*Price includes Tom Clancy's G.R.A.W., NHL '07, Live Arcade Volume 1, three-month Xbox Live Gold membership, 1,250 Microsoft points, a wireless modem, and three years of Sympatico high-speed internet from Bell Canada.

With "next-generation" consoles being released every three to four years nowadays (save for Sony's PlayStation 3, which has a stated 10-year life span), some people (read: parents and spouses) are a little hesitant to throw down upwards of $300 for a system that will probably be gathering dust in the attic even before the wireless controllers need replacing. Well Canadian children will soon have a new angle to work when begging their folks for an Xbox 360, thanks to a package that Bell Canada will be offering from November 5th through sometime next year which includes Microsoft's latest console, a handful of games, and broadband service for CAN$59.95 a month (or CAN$54.95 for you lucky Quebecers). The catch here is that you need to sign up for an unusually long three-year commitment; furthermore, it's unclear if you'll be able to purchase the nearly-worthless console at the end of the contract or be given the opportunity to upgrade to an Xbox 361 once it hits stores. It's also not clear what kind of upload / download speeds you're getting with this offer -- an important piece of the puzzle in deciding whether or not this bundle is a good value. Still, if you're the type who's already renting your apartment, leasing your car, and paying way too much money to Rent-A-Center each month for your home theater gear, this promotion may be right up your alley.

[Via digg and HappyBeggar]

TiVo, always one to come up with clever promotions to publicize its products (remember the TiVo Ambassador, TiVo speed dating, and Father's Day at the ballpark?), has now launched a program for DVR-nuts to host their very own TiVo House Party. Obviously inspired by the Tupperware parties of yore (as well as the more modern "personal entertainment product" parties enjoyed by certain women), TiVo's version comes in two flavors: a so-called "TiVo Tasting Party" for adults and a "KidZone Party" to expose your children's friends to even more brain-rotting boob tube. Not everyone is invited to the the party, though; you have to fill out an application and get accepted into the program in order to get the go-ahead from TiVo, which earns you some nature of special programming (ads for TiVo, perhaps?), undefined "special offers," and tips on making your House Party a real rager. Since the House Party website also organizes other corporate-sponsored get-togethers, you might be able to turn the night into something of a House Party pub crawl: start out with a little TiVo action, move on to a Fear Factor shindig, and end the night kicking back with other Martha Stewart lovers at -- yes, this really exists -- a Kmart House Party. Thank you, Corporate America, for turning our social lives into a series of awkward, product-pushing cocktail gatherings.

[Via Zatz Not Funny]

In one of the more innovative promotions we've seen lately, MVNO Helio has begun offering recent subscribers up to 30-days to send in their old gadgets in return for not a service credit, but cold, hard cash (in the form of a check mailed two to three months later). The so-called Trade-Up program, developed in conjunction with Market Velocity, lets new subs sign up online and get the trade-in value for some of the more popular cellphones, PDAs, digital cameras, and gaming consoles from yesterday and today -- although since the quotes are based on your own unprofessional evaluation of your gear's condition, the actual amount of loot you receive may vastly differ from what you were expecting. The prices Helio is willing to pay range from 10 to 20 bucks for older devices in disrepair to several hundred dollars for meticulously cared-for smartphones and high-end digital cameras -- they'll even give you $26 if you've somehow managed to keep your first-gen Gameboy maintained for all these years. The only real losers in this program are the proud few who've chosen to say "iDon't," because Helio will happily take your old iPod off your hands, but want nothing to do with players from SanDisk, Creative, and friends.