in over 100 countries and territories, the 6-inch device is the same as it ever was. The $279 price tag on the Kindle U.S. & International Wireless now represents a $20 premium over the standard Kindle, which simultaneously fell from $299 to $259 in price and picked up a new label ("Kindle U.S. Wireless"). The extra Jackson is evidently there to cover the inevitable roaming charges that'll occur when downloading new content overseas, but given AT&T's extensive global roaming footprint (yeah, the global reader is tied to AT&T, not Sprint), you should be covered in most every nation fit to visit. Feel free to place your pre-order now, and get ready for a new life as a globetrotting digital bookworm come October 19th.
Update: Just saw this in the fine print: "When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items for a fee of $1.99."
[Thanks, Tom]
Read - Kindle goes international
Read - US Kindle falls to $259
Update: Just saw this in the fine print: "When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items for a fee of $1.99."
[Thanks, Tom]
Read - Kindle goes international
Read - US Kindle falls to $259
Motorola CLIQ coming to T-Mobile next month for $200 on contract

Vodafone nabs iPhone in prelude to UK price war

Now that O2 has lost exclusivity, everyone's getting in on the iPhone action in the UK. First it was Orange, now Vodafone has inked a deal said to have been signed only last night as a defensive move to stave subscriber defections. The new agreement sees Vodafone selling the iPhone 3G and 3GS to the UK and Ireland in early 2010, a bit later than the Orange Apple expected before Christmas.
Update: Official Vodafone UK statement now live.
[Via Randomly Accessed and The Telegraph]
Update: Official Vodafone UK statement now live.
[Via Randomly Accessed and The Telegraph]
Sony hacks 15 percent from PSP's price in Japan
While Sony seemed more than willing to show off its new PSP Go Converter and even more willing to gloat about its one millionth PS3 Slim sale, this little tidbit was pushed away in some neglected corner of the Tokyo Game Show. Thankfully for you, we're dedicated to leaving no stone unturned, and now we've discovered that the outfit is fixing to cut 15 percent from the PSP-3000's price tag... but only in Japan. Starting on October 1st, the UMD-friendly handheld will be offered in The Land of the Rising Sun for ¥16,800, or just over $185 using current conversion tables. So Sony -- any plans to hook the rest of the world up? You don't want to see us pout.
Nintendo finally confirms new $199 Wii price
After being stuck so long at $249, we can hardly believe the Wii is "pulling a PS3" and going down in price at last -- outside of the insurmountable mountains of evidence we had of the price drop before Nintendo could get around to confirming it, of course. The console will begin retailing for $199.99 (~$200 for us math types) on September 27, which is this Sunday.
Update: The Wii will fall to ¥20,000 in Japan, which represents a 20 percent drop.
Update 2: Looks like those of you getting paid in Euros will be asked to shell out €199.99.
[Via Joystiq]
Update: The Wii will fall to ¥20,000 in Japan, which represents a 20 percent drop.
Update 2: Looks like those of you getting paid in Euros will be asked to shell out €199.99.
[Via Joystiq]
Wii price drop confirmed: $199 starting this weekend

[Thanks, Anonymous]
Update: Thanks to yet another anonymous source, we've even more proof that a $199.99 Wii is coming. A crystal clear Toys 'R Us flyer confirms the price after the break, though what's curious is the confirmation that the new price won't go into effect until Sunday, September 27th. It should be interesting to see if Nintendo really announces a price drop two days before retailers actually axe the MSRP, but with this free t-shirt that you get from TRU, we'd suggest just holding off. We mean, it's a Nintendo t-shirt!
Nintendo confirms $199 Wii for September 27?
It might sound confusing at first, but it all makes sense, we promise. The folks at Nintendojo were apparently on a retailer conference call where Nintendo "confirmed" the new $199 Wii price, which will supposedly go into effect on Sunday September 27. Only problem is that we have to take Nintendojo's word for it -- not that we have any reason not to, but for now we'll have to just call this an "unconfirmed confirmation" until Nintendo can summon the courage to fess up to the $50 price cut to a couple of corroborating sources. It's not like those multiple flyer price leaks are knocking anybody off the trail, but we usually to hear these things from the horse's mouth -- or at least from a retailer's shelf -- before we go into all-out celebration mode.
[Via GoNintendo]
[Via GoNintendo]
$199 Nintendo Wii spotted in Best Buy ad?
First there was an alleged Toys R Us ad, and now we've caught wind of what's claimed to be a Best Buy spot showing the Nintendo Wii getting that long-desired $50 price drop, down just below the two Benjamin mark. Easily Photoshopped image? You betcha, so we'll just have to play wait-and-see as the evidence seems to mount up -- it's been a long time coming, after all, we wouldn't be that surprised given the oncoming holiday season and the recent downward trend in demand.
Motorola CLIQ listed for free on contract at T-Mobile, $400 straight-up
We'll caution you -- this could all just be one big misunderstanding (or a case of the fat fingered admin), but Motorola's newly launched CLIQ is currently listed for $0.00 on contract over at T-Mobile (and $399.99 with no strings attached). Available in both Winter White and Midnight Titanium, the outfit's first-ever Android phone can't actually be added to one's cart (trust us, we tried... repeatedly), but if these figures are right, we can surely say that the barrier to entry on higher-end smartphones will soon be demolished. Giddy yet?
Update: Aw, seems like someone on the other end already caught wind of the slip-up and yanked it. So, can we take that as confirmation?
Update: Aw, seems like someone on the other end already caught wind of the slip-up and yanked it. So, can we take that as confirmation?
Palm Pre falls to $149.99 on Sprint
Nothing like the announcement of a new webOS device to spur a price drop on the first, is there? The Palm Pre -- which has held steady at the $199.99 on-contract price it launched at back in June -- has finally taken a rumored $50 dip down to $149.99. That figure includes a $150 instant rebate plus a $100 mail-in rebate, which means you'll actually be paying $249.99 in-store to walk out with a unit -- but considering that the Pixi's only signed up for a vague pre-holiday launch window without pricing details, the Pre's still the cheapest webOS device available (of course, it's also the most expensive).
Sprint now offering $100 service credit to Pre buyers who port a number
We were expecting a Pre price cut today, but it looks like Sprint has slightly different plans -- instead of lowering the outright price of the handset, the carrier is offering new Pre customers a $100 service credit if they port a number from a different carrier. Yeah, that's a little odd -- especially since the credit is spread out over three months, instead of applied all in one go. We're guessing Sprint and Palm are just trying to lure new sales without having to openly cut prices on the Pre and undo its "premium" image, but as far as psychological marketing tricks go, parceling out a discount over 12 weeks might be the least effective one we can think of -- we're pretty sure most people would rather take a $100 price cut at the top end of the deal. Still, the end result is that the Pre is now $100 cheaper for switchers -- anyone running out to buy one?
[Via Everything Pre]
[Via Everything Pre]
Look out, Slim: Xbox 360 Elite showing $299 in new Walmart ad

[Thanks, Randall]




























