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Amazon's Echo smart speaker is coming to retail stores
You no longer have to buy online to give the Amazon Echo a shot. Amazon will soon sell the smart, voice-guided speaker in more than 3,000 retail stores, including Brookstone, Fry's, Home Depot, PC Richard & Son, RadioShack, Sears and Staples (which previously sold it on the web). The rollout is taking place over the next few weeks, and a few big stores are conspicuously absent in the mix -- Best Buy, anyone? Still, this beats worrying about holiday shipping headaches.
Zelda: A Link Between Worlds $30 at Fry's through Thursday
If you haven't yet had the chance to delve into Link's latest dimension-hopping journey, The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds for the Nintendo 3DS is $29.99 at Fry's this week, making it a good time to catch up on one of last year's greatest games. A Link Between Worlds builds on the structure that defined the Super NES classic The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, taking place in the same overworld and featuring many elements familiar to series fans. The game emerges as a worthy adventure in its own right, however, thanks to its ingenious item-rental mechanic and open-ended quest that gives players the freedom to explore Hyrule and its dark counterpart Lorule at their own pace. A Link Between Worlds is available for $29.99 at Fry's through January 16.
WoW Archivist: Vanilla WoW's launch event was out of control
WoW Archivist explores the secrets of World of Warcraft's past. What did the game look like years ago? Who is etched into WoW's history? What secrets does the game still hold? This Monday, WoW fans will line up at stores around the world to buy the game's fourth expansion, Mists of Pandaria. For Blizzard, the past eight years have been an incredible run, setting records for sales and building one of the largest virtual communities on Earth. Let's look back at the game's original launch, when Blizzard wasn't quite as prepared as they are today for the game's overwhelming popularity. A moonlit walk Blizzard's chief operating officer Paul Sams couldn't wrap his head around what he was seeing. Just after 11 p.m. on November 22, 2004, he was sitting in deadlock traffic on a freeway offramp in Fountain Valley, California. He looked over at the Fry's Electronics outlet not far from the road. The store had been surrounded by some sort of dark, seething mass. Caught in traffic, Sams was in danger of missing the game's launch event at Fry's. Rather than fight his way through the jumble of cars, he decided to park some distance away. It was still unclear to him what was happening. The electronics store was only minutes from Blizzard's headquarters in Irvine. He thought he had left the office with plenty of time to spare. He never imagined that getting to the store would be difficult this late at night.
Microsoft encourages students to buy a PC, gives them a free Xbox 360 in return
Students. PCs. Free Xbox 360. The Redmond team's at it yet again. Similar to last year's deal, Microsoft's hooking students up with a 4GB Xbox 360 if they drop some cash on one of its Windows machines. It's simple: shell out over $699 on a PC, or $599 if you're in Canada, and you'll be walking out with a shiny new console free of charge -- naturally, you'll have to do so at participating shops such as Best Buy, Fry's, Newegg, Staples, The Source and, of course, Microsoft's own stores. The promo is set to kick off here in the States on May 20th, while those living in the True North can take advantage of it starting today. And before you ask -- yes, you will need to show your scholar credentials to get in on the bargain.
Fry's stocks unlocked Nokia N9, is slightly misinformed about its specs
Sure, Nokia's Lumia 900 and 808 PureView may have garnered much of the spotlight lately, but lest we forgot about its flagship MeeGo handset, the N9. If you've been anxiously hoping to somehow score this slab of polycarbonate unlocked in the US sans gray-market importers, apparently Fry's Electronics has you covered. Phone News spotted a listing for the phone in the store's latest weekly ad -- although upon closer inspection, it appears that the retailer isn't too sure about its actual specs. Aside from describing the 3.9-inch slab of polycarbonate as a 4.3-inch device, it's also flubbed on the OS, calling it "Mego." Perhaps the most interesting error, however, is that the handset's ClearBlack AMOLED display is listed as Super AMOLED -- Samsung's competing technology. Assuming these are merely errors, you'll be able to pick one up for a spendy $600. Hit up the source link below to view the full ad.
AMD's getting into the DRAM game, isn't afraid to shoot the outside J
Don't you wish every component in your computer were made by the same company? That's AMD's thinking behind a range of desktop DRAM -- leaping into bed with VisionTek and Patriot Memory who will build the branded modules to Sunnyvale's specifications, tweaked for speed with OverDrive tuning tools. You'll be able to pick up DIMMs in 2GB, 4GB and 8GB flavors -- a low-end "entertainment" model running at 1333MHz and 1600MHz, "performance" edition also at 1600MHz and a Radeon-branded unit that will top the family at 1866MHz. The stuff will be available from retailers like Amazon, Fry's and Best Buy Canada, but we don't know when nor how much it'll cost to bring this level of branding harmony to the inside of your case.
