Porn is all about instant gratification. A business reliant on bringing its customers the goods fast, this industry has always had a history of being on the forefront of new technologies as they emerge for better products and faster distribution. Revolutionizing porn and how its enjoyed with the adoption of the VHS home video, the porn industry grew from a seedy underground sex scene into a $10 billion dollar a year business. Nowadays, the very same industry that once helped mainstream VHS win the battle against Betamax in the 70s and 80s, is facing the problem of staying relevant in today’s “I need it NOW” society. Porn, one of the earliest adopters of e-commerce and Internet broadcasting, is being threatened by the very instant gratification that has made it so profitable. Torrents and free video sites have seriously threatened the porn industry’s business model. Now anyone with a web cam and computer can be a porn star on the Internet. Are people willing to pay for porn anymore? What is the porn industry doing to set themselves apart from all the amateur porn makers out there? Looking towards future tech like mobile streaming, smart phone apps, and instant downloads to VOD systems, porn leaders are changing their business model in an attempt to stay relevant and profitable.

Sony’s Betamax video format was introduced in 1975, to be followed by JVC’s VHS a year later. Arguably a better video format, Betamax never took off much in part thanks to the porn industry’s involvement with the distribution and sale of VHS videotapes. It was said that porn was scarcely available on Betamax, possibly because of Sony’s stance against its production. On the other hand, porn was readily available on VHS because it was a cheaper medium for distribution, ultimately helping VHS win the battle over betamax in late 1980s. Offering consumers affordable movies to rent and movies to own, VHS helped build porn into a $10 billion dollar industry, and it made porn an at-home experience rather than forcing the consumer to visit a strip club, peep show, or adult movie theater. Enter the Internet and e-commerce in 1995, and the low-cost DVD in 2001, porn was becoming cheaper, more available, and easier to duplicate. File sharing became common place and the very technology that had made porn available to the masses both online and for rent threatened to take down the entire industry. Another threat that arose was the celebrity standard: the homemade sex tape. In a world where anyone can make a porno or be a porn star (re: Paris Hilton, Carrie Prejean, Pamela Anderson), how can porn as an industry compete? Porn producers have been forced to adopt higher production value and find new ways to reach their audience aside from the standard pay-per view or DVD model.

One new frontier in their quest for profitability is HD video. Consumers love seeing their favorite porn stars in HD because it makes them feel like they’re a part of the action more than ever before. Porn stars on the other hand? Not so much. Time to bust out the HD makeup. The same porn actresses that made seedy sexy, are being held to a higher Hollywood standard now that they’re in HD. Aside from new makeup, lighting, and post production techniques, porn directors like “Joone” are giving porn stars tips to stay HD ready, “I tell the girls to work out more, cut down on the carbs, hit the treadmill.” In an industry that made bleach blond, super tan, and “realistic” action from every angle the norm, could porn become more like a Hollywood film? Does this mean the end of hardcore as we know it with a movement towards over produced soft core style hardcore scenes in an attempt to set themselves apart from the amateur porn film makers? Aside from that – higher production costs also mean that porn is going to get pricey and no one wants to pay for pricey adult entertainment when you can get a fix for free online.

Aside from pursuing HD and better production value, porn makers are looking for new ways to monetize their product. One way they’re doing this is by jumping on the Video on Demand trend. Video on Demand is not new when it comes to porn, but it is becoming more athe norm when it comes to renting and viewing adult content movies online and on your TV. Creating online adult channels through VOD systems like Vudu, porn makers are breaking into VOD for instant distribution. Although, porn has not been fully integrated into the VOD scene. Companies like Sony aim to bar porn’s entry into VOD markets especially when it comes to Playstation 3. Aside from VOD, porn producers are looking to cash in on smartphones, iPhones, iPod Touch, and game consoles that can stream media or download media. Catering to the mobile phone industry are prepackaged micro SD cards that store porn to be viewed on any smart phone or computer. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook have also revolutionized the conversation around porn. Once a dirty secret, Twitter users such as @AdultNewsWire aggregate porn news and spit it out to their list of followers to create an actual conversation around porn and its lovers. There are also the hard-to-find adult video games that always aim to titillate an adult gamer like Bonetown for instance, which featured a cameo by larger than life porn legend Ron Jeremy. Once an industry that had enough power to sway an entire nation towards VHS technology, the porn industry is now struggling to stay in front of new technological trends. Some may argue that technology has grown too big for the porn industry. But is the produced porn industry relevant when there is so much porn available online for free? The majority of us don’t really pay for porn anymore. If I wanna watch porn, I am probably going to go to a free site like RedTube or YouPorn for my fix. But then again I’m not too picky. However, the less technologically savvy or more old school consumer who are more willing to pay for their porn, will play a big part in keeping the porn industry alive. But between the new way and old way of getting your fix, as long as porn production companies stay ahead of the curve (no pun intended) with new distribution and sharing trends that keep these companies relevant in how entertainment is enjoyed, then porn as an industry will be just fine.


Guest columnist Lydia Leavitt writes about sex and, oddly enough, social media. For more information on the latest intimate technology, check out 69adget.com.

If you prefer warm, indoor shopping to cold, outdoor, middle-of-the-night Black Friday shopping, then you may be happy to hear that Best Buy “is bringing the excitement of Black Friday a week early this holiday season.” How is this possible? How can one retail store bend the fabric of the time-space continuum in such a way?

According to a recent press release:

Effective November 19, 2009, Best Buy will move the everyday low price on all entry level 32-inch Dynex LCD HDTV’s to $299.99 and 40-inch Dynex 1080p to $499.99. Best Buy will be offering Black Friday pricing on a variety of popular Samsung models, including a 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV for $397.99 , as well as a 50-inch plasma 720p HDTV for $697.99 starting Sunday, November 22, 2009.

So it looks like $500 is going to be the new sweet spot for big TVs. Unless you count $300 being the new sweet spot for slightly less big (but still big) TVs. Either way, prices are moving in the right direction.

Full press release:

Why Wait in Line? — Black Friday DealsCome Early to Best Buy This Year

$299.99 32-inch Dynex and $499.99 40-inch Dynex 1080p flat panel TV’s lead offerings for value-conscious consumers

MINNEAPOLIS, November 19, 2009 – Best Buy (NYSE:BBY), is bringing the excitement of Black Friday a week early this holiday season. Starting today, Best Buy will offer Black Friday pricing on certain models of flat panel televisions as well as other top brand home theater products.

With the most robust and largest selection of televisions of any retailer in the country, Best Buy is the destination for home theater needs this holiday season whether customers are getting a gift for a loved one or making a purchase for the whole family to enjoy.

“Best Buy is committed to continuing to offer a superior shopping experience this holiday season,” says Josh Will, vice president of Home Theater, Best Buy. “Customers can be confident that they are getting some of the best prices in the industry, as well as the convenience of being able to shop when and where they want either in store or online.”

Effective November 19, 2009, Best Buy will move the everyday low price on all entry level 32-inch Dynex LCD HDTV’s to $299.99 and 40-inch Dynex 1080p to $499.99. Best Buy will be offering Black Friday pricing on a variety of popular Samsung models, including a 32-inch 720p LCD HDTV for $397.99 , as well as a 50-inch plasma 720p HDTV for $697.99 starting Sunday, November 22, 2009.

To learn more about more special offers, visit a Best Buy near you or visit www.bestbuy.com

Viewsonic is launching two models now; The VOT530, and the VOT550. Both come with Windows 7 Home Premium, Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz processors and 802.11 b/g/n wifi. Both systems have six USB 2.0 ports, along with DVI, LAN, and eSATA ports on the back. The systems come with a remote standard as well.

The VOT530 PC Mini has 2GB of RAM, and a DVD drive. The VOT550, comes standard with 4GB of RAM and a Blu-ray drive. The VOT530 will be selling for $749 MSRP, and the VOT550 is expected to sell for $949. Both are available now.

[via eHomeUpgrade]

I have no backwards R key on my keyboard and I don’t have the wherewithal to figure out the tricky Wingdingy ALT+numpad+four digit code voodoo it’d take to produce it (if it’s even possible), so let’s just say “Toys R Us” and enjoy the store’s Black Friday ad.

Stores open at midnight – yes midnight – on Thursday night/Friday morning. Doorbuster deals are marked with an asterisk and are good until 1PM on Friday.

