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gdgt's best deals for July 3: RCA 55-inch LED HDTV, Canon EOS 60D
Ready to save some cash on your tech buys? Then you've come to the right place. Our sister site gdgt tracks price drops on thousands of products every day, and twice a week they feature some of the best deals they've found right here. But act fast! Many of these are limited-time offers, and won't last long. Today's hottest deals include a 55-inch LED HDTV and Canon DSLR available at prices worthy of fireworks-like oohs and ahs. Want the latest deals delivered to your inbox? Join gdgt and add the gadgets you're shopping for to your "Want" list. Every time there's a price cut, you'll get an email alert!
PayPal lines up 15 retailers for mobile payments, will let you buy Jamba Juice smoothies with a smartphone
Although PayPal's mobile payment system started out small with a Home Depot deal, that snowball is quickly rolling itself into a boulder. Starting next month, 15 extra US retailers will be happy to see you slap down your smartphone (not literally, we hope) instead of a credit card. The selection leads us to think a lot of smartphone owners like to shop for wearables -- Aéropostale, Foot Locker and JC Penney are in the batch, along with others -- but there's a few useful exceptions, like Barnes & Noble, Jamba Juice and TigerDirect. At least a total of 20 merchants are expected by the end of year, and as with Home Depot, you won't need special hardware besides an Android or iOS device to spend your hard-earned cash. We'll just be thankful we won't have to buy our yogurt with actual cash, like savages.
Samsung Chromebox gets a premature outing, $330 price tag (video)
Samsung has been almost completely silent regarding its Chromebox since its CES outing, so we were taken aback when we were tipped off that it was hiding in plain sight on TigerDirect's web store. Sure enough, a product listing provides a lot more detail about the tiny Chrome OS desktop than Samsung gave us in January, including its use of a 1.9GHz, dual-core Celeron B840, 4GB of DDR3 memory, a 16GB solid-state drive and six (not five) USB ports. We haven't seen mention of the promised wireless keyboard and mouse bundle, although the retailer's configuration might reflect a stripped-down trim level: at $330, it's a lot less than the $400 we were quoted at the start of the year. We wouldn't count on the store listing staying up -- at least, not until Google I/O -- but you can get a whirlwind tour of the Chromebox's core features through the hilariously awkward video below, which strips out the price if you're not watching from TigerDirect itself. [Thanks, Pete]
April Fools' Day roundup: the big toys, the small toys and the cats
Depending on where you are right now, you're either pretty much done with April Fools' Day (hence our bloated inbox thanks to all you lovely tipsters!) or it's just about to start on your side of the world. In fact, some of this year's submissions already got a head start, including the excellent 8-bit quest mode in Google Maps. Oh, don't worry, there's plenty more from Mountain View and the usual participants this year -- we've rounded up the best of the lot right after the break for your amusement. Keep an eye on this as we will be adding new goodies to the list throughout the day. [Thanks to everyone who sent these in]
HP TouchPad returns in TigerDirect bundle, if only for a moment
"We've got TouchPads!" That's the slogan, but even TigerDirect admits that it's expecting its latest batch of TouchPad slates to evaporate in a matter of minutes. Strangely enough, we've seen the zombie-like webOS tablet on sale in a variety of locations during the past few months, and if you're quick, you'll be able to buy yet another from yet another vendor at 2:30PM ET today. The company's not saying how many are in stock, but we're told to expect the entire batch to be claimed "by 2:32PM ET." The deal? $249.99 nets you a 32GB TouchPad, a 10.1-inch Belkin tablet case and Creative Labs' D80 Bluetooth speakers, while a $299.99 bundle replaces the speaker with a Photosmart printer. Oh, and don't even bother trying to order over the phone -- this one's online only, and it's one bundle per customer. We're telling you now so you've got time to memorize your credit card number. Feel free to talk about nerves, shaking limbs and tales of luck in comments below.[Thanks, Andrew]
UltimatePointer files patent lawsuit against Nintendo, and, uh, everyone else
It's been kind of a while since Nintendo was sued by someone for purportedly infringing on existing patents, but UltimatePointer LLC is doing just that in a complaint filed just under two weeks ago. The Texas-based LLC claims that Nintendo's Wiimote conflicts with its own patent (no. 7,746,321) for an "Easily Deployable Interactive Direct-Pointing System and Presentation Control System and Calibration Method Therefor." While UltimatePointer's patent was filed way back in May of 2005, it didn't actually receive official status until June of 2010 -- approximately four years after Nintendo launched its Wii console in North America. Bizarrely, UltimatePointer is also suing, like, everyone else even remotely involved with the Nintendo Wii. The complaint notes that the various retailers listed (in addition to Nintendo of Japan and Nintendo of America) are liable due to sales association. In so many words, the retailers were involved in the "making, using, importing, and/or selling" of Wii "systems, games, and related accessories (the 'accused products')," and therefore are just as liable for patent infringement as the hardware manufacturer. Even more bizarrely, the list of defendants includes a scattershot of retail chains in the United States that sell various Wii hardware, including places like QVC and Tiger Direct, but not, say, Amazon or NewEgg. The complaint doesn't request a specific award should UltimatePointer succeed, instead asking that Nintendo of America pay "a reasonable royalty" due to the alleged infringement, in addition to lawyers/court fees and "enhanced damages" owed.
Systemax relaunches Circuit City's website, this time with feeling
After shelling out some $6.5 million, you had to know that Systemax planned on doing something with Circuit City's trademarks and internet domain names. As of today, CircuitCity.com is back and better than ever, carrying on the legacy of a name that became synonymous with overpriced consumer electronics for nearly six decades. Of course, this doesn't mean that any Circuit City retail stores will be re-opening, but at least the brand is living on in the world wide web. The wonders of the internet: I Can Has Cheezburger?, Twitter and the continuation of an icon that would otherwise be six feet underground.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Systemax snaps up Circuit City's brand and domain name
Just like it did in January of last year, Systemax is snapping up leftovers from a now-defunct national consumer electronics retailer. As part of the post-bankruptcy proceedings, Circuit City Stores Incorporated recently closed a deal that'll net it $6.5 million. The price for the coinage? Systemax taking control of its trademarks and internet domain names. Circuit City stated in the filing that the sale of its intellectual property and internet assets would bring "significant recovery for the sellers' estates and creditors," and we're also told that Circuit City would be able to snag an unspecified share of sales from the brand name. Look out, Best Buy -- we hear Systemax has eyes for you, too.[Thanks, Sid]