j5 Creates a Wormhole, enables keyboard and mouse sharing with just one cable
There are already plenty of keyboard and mouse sharing solutions out there, but alas, most are not foolproof nor affordable enough for the average Joe. As such, we fell in love with j5 Create's Wormhole KM Switch and Wormhole Station at Computex. The former, pictured above, is simply a cable sporting a USB dongle on each end; whereas the latter is an aluminum, externally powered expansion dock rod that comes with an intergrated KM switch, two USB 3.0 ports (which requires a USB 3.0 host for full potential, of course), a power button at the end, and card readers for microSD, SD, and MemoryStick. After the one-click setup using the built-in installer, you can set your preferred method to toggle the keyboard and mouse switching: either by clicking the middle mouse button, by clicking a user-defined hot area on the screen, or by simply moving the cursor off one side of the screen. As you'll see in our hands-on video after the break, the switching was seamless, and we had no problem with drag-and-drop or copy-and-paste across the two PCs. If either the Wormhole KM Switch or the Wormhole Station sounds like your kind of gadget, then keep an eye out for them at Fry's soon for $29.99 (about $10 cheaper than IOGEAR's USB Laptop KVM Switch) and $129, respectively. Additionally, there'll also be a Mac-compatible KM Switch available next month for $39.99. Update: We're certainly aware of the free, cross-platform Synergy software solution, but it's not ideal for those who are less tech-savvy, plus it doesn't handle drag-and-drop across computers. %Gallery-125233%
Frys lists WiFi-only Galaxy Tab at $350, now accepting pre-orders
$399.99 for a WiFi-only Galaxy Tab not low enough to pique your interest? Then perhaps $349.99 will be a bit more to your liking. While there's still no indication of a release date, Frys.com is now accepting pre-orders for the device at that price, which is presumably not a mistake. Of course, the device itself is identical to the regular Galaxy Tab apart from that "wifi-only" bit, including the same 7-inch display, 16GB of storage, and Android 2.2 with Flash 10.1 support. Those willing to sign a contract will soon be able to get a 3G model for even less, however, with Sprint now set to offer the Tab for a mere $200 on a two-year contract. [Thanks, Andy]
Netgear-branded Roku XD on sale at Fry's
You won't find it on Netgear's site but you will find the Netgear branded Roku XD media streamer on the physical and virtual shelves of Fry's. That's right, Roku has hit the mainstream. The Netgear Roku XD Media Player (model NTV250) appears to offer all the same features of its Roku XD cousin including built-in 802.11n WiFi; Netflix, Pandora, and Amazon Video on Demand streaming; and HDMI out for 1080p video. Even the $79.99 price is the same after some "instant savings" shenanigans. Now lets get this baby into Best Buy and Wal-mart for the kind of mass market exposure it deserves. [Thanks, Gary L.]
CEA's Demo Days brings ESPN 3D to retailers for one weekend in September
Despite 3DTVs showing up for sale everywhere, there's just not much content to watch on them yet. We've come out in support of football and sports in general as selling points for 3D more than once, but since ESPN 3D only broadcasts live events and most stores don't have access to the channel, the only way to see it is to buy one. That will change between September 10-12, when ESPN 3D carries the Miami/Ohio State college football game live and teams up with the CEA to bring demos to participating retailers (read: Best Buy, Fry's, ABT and some specialty A/V shops.) Don't worry if you can't run by the store during the game, ESPN 3D is apparently providing highlights from the World Cup, X Games and Boise State/Virginia Tech all weekend. Enough to clear up all the questions and issues with 3D? Probably not, but ultimately the new tech is something that can only sell if people see it, and this will definitely be the widest reaching simultaneous exhibition to date.
Sony selling AMD powered VAIOs for the first time in years
We've been keeping a close eye on AMD's big laptop comeback over the last couple of months, and in addition to gaining steam with HP, Dell, Toshiba and Lenovo, it appears AMD's also gotten Sony back into its court. Both Fry's and Best Buy are now carrying AMD Athlon II X2-powered machines, and as you may expect, the prices are quite tempting. Conversely, the Intel-based lineup ranges from $699 to $799, but until we get our hands on one of these ourselves, there isn't exactly a fair comparison to draw at this point. You can hit the source links for the complete specs, but the 15.4-inch EE Series with 4GB of RAM / 320GB of storage and a Blu-ray player is going for $650 while the 17.3-inch EF with a 500GB hard drive for $720. Both also have integrated ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 graphics, but regardless, the move certainly bodes well for AMD's newest processor / graphics, since it appears that Sony hasn't used AMD in its systems since 2005. We guess a welcome back hug is in order.