Computers

VTech Learning Laptop – $14.99 *

Digital Cameras

Fujifilm FinePix Red 12MP Digital Camera – $69.99 *

iCarly Mini Digital Camera – $12.49 *

Pink Or Blue Digital Video Camcorder – $29.99 *

Vivitar 8.1MP Digital Camera – $39.99 *

Digital Media Cards

SanDisk 8 GB SDHC Memory Card – $19.99 *

DVD Players

Coby 7″ Portable DVD Player – $49.99 *

Digital Labs DVD Player – $19.99

Electronics

Grand Prix AM/FM Clock Radio – $4.99

iHome iPod Docking Station – $39.99 *

iHome iPod/iPhone Alarm Clock Docking Station – $49.99

Nickelodeon Portable CD Player – $14.99

Sakar Digital Photo Frame Keychain – $9.99

Singing Machine Karaoke System – $49.99 *

Home Theater

Coby Home Theater System – $49.99

Miscellaneous

Toys R Us Battery 20 Packs – $4.99 *

MP3 Players

$50 Gift Card With Any Apple iPod 8GB Touch – $0.00 *

Nextar 1GB Digital Mp3 Player – $11.48

Nextar 2GB MP3 Player With Video – $17.49 *

SanDisk 8GB Sansa Fuze MP3 Player – $49.99 *

Photos

Nextar 7″ Digital Photo Frame – $29.99 *

Televisions

Haier 22″ LCD TV – $199.99 *

Video Games

All iCarly Video Game Accessories – 50% Off

Avatar For Nintendo DS – $9.99

Avatar Into The Inferno For Nintendo Wii – $9.99

Carrying Case For Wii – $15.00

Cheetah Girls For Nintendo DS – $21.99

Chrysler Classic Racing For Nintendo Wii – $9.99

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (Wii Game) – $29.99 *

Club Penguin For Nintendo DS – $17.99

Crash Bandicot For Nintendo DS – $9.99

Dead Space (Wii Game) – $24.99 *

Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox 360 Game) – $34.99 *

Gear Monkey Video Game Accessories – B1G1 Free *

Guitar Hero On Tour And Decades Two Pack Bundle (DS Game) – $29.99 *

Halo 3 ODST (Xbox 360 Game) – $34.99 *

Hannah Montana Guitar Video Game – $24.99 *

Hot Shots Golf – $21.99

iCarly (Wii Game) – $23.99 *

Ice Age For Nintendo DS – $9.99

Imagine Family Doctor For Nintendo DS – $9.99

Imagine Party Babyz For Nintendo Wii – $9.99

Kingdom For Nintendo DS – $9.99

Messenger Bag For Xbox 360 – $15.00

Monsters Vs Aliens For Nintendo DS – $9.99

Mushroom Men For Nintendo DS – $21.99

MySims Party For Nintendo Wii – $9.99

Narnia For Nintendo DS – $21.99

Need For Speed: Shift (PS3 Game) – $34.99 *

Need For Speed: Shift (Xbox 360 Game) – $34.99 *

Nintendo DS Lite Starter Kit – $11.99

Petz Horse Ranch For Nintendo DS – $9.99

Pirates Of The Caribbean – $21.99

PSP Accessories – 50% Off *

Scooby Doo First Frights (Wii Game) – $23.99 *

Select Nintendo DS Accessories – $5.00

Select Nintendo DS Games – B1G1

Select Wii Accessories – $10.00

Sonic Rivals 2 – $21.99

Spore Hero (Wii Game) – $24.99 *

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Wii Game) – $29.99 *

The Price Is Right For Nintendo Wii – $9.99

Tony Hawks Motion For Nintendo DS – $9.99

Transformers For Nintendo DS – $17.99

Ultimate Alliance 2 For Nintendo DS – $17.99

Video Game Charge Docking Stations – $15.00 *

Wii Fit Accessories – 50% Off *

Wii Nerf N-Strike Bundle (Wii Game) – $14.99 *

Xbox 360 Arcade System With Carry Case And Three Games – $229.95 *

Xbox 360 Wired Guitar Hero Game Controller – $9.99 *

Toys R Us Black Friday Ad [BlackFriday.info]

More Black Friday deals…

Oh, I get it. It’s called “Shack” Friday at Radio Shack instead of Black Friday. Because “shack” sounds like “black” and “shack” is part of Radio Shack’s name. So basically, they just switched the two words around. I get it.

Know what else? The damn sale starts on Thursday! What a world! “Most stores open at 10 AM Thursday,” says the circular. And then they open at 5:30 in the morning on Friday! That’s Shack-rilege! See how I worked the name of the store into that one?

UPDATE: Radio Shack’s PR team was kind enough to send over high-resolution images of the national circular. Here are the links to the images:

Image 1 | Image 2 | Image 3

Anyhoo, here’s the good stuff. Doorbusters are marked with an asterisk.

Automotive

Gigaware Car Charger for iPod – $10.00

Sirius Stratus 5 Dock & Play Radio + Car Kit – $29.99

XM onyX Satellite Radio – $59.99

Blank Media

25-Pack of Gigaware 16X DVD-Rs – B1G1F

50-Pack Of Gigaware 52X CD-R – B1G1F

Gigaware 25 Pack of 16X DVD-Rs – B1G1F

Gigaware 50 Pack of 52X CD-Rs – B1G1F

Cell Phones

BlackBerry Curve 8520 (w/2-Year Agreement) – $0.00

Gigaware High Power Docking Speaker For iPod – $49.99

LG Xenon Cell Phone (w/2-Year Agreement) – $0.00

Motorola CLIQ w/Motoblur (w/2-Year Agreement) – $79.99

Motorola i776 Cell Phone – $69.99

Nokia 2720 No-Contract Mobile Phone – $9.99

Palm Pixi Cell Phone (w/2-Year Agreement) – $99.99

Palm Pre Cell Phone (w/2-Year Agreement) – $99.99

Plantronics E210 Bluetooth Headset – $19.99

Samsung Impression Cell Phone (w/2-Year Agreement) – $29.99

Samsung Instinct S30 Cell Phone (w/2-Year Agreement) – $0.00

Samsung Mantra Cell Phone – $29.99

Snap-On Covers for iPhone 3G or Blackberry Curve 8300 – $9.99

Computer Accessories

Gigaware 1.3MP Webcam w/Microphone – $14.99

Gigaware 2.1 Multimedia Speaker System – $10.00

Gigaware Folding Notebook Cooling Pad – $10.00

Gigaware VoIP USB Headset – $10.00

Gigaware Wireless Optical Mouse – $12.99

Logitech Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Combo – $19.99

Netbook Accessory Bundle (USB Hub, Mouse, Earbuds, Cooling Pad) – $29.99

Pinnacle Ultra-Compact USB HDTV Tuner – $39.99

Computers

Acer 11.6″ Netbook w/Intel Atom Processor Z520, 2GB Memory, 250GB Hard Drive – $249.99

Acer 15.6″ Notebook w/AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor, 4GB Memory, 320 Hard Drive – $399.99

Digital Cameras

Buy Any $89.99 Camera In This Ad, Receive a Free Polaroid Pogo Mobile Printer – $0.00

Casio Exilim 10 Megapixel 3x Optical Zoom Digital Camera Gift Bundle – $89.99

Kodak MD81 12.0 Megapixel Digital Camera – $99.99

Nikon S220 10 Megapixel 3x Optical Zoom Digital Camera – $129.99

Olympus 12 Megapixel 7x Wide-Angle Zoom Digital Camera – $149.99

Vivitar 8.1 Megapixel 2x Optical Zoom Digital Camera – $49.99

Digital Media Cards

Sandisk 2GB Memory Stick PRO Duo – $9.99

Sandisk 2GB Type-M xD-Picture Card – $9.99

Sandisk 4GB MicroSDHC Card – $9.99

Sandisk Standard SDHC Card – $9.99

DVD Players

Memorex Upconverting DVD Player – $29.99

Samsung BD-1600A Blu-ray Disc Player – $149.99

Electronics

Casio 32 Mini-Key Electronic Keyboard – $29.99

Discovery 54-Key Electronic Keyboard – $29.99

Discovery Kids Digital Camcorder – $39.99

Emerson Portable CD+G Karaoke Player – $29.99

Gigaware 7″ Digital Photo Frame – $29.99

Gigaware Micro Projector – $99.99

MagicJack VoIP Kit – $29.99

Motorola 4-Pack of 2-Way FRS Radios – $29.99

Panasonic DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone System w/4 Headsets – $69.99

Pandigital 10.1″ Digital Photo Frame – $79.99

Sanyo 720p High-Definition Video Camcorder – $169.99

Skullcandy Headphones – $9.99

USB Turntable – $79.99

Vivitar 720p High-Definition Video Camcorder – $69.99

GPS Systems

Garmin Nuvi 255W 4.3″ Widescreen GPS – $119.99

Garmin Nuvi 265WT 4.3″ GPS w/Free Lifetime Traffic Updates – $169.99

Mio 4.3″ M400 GPS – $79.99

TomTom XL 330S GPS w/Free Dash Mount – $99.99

Hard Drives

Iomega 320GB Portable Hard Drive – $49.99

Miscellaneous

5×7″ Recordable Talking Picture Frame – $10.00

Duracell Color Charger w/2 AA Rechargeable Batteries – $10.00

Enercell Holiday Bettery Tin – $9.99

ESPN GameDay Universal 4-in-1 Remote – $10.00

Gigaware 1.5″ Digital Photo Keychain – $10.00

Gigaware Crystal Skin for iPod Touch – $10.00

Gigaware Laser Etched Skin for iPod Touch – $10.00

Gigaware Retractable Rapid Home Charger for iPod/iPhone – $10.00

RadioShack 25-Piece Mini Tool Kit – $10.00

RadioShack 4.3″ GPS Soft Case – $14.99

RadioShack GPS Home AC Charger – $14.99

RadioShack Weather Cube Radio – $10.00

Rechargeable Spotlight – $10.00

Swiss+Tech Micro-Max 19-in-1 Tool Kit – $10.00

MP3 Players

8GB iPod Touchw/$20 GC – $199.99

Gigaware 2GB MP3 Player – $19.99

Gigaware 4GB MP3 Player – $39.99

Gigaware MP3 Accessory Kit – $9.99

iHome Computer Stereo Speakers w/Dock for iPid – $29.99

iLive 2.1 Home Theater Upconverting DVD System w/Dock for iPod – $99.99

iPod 8GB Nano w/$15 GC – $149.99

iPod Accessory Kit – $30.00

Sansa 2GB Clip Plus Music Player w/1000 Song Music Card – $49.99

Sound Bar w/Dock for iPod – $69.99

Networking

Netgear WNR1000 Wireless-N 150 Router – $34.99

Portable USB Storage

Sandisk 2GB USB Flash Drive – $4.99

Sandisk 4GB USB Flash Drive – $9.99

Televisions

AOC 22″ 720P LCD HDTV – $199.99

Auvio 3.5″ Pocket Digital TV – $79.99

Auvio 7″ Portable TV – $119.99

Samsung 32″ LCD HDTV – $399.99

Video Games

DualShock 3 PS3 Wireless Controler – $29.99

Gigaware Recharging Station for Nintendo Wii – $12.99

Nyko Wand for Nintendo Wii – $24.99

V.Motion Game Console – $34.99

Xbox 360 Elite System w/$60 Cash Back & 2 Games (Lego Batman and Pure) – $299.99

Radio Shack Black Friday Ad [BlackFriday.info]

More Black Friday deals…

It’s here. Best Buy’s Black Friday ad is here. Stores open at 5AM and Best Buy will “pass out tickets for our Doorbuster Specials up to two hours before 5 a.m. store opening,” according to the circular. That means no running, probably. You can still do that thing where you walk really fast and sort of skip a little bit, but no running.

