Chalk another one up for MPEG-LA, as the licensing group's members have dropped lawsuits against Vizio stemming from the one-time value HDTV company's refusal to license MPEG-2 technology, claiming it's suppliers had already paid the necessary fees. Despite Amtran's pleas, just like Target's TruTech brand televisions and DVD players, that argument appears to have quickly folded, . It remains to be seen what direct effect this will have on price, but between this and Vizio's notable Black Friday absence they must be serious about changing to a more upscale image, we wonder if Sony will invite them to a special reception. (Warning: PDF read link)

Okay, we don't know who came up with this idea, but we have to give them some credit for innovation, not to mention (in our opinion) some pretty attractive design sense. Yes, Target's new gift card gimmick this holiday season is that it doubles as a cute, disposable digital camera. The little device runs on two AAA batteries, has a self-timer, and is packaged with a USB cord, driver disc, instruction manual and a voucher for 40 free prints from Target. The camera itself is a 1.2-megapixel affair with 8MB of memory on-board, which means it can store about 50 images. Now, we know this just a ploy to get us to buy Target gift cards, but we're kind of smitten with this little thing. Oh, and: Bah! Humbug!

[Via Coolest Gadgets]

We've seen no shortage of unorthodox alarm clocks, but Bandai's latest creation is nothing short of spectacular. Rather than making users defuse a bomb or catch a runaway helicopter, the appropriately named Gun O'clock actually forces heavy sleepers to aim a gun and successfully strike the bullseye to shut the undoubtedly obnoxious alarm up. Best of all, those who enjoy challenges can set it to "Hard" mode, requiring them to blast the center target no fewer than five times in order to hush it; after you're satisfactorily awake, you can utilize the game mode to work on your aim. This magnificent wonder is all set to launch in Japan next month for ¥4,095 ($41), but we don't see any obvious signs of it ever coming Stateside. Anyone feeling an online petition? We hear those work really well.

[Via UberReview]

Ready for some excitement in the form of watching a startup squirm as it waits for its product to gain traction? Take a glance at Peek, which is churning out a dedicated handheld that handles e-mail, a few chain forwards, and more e-mails when you're done with that. At first glance, one may consider such a one-trick-pony quite ridiculous, but it's hard to say what will end up catching on these days. The biggest problem facing Peek is the pricing: it'll be $99.95 up front when it lands in Target next month, plus $19.95 per month to send unlimited e-mails over T-Mobile's network. Of course, if anyone figures out how to load Opera Mini up here, the Bulls-eye Shop won't be able to keep the shelves stocked.

[Via Silicon Alley Insider]

Amazon and Circuit City might have that new 60GB Xbox 360 SKU up for pre-order with delivery in August, but Microsoft's game console has always tended to pop up in Targets first, and this time out's no exception -- yep, there it is, hanging out in NYC. Anyone seen one poking around the dish towels and cheap-chic furniture at their local? Let us know in comments!

We're not exactly sure what kind of behind-the-scenes relationship Target has with Microsoft, but this marks the third time by our count in which it has revealed something pretty important about the Xbox 360 before Redmond told anyone else (on the record, that is). Whatever the case, the Xbox 360 Pro is being let go at Target's brick-and-mortar locations (read: not online, so you'll actually have to slip some shorts on and leave the basement) for $299.99. Guess that confirms the US price drop, huh?

[Thanks, Ryan]

It's no secret the rest of the display industry hasn't been happy with Vizio shaking up the low end with its cheap HDTVs, and now Mitsubishi and others have joined in a lawsuit accusing the manufacturer of refusing to license necessary patents. The 15 patents allegedly violated are for MPEG-2 compression that Mitsu, Sony, Samsung, Philips, Thomson, JVC and Columbia University of New York claim Vizio refuses to license. Vizio says it don't need no stinking licenses, since its suppliers already have them and it believes these licenses extend to its products. MPEG-LA also filed a similar suit against Target's TruTech house brand of televisions; while we'll have to wait for a ruling on the case to see who is right, it seems if they can't compete with these lower prices, other manufacturers will make sure cheap HDTVs cost more to make. For its part, Vizio says it does not believe this suit will have a materially adverse impact on its business, so for now, let the low-price flat screens roll.

Read - Mitsubishi, Samsung Sue Vizio Over Video Patents
Read - VIZIO Comments on MPEG-2 Lawsuit By Electronics Competitors

Last we checked we actually weren't in the Twilight Zone, but quite frankly, the bigwigs at Gibson just might be. Seemingly out of nowhere, the famed guitar manufacturer sparked up a lawsuit against Activision claiming that Guitar Hero titles violate one of its patents. Now the company appears to be on the warpath, suing Wal-Mart, Target, GameStop, Amazon, Toys 'R' Us and Kmart in an attempt to get the game off of store shelves. Reportedly, Gibson took "this action reluctantly, but is required to protect its intellectual property." For the retailers that did comment, they chimed in only to say "we aren't commenting," and judging by the looks of things, the games are still widely available -- for now.