PSP Go is $200 at Fry's this weekend... err, '$249.99 before $50 savings'
You could also say it's just the square root of 39,996, or maybe the circumference of a circle that's 63.66 units in diameter, but that's just plain silly. Alternatively, you could just save $30 and buy the chunkier model that still plays UMDs. [Via Joystiq]
PSP Go on sale at Fry's for $200
Providing further evidence of our belief that there's a nice retail markup on the PSP Go, electronics retailer Fry's has put the UMD-free device on sale for $199, through October 22. Fry's sales tend to vary by location, so it may be wise to call your local store before you begin your epic, miles-long trek through its near-endless expanses. We verified the sale price with the Austin, TX location, which is pretty far away from the Fremont, CA store whose ad appears here, so it would seem to be nationwide. That $50 discount almost puts the Go near the price point of the previous PSP models! [Thanks, Brian!]
Motorola debuts world's first retail DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems
You'll still need the love and support of your dear cable provider, but if you're within range of DOCSIS 3.0 service, you can bypass at least one aspect of dealing with your local monopoly ISP. Starting this week, Motorola is launching the planet's first retail DOCSIS 3.0 cable modems, which enable speeds up to four times faster than DOCSIS 2.0. The SURFboard SB6120 DOCSIS 3.0 eXtreme cable modem will soon be cluttering up shelves at Fry's Electronics, presumably just beside the incredibly deceiving Monster Cable demonstration area. There's no word on price just yet, but don't expect such a luxury item to run you cheap, okay?
Monster "HDMI Difference" scam still kickin' in Fry's Electronics
Man, this is just sad. Over a year after the internet was set ablaze with rage after seeing Monster's HDMI cable scam, we've just been notified that the tactic is still being used in at least one Fry's Electronics store. For those unaware, the rig works as such: two TVs are set beside each other along with a sign that says "See the Monster HDMI Difference." Trouble is, the "Monster set" (on the right) is connected to its source via an HDMI cable, while the "non-Monster set" (on the left) is connected via composite cable. As in, the lamest looking signal next to using an RF modulator. So, is anyone with any amount of power paying attention to this? We get the feeling "false advertising" is a real understatement of the situation.[Thanks, Jeff]
IZ3D's 22-inch 3D LCD monitor finally hits the B&M scene
It's mildly amusing that up until now, your only option when buying IZ3D's 22-inch 3D LCD monitor was to buy it on a decidedly 2D website. At long last, the recently cheapened (now $399) display has hit the brick and mortar realm, with both Fry's Electronics and Micro Center agreeing to carry it. The move is just one more in the inevitable push to get 3D in the home, and we have all ideas that it'll be joined by a number of others after CES '09 is all wrapped up. Feel free to drop by one of the aforesaid retailers to check this thing out in person, but we'll warn you, those frightened by 3D glasses need not apply. Full release (including specs) is after the break.
Weekly Deals: Software savings across the US of A
Looking for a few new titles to add to the collection? Various savings are sweeping the nation for a handful of random titles. Circuit City has slashed $20 off Unreal Tournament III to $39.99. Fry's has taken a few dollars off recent releases Pure and Brothers In Arms: Hell's Highway both priced at $52.99. Best Buy is offering a $15 savings on Guitar Hero: Aerosmith which is down to $84.99 and now sells Hail to the Chimp for $19.99. Online shoppers looking for a deal and an Xbox 360 might want to check out Amazon who is bundling LEGO Batman with the Xbox 360 Arcade console for $199. Nothing too earth-shattering but a few bucks off couldn't hurt if you're pining for more titles to own.
Deal of the Day: Star Wars PSP for $185, Castlevania for $21
This isn't going to last very long. FRYS.com is having a one day sale, and there are some terrific PSP deals. The two that are most noteworthy: the discounted Star Wars Battlefront PSP, which includes the Darth Vader PSP and new Renegade Squadron game, is only $185 -- $15 cheaper than normal. Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles also comes in cheap, for only $21. Considering the game includes both a remade Rondo of Blood and enhanced Symphony of the Night, this might be one of the best video game deals ever. Yes, even better than The Orange Box.[Via CAG]
Deal of the Day: 4GB Memory Stick for only $50
Memory Sticks just continue to get cheaper and cheaper. FRYS.com is now offering a 4GB Gaming Memory Stick Duo Pro for only $50, after rebate. What's so special about the gaming cards? Well, they come in colorful plastic! And ... that's about it. Of course, does it matter if your Memory Stick is bright red, when it's hidden away in your PSP? Don't think so.For those of you still struggling with the Value Pack's original 32MB stick, now is the time to upgrade! Certainly, this deal won't last long ... until the next dirt-cheap Memory Stick deal comes along.[Via SlickDeals]
Deal of the Day: 4GB card for only $70
I personally use a 4GB Memory Stick, and I find it's ridiculously huge. It's much more storage than I could possibly ever need ... and that's a good feeling. Sure, there's an 8GB stick coming down the line, but you certainly won't get such a sweet deal for quite some time. FRYS.com has a 4GB SanDisk card for only $70, after mail-in rebate. Yes, the website lists the card as $120, but once you add it to your cart, you will see the price magically change.[Thanks, Dane! Via slickdeals]