Doorbusters are marked with an asterisk.

Automotive

Alpine 50-Watt x 4-Channel Car Stereo – $99.99

Pioneer 50 Watt x 4-Channel Car Stereo & Speaker Pair – $89.99

Cell Phones

AT&T Sony Ericsson W518a – Free w/2 Year Contract *

BoostMobile Motorola Clutch i465 – $59.99

DLO Jam Jacket For iPhone – $9.99

Jabra BT-2080 Bluetooth Headset – $19.99

LG Chocolate Touch From Verizon w/Two Year Activation – $0.00 *

MiFi 2200 By Novatel Wireless w/Two Year Activation – $0.00

Mobile Broadband Card 598U By Sierra Wireless w/Two Year Activation – $0.00

Motorola H710 Noise-Canceling Bluetooth Headset – $39.99

Motorola S9 HD Stereo Bluetooth Headset – $49.99

Net10 Samsung T401G – $39.99

Sprint BlackBerry Curve 8330 Smart Phone – Free w/2 Year Contract

Sprint Samsung Instinct S30 – Free w/2 Year Contract

T-Mobile Motorola Renew Phone – $7.99

Verizon Wireless DROID – $199.99 w/2 Year Contract

Verizon Wireless Motorola Rival – Free w/2 Year Contract *

Virgin Mobile Kyocera X-tc – $49.99

Computer Accessories

Logitech C250 Webcam – $19.99

Logitech V450 Nano Cordless Laser Mouse – $24.99

Rocketfish AC Power Adapter – $39.99

Computers

Compaq Netbook w/Intel Atom Processor, 1GB Memory, 160GB Hard Drive – $179.99

Compaq Netbook w/Intel Atom Processor, 1GB Memory, 250GB Hard Drive – $229.99

Dell 10.1″ Netbook w/Intel Atom Processor, 1GB Memory, 160GB Hard Drive – $379.99

eMachines Desktop w/AMD Athlon Processor, 3GB RAM, 320GB HD, Windows 7, w/18.5″ LCD Monitor and HP Deskjet Printer – $299.97

HP 15.6″ Notebook w/AMD Turion II Dual Core Processor M500, 6GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 – $599.99

HP 15.6″ Notebook w/AMD Turion II Dual Core Processor M500, 8GB Memory, 500GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 – $699.99

Macbook 13.3″ Notebook w/2.26GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GB DDR3 Memory, 250GB Hard Drive, w/$150 Gift Card – $999.99

Sony 15″ Laptop w/Intel Dual Core Processor, 4GB Memory, 320GB Hard Drive, Windows 7 – $399.99

Sony 15″ Laptop w/Intel Dual Core Processor, 4GB RAM, 320GB HD, Windows 7, Sony Headphones, Built-In Blu-ray Player, Blu-ray Movie – $479.97

Toshiba 16″ Laptop w/Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 3GB DDR3 Memory, 250GB Hard Drive (Model # L505-S5984) – $399.99

Toshiba 16″ Laptop w/Intel Core 2 Duo Processor, 4GB DDR3 Memory, 320GB Hard Drive (Model # L505-S5984) w/Printer and Case – $499.97

Digital Cameras

Canon EOS Rebel Tli D-SLR Camera w/18-55mm IS Lens – $699.99

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Grey) – $149.99

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Teal) – $149.99

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Extra Battery and Case (Grey) – $179.99

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Extra Battery and Case (Teal) – $179.99

Canon Rebel Tli Camera w/55-250mm IS Telephoto Lens and Lowepro D-SLR Bag – $849.97

Fujifilm Finepix Z37 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Extra Battery and Case – $149.97

Fujifilm Finepix Z37 Polka Dot 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera – $119.99

Insignia 720p HD Camcorder – $69.99

Insignia NS-DSC10A 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Pink) – $49.99 *

Insignia NS-DSC10B 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Blue) – $49.99 *

Kodak EasyShare C140 Digital Camera With 7″ Kodak Digital Photo Frame – $109.99

Nikon Coolpix P90 12.1 Megapixel Digital Camera – $299.99

Nikon Coolpix P90 12.1 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Extra Battery and Case – $329.97

Nikon Coolpix S60 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Red) – $179.99

Nikon Coolpix S60 10.0 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Extra Battery and Case – $209.97

Nikon D3000DX 10.2 Megapixel D-SLR Digital Camera w/10-55mm and 55-200mm Lens and Bag – $599.97

Nikon D3000DX 10.2 Megapixel D-SLR Digital Camera w/10-55mm VR Lens – $499.99

Sony Cybershot W180 10.1 Megapixel Digital Camera (Black) – $99.99

Sony Cybershot W180 10.1 Megapixel Digital Camera w/Flexpod and Camera Case – $119.97

Digital Media Cards

PNY 4GB Flash Drive – $9.99

PNY 4GB MicroSD HD Memory Card – $9.99

PNY 4GB SDHC Memory Card – $9.99

Sandisk 4GB Memory Stick PRO Duo – $14.99

Sandisk 8GB MicroSDHC Memory Card – $19.99

Sandisk 8GB SD Card – $19.99

DVD Players

Insignia Blu-ray Disc Player (Model # NS-BRDVD3) – $99.99

Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-ray Disc Player – $279.99

Samsung Blu-Ray Disc Player – $149.99

Sony BDP-S360 Blu-ray Disc Player – $149.99

Electronics

2GB Pulse Smartpen w/$30 Gift Card – $169.99

Bose In-Ear Headphones – $89.99

Canon Vixia HD HF20 Camcorder – $499.99

Canon Vixia HD HF20 Camcorder w/Extra Li-Ion Battery & 8″ HDMI Cable – $599.97

Dynex 7″ Digital Photo Frame – $29.99

iHome Portable Alarm Clock Speaker iPod Dock – $39.99

Insignia 7″ Digital Photo Frame – $44.99

Logitech Harmony 510 Advanced Universal Remote – $39.99

Panasonic DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone System w/3 Handsets – $59.99

Pandigital 9″ Digital Photo Frame – $59.99

Sony DCR-SR47 Handycam Camcorder – $249.99

Sony DCR-SR47 Handycam Camcorder w/Extra Li-Ion Battery & Bag – $299.97

Sony DCR-SX40 Handycam Camcorder – $199.99

Sony DCR-SX40 Handycam Camcorder w/Extra Li-Ion Battery & 8GB Memory Stick – $259.97

Sony Reader Pocket Edition w/$30 Gift Card – $199.99

Sony Studio Monitor Headphones – $9.99

VTech DECT 6.0 Expandable Cordless Phone System w/2 Handsets – $44.99

GPS Systems

Garmin GPS Friction Mount – $14.99

Garmin Nuvi 205W GPS Navigation System – $99.99 *

Garmin Nuvi 255WT GPS Navigation System – $129.99

Lowepro Black Neoprene Sleeve – $7.99

Magellan SE4 GPS – $89.99

Tom Tom 540S Portable GPS Navigation System – $149.99

Tom Tom GO 730 Portable GPS Navigation System – $174.99

Hard Drives

LG External Slim Portable USB 2.0 DVD Drive – $49.99

Western Digital 1.5TB My Book Home Edition External Hard Drive – $119.99

Western Digital 500GB My Passport Elite Portable Hard Drive Titanium – $79.99

Western Digital WDTV Media Player – $74.99

Home Theater

4″ Monster Cable 700 Series HDMI Cable – $49.99

Init Cherry Wood Stand With Mount For TVs Up To 46″ – $99.99

Init Cherry Wood w/Black Glass Shelves TV Stand – $149.99

Klipsch Icon 2-Way Triple 5.25″ Floorstanding Speaker – $186.99

Klipsch Icon 2-Way Triple 6.5″ Floorstanding Speaker – $236.99

Samsung 5.1 Channel 1000W Home Theater System With Blu-ray Disc Player – $399.99

Sony 5.1 Channel 1000W Home Theater System – $279.99

Sony 7.1 Channel 770-Watt A/V Receiver – $279.99

Tilting Wall Mount For 30″-56″ Flat-Panel TVs – $99.99

Monitors

Acer 20″ HD LCD Monitor (Model # X203H) – $79.99

Dell 20″ HD LCD Monitor (Model # S2009W) – $99.99

MP3 Players

3 $10 iTunes Gift Cards – $25.00

8GB iPod 5th Generation Nano (Black) + Wall Charger & Case – $159.97

8GB iPod 5th Generation Nano (Blue) + Wall Charger & Case – $159.97

8GB iPod 5th Generation Nano (Pink) + Wall Charger & Case – $159.97

8GB iPod 5th Generation Nano (Purple) + Wall Charger & Case – $159.97

8GB iPod 5th Generation Nano (Silver) + Wall Charger & Case – $159.97

Apple 8GB iPod Touch 3rd Generation w/$30 Gift Card – $199.99

Bose Sound-dock Series II Digital Music System – $269.99

Power Pack for iPod/iPhone – $19.99

Sandisk 4GB Fuze MP3 Player (Black) – $44.99

Sandisk 4GB Fuze MP3 Player (Blue) – $44.99

Sandisk 4GB Fuze MP3 Player (Red) – $44.99

Networking

Linksys Ultra RangePlus Wireless-N Broadband Router w/4-Port Switch (Model # WRT160N) – $59.99