Not only is the British army hoping to make tanks and troops invisible to the naked eye, but it'll soon be honing in on targets way before the mind would normally allow. In a $58.8 million deal, Thales UK has been selected to supply the troops with new Surveillance System and Range Finder (SSARF) technologies, which will reportedly "enable quick identification of enemy locations along with the ability to determine the best mortar or artillery firepower the situation on the ground requires." Best of all, the handheld system will feature integrated GPS, thermal imaging and a five kilometer range, but unfortunately, it won't be giving any Britons in the field an edge until 2009.

[Via MOD]

Ugh, we were already sick of digital photo frames -- and now it looks those now-discontinued virus-ridden Insignia units from Best Buy and several other models produced in China were carrying a much nastier trojan that we'd originally heard. According to an analyst form Computer Associates, the trojan, called Mocmex, is able to block more than 100 types of security and anti-virus software from killing it, and bypasses the Windows firewall to download files from remote locations, spreading them randomly over your hard drive and any portable storage device you plug into your PC -- like, for example, a digital photo frame. The trojan is apparently set to only steal gaming passwords at present, but CA says it's capable of stealing nearly any information on your machine, and thinks it might be a test for a much worse virus yet to come. Infected frames have come from Sam's Club, Target and Costco, in addition to Best Buy, so we'd say to avoid picking one up until this mess gets sorted out -- or, you know, forever.

If you're the kind of cat or kitten that listens to "reports" on "things," then you'll want to turn your furry ears in this direction. Apparently, a stray Target receipt containing some elicit information made its way out onto the internet today (you know how those get around). Just what does this slip of paper tell us? According to the supplier (a Target employee), the store has begun listing the Wii as "White" in color, as opposed to just "Wii-colored" or "sold-out." The suggestion is that with the sudden delineation of color, more than "White" may be on the way -- speculation due mostly in part to Target's receipt-prescience on things like iPod deletions and the like. Of course, we've been hearing this kind of stuff for awhile, so we're not holding our breath on the issue, and suggest you do the same. Er, don't do. Don't hold your breath.

[Via The Boy Genius Report]

Some rumors that just won't die eventually end up being true, and the latest to reappear is the Target is going Blu-ray exclusive one. Today at Philips' press event during CES, while Stewart Muller was introducing its new Blu-ray player he also mentioned that Target was going Blu-ray exclusive. Of course what his definition of exclusive means might be his alone, but unless Target pulls all the HD DVD movies off their shelves entirely, we're not sure we agree.

Yeah, we pretty much expected every big box retailer known to man to carry these things, but just in case you were worried about locating a TV converter box in preparation for the upcoming cutover, here's some comforting news. Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Circuit City, Kmart, RadioShack, Target, Sears and Sam's Club are all on the list to carry equipment necessary for analog TV owners to receive OTA programming after February 2009, and just in case one of the aforementioned giants aren't anywhere near you, around 100 more smaller retailers have been certified to stock 'em. Also of note, you can start the new year off right by reminding your great grandparents (or other family members, too) that they can go on and apply for up to two coupons -- which should arrive around six weeks later -- worth $40 apiece to purchase the required boxes. Or, of course, you could just pick them up a new television this holiday season and be done with it.

[Via BroadcastingCable]

Although you may be accustomed to picking up your used wares from locales such as GameStop, Target is hoping that the scavengers of all things pre-owned will stop by its online electronics site, too. The retailer is currently testing online sales of used gizmos, including iPods, camcorders and HDTVs. Reportedly, the company made the call to start selling these goods after noticing that many returned items came back in "perfect working order," but it has yet to decide whether it will continue the business. We also heard that refurbished consoles would be up for grabs, but after running a quick search, we came up empty handed. Still, we'd be awfully careful before we ordered, say, a pre-owned iPod, from Target -- you really never know what you're gonna get.

You can't keep a good retailer down, especially the kind that gadget nerds like us so adore: those that breaking sales embargoes and put hotly anticipated product (like these new Zunes, for example) on store shelves early. Behold, new Zunes -- which aren't supposed to be on sale until next week -- popping up on store shelves at Circuit City and Target. Granted, we don't know how many (if any) sold, since it sounds like they may have actually gotten pulled before customers made a dash for the registers, but who knows, perhaps you might strike Zune gold by trawling the shelves at your local mega-retailer this very weekend. You know who to tip off if you bring home the booty, right? (Note: read link only hits up the Target Zunes, not CC's Zune batch, which is separate.)

[Thanks, Ryan and Scott]