NetGear Wireless N Router (Model # WNR2000-100NAS) – $49.99

Portable USB Storage

Sandisk Cruzer 8GB USB Flash Drive – $19.99

Printers

$10 Gift Card With Any $40 Ink Purchase – $0.00

Epson Stylus NX110 Multifunction Printer – $24.99

HP Photosmart C4795 Wireless Multifunction Printer – $64.99

Software

Instant Immersion Spanish Software – $19.99

Microsoft Office Home And Student 2007 – $69.99

Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements – $74.99

Televisions

Dynex 19″ 720p LCD HDTV (Model # DX-L19-10A) – $149.99

Dynex 32″ 720p LCD HDTV (Model # DX-L321-10A) – $299.99 *

Dynex 40″ 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV (Model # DX-L40-10A) – $499.99

Insignia 42″ 1080p 120Hz LCD HDTV (Model # NS-L42Q120-10A) – $699.99 *

LG 32″ 1080p LCD HDTV (Model # 32LH30-UA) – $439.99

Panasonic Viera 50″ 1080p Plasma HDTV (Model # TC-P50U1) w/Blu-ray Disc Player (Model # DMP-BD60K) – $999.98

Samsung 32″ 1080p LCD HDTV (Model # LN32B530P7F) – $497.99

Samsung 32″ 720p LCD HDTV (Model # LN32B360C5D) – $397.99

Samsung 40″ 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV (Model # LN40B500P3FXZA) – $597.99

Samsung 42″ 720p Plasma HDTV (Model # PN42B400P3DXZA) – $547.99

Samsung 46″ 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV (Model # UN4686000VF) – $1599.99 *

Samsung 46″ 1080p LCD HDTV (LN46B500P3FXZA) – $847.99

Samsung 50″ 1080p Plasma HDTV (Model # PN50B530S2F) – $897.99

Samsung 50″ 720p Plasma HDTV (Model # PN50B430P2D) – $697.99

Sony 32″ 720p 60Hz LCD HDTV (Model # KDL32L504) – $377.99

Sony 40″ 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV (Model # KDL40S504) – $662.99

Sony 46″ 1080p 60Hz LCD HDTV (Model # KDL465504) – $852.99

Video Games

$20 Gift Card w/Any DSi Game System Purchase – $0.00

Assassins Creed (PC Game) – $19.99

Bash Party (Wii) – $14.99

Bioshock (PC Game) – $19.99

Bolt (DS Game) – $9.99

Brutal Legend (PS3) – $34.99 *

Brutal Legend (Xbox 360) – $34.99 *

Call of Juarex (PS3) – $19.99

Call of Juarez (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Civilization IV (PC Game) – $19.99

Cooking Mama (DS Game) – $9.99

Cooking Mama (Wii) – $14.99

Crash (DS Game) – $9.99

Dragon Age (PS3) – $34.99 *

Dragon Age (Xbox 360) – $34.99 *

Excite Bots Trick Racing (Wii) – $14.99

Fallout 3 (PS3) – $19.99

Fallout 3 (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Family Game Night (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Far Cry 2 (PC Game) – $4.99

FIFA Soccer 10 (PS3) – $34.99 *

FIFA Soccer 10 (Xbox 360) – $34.99 *

Guinness World Records (DS Game) – $9.99

Hawx (PS3) – $19.99 *

Hawx (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Left 4 Dead 2 (PS3) – $34.99 *

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360) – $34.99 *

Madagascar 2 Escape From Africa (Wii) – $14.99

Madden 10 (PS3) – $34.99 *

Madden 10 (XBox 360) – $34.99 *

Marker Man (DS Game) – $9.99

Marvel Ultimate Alliance (Wii) – $14.99

My Sims Kingdom (Wii) – $9.99

My Word Coach (DS Game) – $9.99

NBA Live 09 (Wii) – $9.99

NBA Live 10 (PS3) – $34.99 *

NBA Live 10 (Xbox 360) – $34.99 *

Need For Speed: Shift (PS3) – $34.99 *

Need For Speed: Shift (XBox 360) – $34.99 *

NHL 10 (PS3) – $34.99 *

NHL 10 (Xbox 360) – $34.99 *

Nintendo DSi Brain Age Bundle (White) w/$20 Gift Card – $169.99

Nintendo DSi Mario Bundle (Metallic Blue) w/$20 Gift Card – $169.99

Pikmin Classic (Wii) – $14.99

Rayman Raving Rabbids (Wii) – $9.99

Resident Evil 5 (PS3) – $19.99

Resident Evil 5 (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Riddick (PS3) – $19.99

Riddick (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Slots (PC Game) – $19.99

Sonic Chronicles The Dark Brotherhood (DS Game) – $9.99

Sony PlayStation 3 Package w/120GB Console, Little Big Planet, and Ratchet And Clank – $299.99 *

Spyro (DS Game) – $9.99

Stalker (PC Game) – $4.99

Sudoku Ball (DS Game) – $9.99

The Bigs 2 (PS3) – $19.99

The Bigs 2 (Xbox 360) – $19.99

Wii Sports Snowboard (Wii) – $14.99

Wii Sports (Wii) – $9.99

World Of Warcraft (PC Game) – $4.99

Xbox 360 Elite 120GB Bundle w/Four Pack Game Set – $299.99

BestBuy Black Friday Ad [BlackFriday.info]

More Black Friday deals…

CD/DVD Drives

Gear Head 8x Slim External DVD -/+RW Lightscribe Drive – $49.99

Cell Phones

Ed Hardy iPhone Faceplates – $24.99

XtremeMac InCharge Auto Charger for iPhone – $13.99

XtremeMac Tuffsheild Three Pack Screen Protectors For iPod Or iPhone – $10.49

XtremeMac Tuffwrap iPhone Case – $13.99

Computer Accessories

All Case Logic Laptop Sleeves – 50% Off

APC 550VA Battery Backup – $24.99

Height-Adjustable Mobile Laptop Cart – $17.99

iHome Wired Optical Mouse – $6.99

Logitech LX6 Cordless Optical Mouse – $7.99

Microsoft Digital Media Keyboard 6000 – $12.99

Moble IT Retractable USB Hub – $4.99

USB Web Cam – $9.99

Computers

Acer Aspire 15.6″ Widescreen Notebook Computer w/AMD Athlon X2 Dual-Core Processor L310, 4GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive – $379.99

Acer Netbook 10.1″ Computer w/Intel 1.6GHz Atom Processor N270 – $199.99

Compaq CQ4010F Desktop Computer w/AMD Sempron LE-1300 Processor, 2GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive – $229.99

Compaq Presario AMD LE-1300 Desktop w/18.5″ Monitor – $329.99

Free Software w/Purchase of Computer – Free

HP Notebook Computer G60-508US w/Intel Celeron Processor 900 – $299.99

HP Notebook Computer G71-343US With Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6600 – $449.99

HP Pavilion Desktop P6229PG w/20″ Widescreen LCD Monitor – $499.99

HP Pavillion Slimeline Intel E5300 Desktop w/20″ Monitor – $519.99

HP Pavillion Slimline s5220f Desktop Computer w/Intel Pentium Processor E5300, 4GB RAM, 640GB Hard Drive – $369.99

Toshiba 15.6″ Widescreen Notebook w/AMD Turion II Dual-Core Processor M500, 3GB RAM, 320GB Hard Drive – $469.99

Toshiba 17″ Notebook w/AMD Turion II M500, 3GB RAM, 250GB Hard Drive – $499.99

Digital Cameras

Ativa Digital 1080p HD Video Camcorder 4x Optical Zoom – $89.99

Canon PowerShot SD1200 IS 10.0-Megapixel Digital ELPH Camera – $149.99

Canon PowerShot SD780 IS 12.1-Megapixel Digital Camera – $179.99

Kodak EasyShare CD80 Digital Camera Bundle – $79.99

Kodak EasyShare M381 Digital Camera w/Case & Tripod – $169.99

Kodak EasyShare Z915 Digital Camera w/Case & Charger – $199.99

Nikon Coolpix S570 12.0 Megapixel Digital Camera (Black) – $149.99

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W220 Digital Camera – $129.99

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W290 Digital Camera w/Case & Charger – $229.99

Vivitar Digital Camera Bundle – $49.99

Digital Media Cards

SanDisk 4GB Ultra II SDHC Memory Card – $12.99

SanDisk 8GB Memory Cards – $14.99

SanDisk 8GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Memory Card – $24.99

SanDisk 8GB Ultra II CompactFlash Memory Card – $19.99

Electronics

1.5″ Digital Photo Frames – $7.99

Ativa 8″ Digital Photo Frame – $49.99

Brother P-Touch PT-1290 Electronic Labeler – $9.99

Panasonic DECT 6.0 Digital Cordless KX-TG9332T Phone Answering System (After Rebate) – $29.99

Plantronics Explorer Bluetooth Mobile Headset 220 – $14.99

Sony Earbuds – $7.99

GPS Navigation Systems

Garmin Nuvi 1200 GPS Navigation System – $119.99

Garmin Nuvi 1300 GPS Navigation System – $149.99

TomTom GO 630 GPS Navigation System – $169.99

TomTom ONE 130 GPS Navigation System – $77.99

TomTom XL 330 GPS Navigation System – $97.99

Hard Drives

Seagate 1.5TB Expansion External Hard Drive – $99.99

Seagate 2TB FreeAgent External Hard Drive – $179.99

Seagate 320GB Expansion External Portable Hard Drive – $59.99

Seagate 640GB FreeAgent Go External Portable Hard Drive – $119.99

Seagate 750GB Free Agent Go External Portable Hard Drive – $149.99

Verbatim 1TB External Hard Drive – $79.99

Home Theater

Ativa Home Theater System 5.1 – $39.99

Memory

Kingston 1GB PC 5300 DDR2 Memory Upgrade – $17.99

Miscellaneous

All Cross Gift Pens – 50% Off

Monitors

Ativa 21.6″ HD LCD Monitor – $119.99

Movies

Over 50 Sony DVD Movies – B1G1

MP3 Players

Ativa 2GB MP3 Player With Video And FM Radio – $17.99

Ativa Speaker Dock For iPod PF112 – $19.99

Memorex Docking Clock Radio For iPod – $34.99

Sony Speaker Dock Clock Radio For iPod Or iPhone – $79.99

Networking & Wireless

D-Link Basic N Wireless Adapter – $19.99

D-Link Basic N Wireless Router – $19.99

Linksys Wireless-N Rangeplus Adapter – $39.99

Linksys Wireless-N Rangeplus Router Or Adapter – $39.99

Office

Ativa 6-Sheet Cross-Cut Shredder (After Rebate) – $14.99

Brother FAX 575 Fax/Phone/Copier – $9.99

CL Shore Mini-Solution Desk w/Hutch – $99.99

Limval L-Shaped Desk – $49.99

Office Depot Brand Premium Glossy Photo Paper – B1G2

Realspace Merrick High-Back Boded Leather Chair – $79.99

Realspace Soho Harrington High-Back Chair – $99.99

Realspace Soho Magellan Corner Desk w/Hutch – $139.99

RS To Go Alvy Task Chair – $34.99

RS To Go Ruvia Mid-Back Chair – $39.99

True Innovations High-Back Bonded Leather Chair – $79.99

Photos

Ativa 7″ Digital Photo Frame – $29.99

Portable USB Storage

Ativa 4GB USB Flash Drive – $7.99

Lexar 32GB TwistTurn USB Drive – $59.99

SanDisk 16GB Curzer USB Flash Drive – $27.99

SanDisk 8GB Cruzer USB Flash Drive – $14.99

Printers

Brother MFC-295cn All-In-One Printer – $59.99

Brother MFC-7340 Laser All-In-One Printer – $99.99

Brother Wireless MFC-490cw All-In-One Printer – $79.99

Canon 100 LIDE Scanner – $29.99

Canon PIXMA MP490 Photo All-In-One Printer, Copier, Scanner – $29.99

Free HP Printer D4360 With Any PC Purchase – $0.00

HP 6000 Officejet Wireless Printer – $59.99

HP 8500 Officejet All-In-One Printer – $149.99

HP CP1518ni Color Laser Printer – $199.99

HP D5460 Photosmart Printer – $29.99

HP J4680 Wireless All-In-One Printer – $64.99

HP LaserJet P1005 Monochrome Laser Printer – $49.99

HP P1006 Mono Laser Printer – $89.99

HP Plus Photosmart Wireless Printer – $74.99

HP Premium Photosmart All-In-One Printer – $99.99

Lexmark S605 Wireless All-In-One Printer – $119.99

Lexmark X7675 Wireless All-In-One Printer – $99.99

Samsung CLP-315 Color Laser Printer – $79.99

Wireless All In One Printer – $39.99

Software

$30 Off Rosetta Stone Software – $30 Off

Interior Design (After Rebate) – $0.00

Microsft Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade – $119.90

Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 – $79.99

Norton 360 Premier 3.0 Security Software – $9.99

Photo Explosion (After Rebate) – $0.00

Print Master (After Rebate) – $0.00

Scrapbook Factory (After Rebate) – $0.00

Television

Digital Prism 7″ Portable LCD TV ATSC710 – $84.99

Samsung 19″ 933HD Widescreen LCD HDTV – $199.99

Samsung 23″ 2333HD Widescreen LCD HDTV – $249.99

Samsung 26″ T260HD Widescreen LCD HDTV – $299.99

More Black Friday deals…

Dell just went official with the Inspiron Zino HD price and spces. There have been a few unboxing and previews popping up around the blogs the last few days and I’ve fallen in love with the little computer. It’s slightly larger than the Mac Mini, but I believe infinitely more versatile.

HTPC - It’s a given. The $229 Dell Zino HD would feel right at home on a A/V rack. The Athlon CPUs and optional ATI Radeon HD 4330 512MB GPU has more than enough juice to output 1080p to your HDTV. Check the box for the optional Blu-ray drive and TV tuner to create a bonafide HTPCIB – Home Theater PC In a Box, that is.

WHS - There are about a dozen and a half already built Windows Home Server options available. HP makes the media-centric MediaSmart line, Acer has the Atom-packing easyStore, Lenovo has options and the list goes on. They are competent boxes, but none of them have the processing power that the AMD options offer in the Zino HD, which is somewhat important if you want to turn the server into a torrent downloading monster. Choose the integrated graphics but select at least 2GB of RAM along with the option 1TB hard drive. The 2 eSATA ports ensure that you’ll never run out of storage capacity too.

Trendy office computer – It doesn’t take much to run Microsoft Office apps anymore. Why live with a boring gray tower these days when the playful Zino HD can get the job done too? Even the base model should be fine for most office tasks.

In-car computer – The Mac Mini might score you nerd points with the geeks posing in the car tuning crowd, but there are a lot of PC-only in-car apps, which makes the Zino HD a perfect solution. It has a small footprint and more than enough power to run GPS and music software. But most importantly is that the computer comes in enough color options that you should be able to find one to match your ride.

Old folks computer – What do old people do on a computer these days? Play on Facebook? That’s about it and the Zino HD, along with countless other options, has more than enough power to be a reliable computer for them. The Athlon cores should be able to handle at least five Internet Explorer toolbars and several spyware programs posing as card games. Try that with an Atom CPU.

The Zino HD product page is currently up, but you can’t customize or order one yet. That will probably change sometime today.

Press release,

ROUND ROCK, Texas, Nov. 12, 2009 – Dell today introduced the mini-sized Inspiron Zino HD, which is versatile enough to handle tasks from basic computing chores to driving a big-screen, High-Definition TV media center. With a choice of colors, the Inspiron Zino HD can be easily personalized to add flare to any room in the home.

The News:

Starting at $229, the Inspiron Zino HD includes standard HD-capable integrated graphics, HDMI output and built-in networking that make it smart for typical home and student computing activities such as word processing, e-mail, organizing photos and music, and surfing the Internet.

The economical Inspiron Zino HD with optional additional memory, hard drive storage, combo Blu-ray disc player, HDTV tuner, wireless remote control and Windows 7 Media Player and turns into a powerful home media center computer. In that capacity the Inspiron Zino HD can record and play your favorite TV shows, display high-definition content from the Internet, and store and deliver music, video and photos very well.

The Inspiron Zino HD is also ideal as an additional household PC that can fit in tight spaces and make home networking a cinch. It measures about 7.75 inches square and 3.5 inches tall. While small in size, the Inspiron Zino HD is a big performer with:

• Ultra-small form factor designed to fit almost anywhere.
• Easy personalization with nine color choices for Inspiron Zino HD.
• Choice of AMD processors or dual core Athlon Neo X2 6850e.
• Up to 8GB dual channel DDR 2 memory.
• Up to 1TB internal hard disk storage.
• Combo DVD/CD RW drive with optional Blu-ray Disc combo.
• Integrated 10/100/1000 networking with wireless option.
• Optional TV tuner, wireless keyboard and mouse.
• Built in 2.1 high-definition audio and 4-in-one media card reader.
• Integrated ATI graphics adapter with standard HDMI and VGA video connections, and optional 512MB discrete graphics adapter.
• Four USB ports (2 front/2 rear); two eSATA ports (rear).
• Energy-Star 5.0 compliant.

A basic Inspiron Zino without High-Definition capability or upgrade options will be offered in some regions.

A list of rumored items for the Sam’s Club Black Friday ad has been percolating around the web lately. There’s no ad scan to confirm any of this yet, but I’ll update this post once more information becomes available.

For now, though, here’s a list of the rumored electronics items:

Blank Media

Blu-ray 2-Packs – $17.00

Computers

Acer Aspire One 10.1″ Netbook – $197.00

HP G71 17″ LED Notebook w/Blu-ray – $499.00

Digital Cameras

Olympus FE-4000 12 MegaPixel Camera – $98.00

Digital Media Cards

Toshiba 16GB SDHC Digital Media Card – $24.00

DVD Players

JVC 1080p Blu-ray Player – $129.00

Phillips Dual Screen Portable DVD Player – $99.00

Electronics

Samsung Compact SD Camcorder w/Bag – $149.00

GPS Systems

Garmin Nuvi 255w GPS Navigation System – $119.00

Home Theater

Samsung 5.1 Blu-ray Home Theater – $398.00

Printers

HP AIO Printer Bundle – $69.00

Televisions

Hitachi 42″ 1080p LCD HDTV – $598.00

Phillips 52″ 1080p LCD HDTV – $1198.00

Vizio 47″ 1080p 240Hz LCD HDTV – $997.00

Video Games

PS3 120GB Bundle – $399.00

Wii Active Life Bundle w/Mat – $69.00

Wii Family Bundle – $349.00

No word on possible doorbuster items or when the store will open on Black Friday. I’ll update this post when more information becomes available.

Sam’s Club Black Friday Ad [BlackFriday.info]

More Black Friday deals…

Acer’s new 18.4-inch AS8940G-6865 is a desktop replacement. And by “desktop replacement” I mean that you could attach four legs to it and use it as your desk. It’s big, is what I’m trying to say. Don’t actually attach legs to it, but I guess take with you the impression that this is a large laptop. Also, it’s powerful, so keep that in mind as well.

The machine boasts a newfangled quad-core Intel Core i7 CPU 720QM at 1.6GHz, an 18.4-inch LCD at 1920×1080 resolution, 4GB of DDR3 memory, an NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250M GPU with 1GB of dedicated DDR3 video RAM, 500GB SATA hard drive, Blu-ray/DVD burner combo drive, 8-cell battery, and Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

There’s also five USB ports, an HDMI port, eSATA port, card reader, webcam, VGA output, Dolby audio, draft-N wireless, “touch-capacitive media control interface,” and a travel weight of more than 10 pounds.

Pricing starts at $1350 – Newegg seems to be first out of the gate to sell the machine.

Full press release:

New Acer Aspire Notebook PC Maximizes Performance with New Intel Core i7 Quad-Core Processor and Windows 7 Technology

New Aspire AS8940G-6865 Notebook with 18.4-inch Display Delivers Intensive Gaming, Entertainment and Multimedia Performance

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Acer America today introduced the Acer Aspire AS8940G-6865 notebook PC, featuring the new Intel® Core™ i7 Quad-Core 720QM processor and Windows® 7 Home Premium. This mobile processor delivers extremely fast performance for the most demanding applications such as playing games and editing digital photos and videos.

Designed for entertainment and multimedia enthusiasts, the Aspire AS8940G-6865 offers superior performance, innovative features and advanced technology for mobile users. This new notebook boasts a large 18.4-inch widescreen HD display for extraordinary visual quality, advanced NVIDIA graphics, Blu-ray technology, a high-quality audio system, a large hard drive and ample memory, making it a mobile powerhouse. The addition of Windows 7 to this new notebook provides users with a new level of performance, simplicity and ease of use.

The Aspire AS8940G with the Intel Core i7 processor delivers a breakthrough in PC performance, allowing users to multitask between applications quicker and enjoy faster performance overall. The new processor features Intel Turbo Boost Technology⁽³⁾, which accelerates processor clock speed up to 75 percent to match a user’s workload⁽⁴⁾ demands, giving more power when it is needed the most. Intel Hyper-Threading Technology⁽⁵⁾ allows applications to work better in parallel, making multitasking quick and easy.

“This new Aspire notebook offers multimedia enthusiasts the ultimate in mobile entertainment – cinematic quality sound and visuals, an industry-leading feature set, and the performance to handle demanding digital media,” said Preeta Anil, Product Manager, Notebooks for Acer America. “The addition of Intel’s new Core i7 processor further boosts the power and performance of the Aspire AS8940G for games, movies, videos and more.”

Superior Technology for Mobile Cinema and Gaming

For the ultimate cinematic experience, the Aspire AS8940G-6865 features cutting-edge visual and sound technology. This new notebook includes an 18.4-inch full HD widescreen CineCrystal™ LED backlit display with a 1920×1080 resolution that exhibits true HDTV with a 16:9 aspect ratio in a new edge-to-edge design that’s perfect for widescreen movies. The certified Dolby Home Theater® Audio Enhancement technology combined with the Acer CineSurround sound system with five built-in speakers and the Acer Tuba CineBass booster bring clear tones and deep bass beats for incredible entertainment.

Users can enjoy the clarity and precision of Blu-ray Disc™ high definition technology for watching Blu-ray movies in extraordinary detail as well as burn CDs and DVDs of music, photos and files. The NVIDIA® GeForce® GTS 250M graphics maximize the gaming experience by providing intense computing power. Additionally, the 1GB of dedicated video memory allows buffering capacity for seamless graphics and visuals.

Further enhancing the multimedia experience, Acer’s Touch-Capacitive Media Control Interface allows consumers to quickly and easily control their entertainment choices, including media playback and volume levels. The Aspire AS8940G also comes equipped with a FineTip keyboard with backlight, making it more user friendly when watching movies or listening to music in a dark environment.

Mobile Performance and Connectivity

Additional popular technologies allow customers to stay connected and be productive while on the go. The integrated media card reader, DVD burner and 500GB of hard drive storage enable customers to quickly and easily view, download, store and share their digital media content. Additionally, the Aspire AS8940G offers users further flexibility and expandability with an extra eSATA hard drive port.

The Acer Crystal Eye™ webcam delivers smooth video streaming and high quality images for online chats and business video conferences, even in low-light situations. The built-in digital microphone conveys superior voice quality, keeping background noise levels low and minimizing echoes.

Consumers can connect via 802.11a/b/g Draft-N with expanded wireless features, and all models include Gigabit Ethernet for a fast wired connection.

Pricing/Configurations/Availability

The Acer Aspire AS8940G-6865 notebook will be available for U.S. customers at leading retailers this holiday season. A sample configuration follows.

Acer Aspire AS8940G-6865

• Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 720QM (1.60GHz, 6MB L3 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
• 18.4″ Full HD Widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit Display
  (1920×1080 Resolution, 16:9 Aspect Ratio)
• 4GB DDR3 Dual-Channel 1066MHz Memory
• NVIDIA® GeForce® GTS 250M with 1GB dedicated DDR3 VRAM
• 500GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive ⁽¹⁾
• 4X Blu-ray Disc^™/DVD SuperMulti Double-Layer Drive
• Multi-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
• Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 5100 802.11a//bg/Draft-N Wi-Fi CERTIFIED®
• Acer Crystal Eye™ Integrated Webcam
• Touch-Capacitive Media Control Interface
• 5 USB 2.0 Ports, 1 HDMI Port, 1 eSATA Port
• 8-cell Li-Ion Battery (4800mAh)
• Dolby Home Theater® Audio Enhancement
• Acer CineSurround Sound System (5 built-in speakers)
• Windows® 7 Home Premium 64-bit
• MSRP $1,349.99

Kmart’s Black Friday circular has found its way to the series of interconnected tubes that we all know and love. Here’s a list of the electronics deals you can expect to find.

Doorbusters (available from 6AM-11AM Friday morning) are marked with an asterisk.

Cell Phones

TracFone LG Bluetooth Camera Flip Phone – $19.99

Wireless Bluetooth Headset – $7.99

Computers

Delstar 7 Inch Wireless Netbook 05 Windows CE – $119.99 *

Digital Cameras

Kodak CD80 Digital Camera Bundle – $79.99

Samsung SL40 Digitial Camera – $79.99 *

Sony W180 Digital Camera – $99.99

DVD Players

Magnavox DVD Player w/VCR – $49.99

Memorex 1080P HDMI Upconvert DVD Player – $29.99

Sylvania 7 Inch Portable DVD Player – $49.99 *

Electronics

Cobra Radar Detector – $29.99 *

Cobra Two Way Radio Pair – $19.99 *

Coby 7 Inch Digital Picture Frame – $29.99 *

Emerson 3-Handset DECT Phone Bundle – $39.99

GPX 2.1 Channel DVD Home Theater System – $39.99

iHome Dock – $9.99

iHome PC Accessories – $9.99

Jazz T20 Camcorder – $19.99

Phillips 4-Device Remote Control – $9.99

SmartPants 8.5″ Digital Photo Frame – $49.99

Sony Earbuds – $4.99

Games & Hobbies

48″ Air Powered Hockey Table With Electronic Scoring – $39.99 *

Bowlercade With Electronic Ball Return And Scoring – $59.99 *

GPS Navigation Systems

Magellan Roadmate 1220 GPS Navigation System – $84.99 *

TomTom ONE 130 GPS – $79.99

TomTom XL325S GPS Navigation System – $99.99

MP3 Players

Element 2GB Stick MP3 Player – $9.99 *

Sylvania 4GB MP3 Player – $19.99

Televisions

Element 26″ LCD HDTV – $249.99

Panasonic 42″ 720 Plasma TV – $549.99

Sony Bravia L Series 32″ Class 720p LCD HDTV (Model KDL32L504) – $379.99 *

Video Games

$25 Nintendo Gaming Coupon w/Any DS System Purchase – $0.00

Brutal Legend For PS3 – $39.99

Brutal Legend For XBox 360 – $39.99

Dirt 2 (PS3) – $39.99

Dirt 2 (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Dragon Age For PS3 – $39.99

Dragon Age For XBox 360 – $39.99

for PS3 – $199.99

Halo 3 OSDT – $39.99

High School Musical 3 Dance Bundle – $9.99

Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Nintendo DSi Bundle w/5 Pre-Installed Games – $169.99 *

Nintendo Wii – $199.99

Rock Band 2 Special Edition (XBox 360) – $99.99

Sandisk 4GB SD Card – $8.99

Select Wii Games – $9.99

Select Wii Games – $29.99

Value Video Games – $14.99

WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2010 PS3 – $39.99

XBox 360 Elite Bundle w/Halo 3 OSDT – $299.99

Kmart Black Friday Ad [BlackFriday.info]

More Black Friday deals…

Interestingly, since I hacked 2.x, I don’t really want to do this update. If you guys try it, let me know. I may give it a go this afternoon.

Apple Introduces Apple TV 3.0 Software With Redesigned User Interface

Enjoy iTunes Extras, iTunes LP & Genius Mixes on Your HD TV

CUPERTINO, Calif., Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Apple® today introduced new Apple TV® 3.0 software featuring a redesigned main menu that makes navigating your favorite content simpler and faster, and makes enjoying the largest selection of on-demand HD movie rentals and purchases, HD TV shows, music and podcasts from the iTunes® Store even better on your TV. You can now enjoy iTunes Extras and iTunes LP in stunning fullscreen with your Apple TV, as well as listen to Genius Mixes and Internet radio through your home theater system. The new Apple TV software is available immediately free of charge to existing Apple TV owners, and Apple TV with 160GB capacity is available for just $229.

“The new software for Apple TV features a simpler and faster interface that gives you instant access to your favorite content,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of Internet Services. “HD movies and HD TV shows from iTunes have been a huge hit with Apple TV customers, and with Apple TV 3.0 they get great new features including iTunes Extras, Genius Mixes and Internet radio.”

The redesigned main menu on Apple TV gives you instant access to your favorite content. Recently rented or purchased movies, as well as other content including TV shows, music, podcasts, photos and YouTube, are accessible directly from the new main menu. The new software also allows Apple TV users to enjoy stunning fullscreen iTunes Extras and iTunes LP, including great new movie titles such as “Star Trek” or classics like “The Wizard of Oz” and albums such as Taylor Swift’s “Fearless (Platinum Edition)” and Jack Johnson’s “En Concert.” iTunes Extras gives movie fans great additional content such as deleted scenes, interviews and interactive galleries. iTunes LP is the next evolution of the music album, delivering a rich, immersive experience for select albums on the iTunes Store by combining beautiful design with expanded visual features like live performance videos, lyrics, artwork, liner notes, interviews, photos, album credits and more.

Now Apple TV users can enjoy Genius Mixes through their home theater system and listen to up to 12 endless mixes of songs that go great together, automatically generated from their iTunes library. Customers can also enjoy Internet radio, allowing them to browse and listen to thousands of Internet radio stations, as well as tag favorite stations to listen to later. Apple TV’s support of HD photos is enhanced with iPhoto Events, which simplifies finding your favorite photos on Apple TV, as well as iPhoto® Faces, which gives access to photos organized by people identified in iPhoto.

Apple TV users have direct access to a catalog of over 8,000 Hollywood films on iTunes including over 2,000 in stunning HD video available for rent or purchase. Users can also choose from a selection of 11 million songs, 10,000 music videos and over 50,000 TV episodes to purchase directly from their Apple TV or browse and enjoy the iTunes Store podcast directory of over 175,000 free video and audio podcasts. Purchases downloaded to Apple TV are automatically synced back to iTunes on the user’s computer for enjoyment on their Mac® or PC or all current generation iPods or iPhones.* iPod touch® or iPhone® users can download the free Remote app from the App Store to control their Apple TV with a simple tap or flick of the finger.

via Giz

“Instead of focusing solely on determining routes to a specified waypoint, our system utilizes analysis of driver behavior in order to identify the set of goals the driver would like to achieve.” That is innovative, and as the video above indicates, AIDA can work to help you efficiently navigate your home city. It still looks suspiciously destination-oriented, and I wonder how much our continued reliance on navigation products is going to make us miss out of serendipitous discoveries, like the mom-and-pop movie theater nearby is showing your favorite B movie, or a big multi-family yard sale is taking place this Saturday. The more we rely on technology to get us where we’re going, the less likely we are to see what’s going on nearby.

AIDA is a product of the MIT SENSElab, the MIT Media Lab’s Personal Robots Group, and the Volkswagen Group of America’s Electronics Research Lab. The full press release is available.

We have another early entry into the wonderful world of leaked Black Friday ads with Sears opening at 4:00 AM on Friday morning and offering a pretty enticing list of door busters (available until noon) and other sale items to satisfy the rabid consumer in everyone.

Products include the following (door busters are marked with an asterisk):

Digital Cameras

Canon 980IS 12.1MP Digital Camera – $279.99

Canon Powershot SD780 IS 12.1MP Digital Camera – $179.99

Canon Rebelx XS Digital SLR Camera & Canon EF 75-300MM Telephoto Zoom Lens – $669.98

Disney Pix Micro Digital Cameras Designed For Just For Kids – $9.99 *

Fuji J29 10MP 3X Zoom 2.7″ LCD Digital Camera Bundle – $89.99 *

GE A1250 Digital Camera #0387779 – $69.99 *

Hi Pro Camera Kits #0354381/80 – 50% Off *

Jazz T20 4X Digtal Zoom 1.5″ LCD Camcorder #0339539/39540 – $19.99 *

Jazz T55 Camcorder #0339538 – $49.99 *

Kodak CD80 10.2MP, #x Zoom Digital Camera 2.4″ LCD 2GB Card And Case – $79.99 *

Kodak M1063 10.3MP Digital Camera – $89.99

Nikon Coolpix 12MP Digital Camera – $149.99

Nikon COOLPIX L20 Digital Camera – $99.99 *

Olmpus FE-4000 12MP Digital Camera – $99.99

Samsung C10 SD 1200 Digital Zoom 10X Optical Zoom 2.7″ LCD Camcorder – $149.99 *

Samsung Compact Full HD Camcorder – $399.99

Samsung SL40 12.2MP Digital Camera – $79.99

Sony 4GB Camcorder – $249.99

Sony 60GB Hard Disk Drive Camcorder – $299.99

Sony Cyber-Shot 10.1MP Digital Camera – $99.99

Sony Cyper-Shot 10.1MP Digital Camera – $249.99

Digital Media Cards

Sandisk 2GB SD Card – $5.99

SanDisk 4GB Memory Cards Or Flash Drive – $8.99 *

Sandisk 8GB SDHC Card – $14.99

Sony 2GB Memory Stick PRO Due – $12.99

DVD Players

Curtis DVD Player AR – $17.99 *

GPX 8″ Portabe DVD Player PD808BU – $79.99

GPX DVD/CD Boom Box 7″ LCD Display #5710084/BD707B – $99.99 *

Magnavox DVD Player With VCR #5757168/DV225MG9 AR – $49.99 *

Samsung Blu-ray Disc Player BD-P1600-A – $149.99

Sony Blu-ray Disc Player BDPS360 – $149.99

Sony DVD Player DVP-SR200P – $34.99

Sylvania 7″ Portable DVD Player #5757149/SDVD7015-BLUE AR – $49.99 *

Electronics

AT&T DECT 6.0 Cordless Phone System w/4 Handsets – $59.99

Coby 7″ Digital Photo Frame – $29.99 *

Coby 8″ Digital Frame – $49.99

iHome Portable iPod/MP3 Speaker System – $9.99

Karaoke CP398 – $29.99

Kodak 7″ Digital Frame – $49.99

Pandigital 10″ Digital Photo Frame – $69.99 *

Sony E10 Ear Buds Headphones – $4.99

Sony Wireless Headphones – $29.99

GPS Systems

Garmin Nuvi 205 GPS – $89.99 *

Magellan RoadMate 1220 GPS – $89.99

Magellan RoadMate 1440 GPS – $119.99 *

TomTom One 130 GPS – $79.99

TomTom XL325S – $99.99

Home Theater

Panasonic Blu-Ray Home Theater System #5798529/SC-BT200 – $399.99 *

RCA 5.1 Channel 250 Watt Home Theater System RTD317 – $99.99

Samsung 5.1 Channel 1000 Watt Single Disc DVD Home Theater System #5798659/HT-Z320 – $197.99 *

Samsung Blu-ray Home Theater System HT-BD1250 – $397.99

Sony Bravia 5.1 Channel 1000 Watt Integrated Home Theater System DAV-HDX589 – $329.99

MP3 Players

GPX 4GB MP3/4 Player – $32.99

iH4 iHome Alarm Clock For iPod #5792408/18 – $29.99 *

Mach Speed MP3 Player #5782229 – $24.99 *

RCA 1GB Sport MP3 Player #5731060 – $13.99 *

Televisions

AOC 32″ Full HD LDC TV – $379.99

Audiovox Under Cabinet Kitchen 7″ LCD DVD Clock Radio – $179.99

Eviant 7″ Hand Held TV – $89.99

LG 55″ LCD HDTV 55LH40 – $1499.99

Panasonic 42″ Class Plasma HDTV #5775529/TC-P42S1 – $649.99 *

Panasonic 54″ Plasma HDTV TC-P54G10 – $1499.99

Proscan 40″ Class LCD HDTV #5771379/40LC45Q – $539.99 *

Samsung 22″ Class LCD HDTV #5772015/LN22B350 – $249.99 *

Samsung 40″ Class 1080p LCD HDTV #5771409/LN40B500 – $599.99 *

Samsung 40″ LED HDTV UN40B6000 – $1399.99

Samsung 42″ Plasma HDTV PN42B400 – $549.99

Samsung 46″ 1080P Class LCD HDTV #5771419/LN46B500 – $899.99 *

Samsung 46″ Class LCD HDTV #5771079/LN46B650 – $1309.99 *

Samsung 46″ LED HDTV UN46B6000 – $1599.99

Samsung 50″ Class Plasma HDTV #5775129/PN50B430 – $699.99 *

Samsung 50″ Plasma HDTV PN50B530 – $899.99

Samsung 55″ LED HDTV UN55B6000 – $2469.99

Sharp 19″ Class LCD HDTV #5772149/LC19SB27UT – $179.99 *

Sony 32″ Class LCD HDTV #5771459/KDL-32L504 – $379.99 *

Sony 40″ Class LCD HDTV #5771439/KDL40S504 – $664.99 *

Sony 46″ Class LCD HDTV #5771449/KDL-46S504 – $854.99 *

Sony 46″ LCD HDTV KDL46V5100 – $1239.99

Sony 52″ LCD HDTV KDL52V5100 – $1599.99

Toshiba 40″ 1080P Class LCD HDTV #5771438/40RV525U/R – $589.99 *

VIZIO 32″ ECO HDTV VO320E – $349.99

Zenith 42″ Class Plasma HDTV #5775849/Z42PO2 – $499.99 *

Video Games

2-Pack Wii or DS Games – $14.99 *

2-Pack Xbox-360 Games or PS3 Games – $24.99 *

3-Pack PS2 Games – $9.99 *

Biggest Loser (Wii) – $29.99

Facebreak (Xbox 360) – $14.99

Guitar Hero World Tour For PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, PS3 – $49.99 *

Halo ODST (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Left 4 Dead (Xbox 360) – $39.99

Nerf Racing Wheel Wii – $9.99

Nintendo DS Games – $19.99 *

Nintendo DS Games – $29.99 *

Nintendo Wii w/Nerf Racing Wheel – $199.99

Playstation 3 120GB – $299.99

PS3 Blu-Ray Remote – $24.99

TNA Impact (PS3) – $14.99

Various Video Games – $14.99 or Under

Xbox 360 Elite Bundle – $299.99

Xbox Live 12 Month Gold Card – $49.99

Check out the entire list and ad scan over at BlackFriday.info.

More Black Friday deals…

Wal-Mart has contracted with service provider N.E.W. to offer tech support services, seemingly in an attempt to compete with Best Buy’s Geek Squad and similar outfits.

It’s probably not a bad idea, seeing as though Wal-Mart is making a bigger push into the consumer electronics retail void that’s been left open by the closing of stores like CompUSA and Circuit City.

Plans will apparently be offered on prepaid cards with pricing set at between $99 and $339 for services such as TV, home theater, and wireless network setups, to name a few. Service will be provided by third-party contractors, so it’s not quite the same as how Best Buy offers in-store Geek Squad stuff. This appears to be more in-home service only, not counter service inside actual Wal-Mart stores.

Service offerings are expected to roll out in all Wal-Mart locations by the holidays.

[via Reuters]

So here’s a few ideas on how to set things up so it won’t be quite so obtrusive. To some custom installers, this will be old hat but to mere mortals like myself. The suggestions actually come from Sound And Vision magazine, and they sound (if you’ll pardon the pun) quite reasonable.

They suggest either downsizing the woofer (since technology makes it not quite so necessary to have a 20inch woofer in your house anymore), or installing it in the floor, ceiling, or under the couch. There’s also the option of custom cabinetry, if you are feeling really ambitious. Someone needing a really large bass system may decide to go with the ‘false wall’ method, which involves using fabric to conceal the subwoofer at the front of the room. If you’re at that point, though, you’re probably a bit more hardcore than someone who’d be turning to a magazine for DIY tips.

At 31mm, the amplifier is a tiny bit thicker and weighs 0.73kg.It features 20W×4ch(4Ω) average power output and Dolby Digital DTS and AAC support. You can either hang the speakers up on a wall or use a stand that Victor JVC throws in.

The sound system will go on sale in Japan at the end of this month. No announcements for markets outside Japan were made, but Japanese buyers will have to pay $260 for the amplifier and $220 for the speaker set. The system will be available in black and white.

Acer’s going the touchscreen route with the 15.6-inch Aspire AS5738PG notebook. It’ll launch alongside Windows 7 on October 22nd with a starting price of $800. The machine will run Windows 7 Home Premium and pack a multi-touch screen for some good old fashioned pinching and zooming.

Other features include a 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU, 512MB ATI Radeon HD4570 graphics chip, 4GB of RAM, 320GB SATA hard drive, DVD burner, six-cell battery, and a weight of just over six pounds.

Full press release:

Launching with Windows 7, the new Aspire AS5738PG multi-touch screen notebook delivers incredible new functionality, high-performance features, and mobile entertainment

SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 14, 2009 – Acer America, part of the world’s third largest PC company⁽¹⁾ today debuts its new Acer Aspire 5738PG notebook PC – the company’s first notebook with multi-touch screen capabilities that offer a natural and enhanced way to interact with the PC, applications and digital data.

The Acer Aspire 5738PG multi-touch screen notebook launches with Windows 7 Home Premium and will be available starting October 22 at select retailers.

The Acer Aspire 5738PG’s high-quality multi-touch screen display and Windows 7 multi-touch support makes entertainment and multimedia experiences more intuitive and interactive. As a result, customers can touch anywhere on the screen using one or two fingertips to play movies, zoom in and out on websites, edit photos and video, handwrite notes, resize windows, launch entertainment applications and more.

Also, customers can use the multi-touch screen for a variety of gestures directly on the screen for intuitive and accurate access and control. For example, customers can pinch inward or outward to zoom in and out of photos, flick the screen to turn the page and browse through media and documents, as well as swirl their finger for quick and simple navigation of lists.

“Customers will experience an incredible level of flexibility and control in the multi-touch screen interface, as it frees them to interact with their digital world in a way that is familiar yet also new and exciting,” said Ray Sawall, senior manager of product marketing for Acer America. “The Acer Aspire 5738PG’s multi-touch experience takes advantage of the many new capabilities in Windows 7 and provides incredibly powerful first-rate technology such as ATI Radeon graphics and an Intel Core 2 Duo processor.”

Sawall continued, “Until now, touch notebooks have been limited in capabilities and available only at a substantial price premium. The new Acer Aspire 5738PG changes all this with multi-touch screen capabilities and a price that is affordable for a wide range of customers.”

Impressive Mobile Theater Entertainment

More than the sum of its touch points, the Acer Aspire 5738PG notebook combines first-rate technologies that deliver excellent performance for mobile theater entertainment and mainstream games.

The display was designed to provide an extraordinary cinematic experience that is immersive and incredibly realistic. The vibrant HD display is a 16:9 widescreen size that’s ideal for enjoying movies and online entertainment. Plus, it’s LED-backlit, which reduces energy usage compared to traditional laptop displays. Along with the 1366×768-resolution, the LED-backlit display contributes to the display’s crisp clear visuals and is ideal for enjoying HD movies.  Plus, the touch-control is remarkably precise.

Complementing the HD display, the system’s Intel Core 2 Duo processor provides the horsepower to drive demanding applications with ease.  In addition the high-definition ATI Radeon HD 4570 Graphics with 512MB Dedicated DDR3 VRAM enhances imagery with vivid color and crisp detail. Dolby Home Theater Audio Enhancement with built-in speakers and 5.1-channel surround sound output bring these incredible visuals to life with vibrant crisp audio.

Technology and Extras for On-the-Go Productivity and Fun

Customers will have plenty of ways to access, store, share and enjoy their digital media files. The spacious 320GB hard drive can store a vast library of music, video, photos, spreadsheets and email. An integrated multi-in-one media reader enables connection to peripherals and electronic devices, while an HDMI port allows the system to support any PC, TV or other device with an HDMI port via a single cable.  The four USB 2.0 ports provide ample connections to peripherals and consumer electronics.

Staying in touch is fun and convenient with the notebook’s integrated 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N wireless technology and Gigabit Ethernet. The Acer Crystal Eye webcam enables high-quality video chats and VoIP with friends, family and work associates. It can also capture still pictures and videos for sharing with others.

Hardware and Design Enhance the Touch Experience

The overall multi-touch screen experience is further enhanced by giving customers more ways to interact with their notebook through the multi-gesture touchpad. Affording easy PC navigation, the new Aspire 5738PG’s multi-gesture touchpad lets users access their applications and media with the same sort of natural, intuitive gestures they can use on the touch screen, including pinch, flick and swirl. The convenient touchpad lock can be set to prevent unintended cursor movement.

The new Acer Aspire 5738PG multi-touch screen notebook also comes with helpful and easy-to-use one-touch buttons:  the Acer Backup Manager for backing-up important files and information, and the PowerSmart button for maximizing battery life. In addition, the notebook is Energy Star qualified.

Availability, Configurations and Pricing

The Acer Aspire AS5738PG-6306 notebook is the first model available in the line. It will be available for U.S. customers with Windows 7 Home Premium beginning Oct. 22 at leading retailers.  Specifications and pricing follow.

The Acer Aspire AS5738PG-6306 is available in Acer’s popular Gemstone Blue color.

Acer^® Aspire AS5738PG-6306 Multi-Touch Screen Notebook PC

· 15.6-Inch HD CineCrystal™ LED-Backlit Multi-Touch Screen Display (Widescreen 16.9 Aspect Ratio, 1366×768 Resolution)

· Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

· Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T6600 (2.2GHz, 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)

· ATI Radeon™ HD 4570 Graphics with 512MB Dedicated DDR3 VRAM

· 4GB DDR2 667MHz Dual Channel Memory

· 320GB SATA Hard Drive⁽²⁾

· 8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive

· Dedicated Numeric Keypad

· Intel^® Wireless WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/b/g/Draft-N Wi-Fi CERTIFIED^™ Network Connection, Featuring MIMO Technology, Supporting Acer SignalUp^™ With Nplify^{™3, 4} Wireless Technology

· Two Built-In Stereo Speakers With Dolby^®10-Optimized Surround Sound System

· Acer Crystal Eye Webcam With 640 x 480 Supporting Acer PrimaLite^™ Technology

· HDMI Port and Four USB 2.0 Ports

· Energy Star

· 6.16 lbs with 6-Cell Battery

· MSRP: $799.99

Looks like those images that leaked back in August of the WD TV 2 were pretty spot on. Earlier today, Western Digital announced the newest member of its growing WD TV family, the WD TV Live.

As you may (or may not) recall, we’ve been pretty big fans of the original WD TV HD media player since it was released at the end of 2008. The highly capable little black box provides a simple, yet effective solution for watching your growing collection of digital media on your HDTV.

One of the few missing features in the original WD TV was any variety of network connectivity. Luckily, Western Digital has listened to the growing community of WD TV fans and included both an ethernet port for wired connectivity as well as support for USB Wi-Fi adapters. But the Internet fun doesn’t stop there. According to the press release:

The network capability of the WD TV Live media player enables users to stream or transfer movies from PC or Mac® computers or a network-attached storage device such as WD’s My Book® World Edition™ and WD ShareSpace network drives to their HD TVs. The WD TV Live media player also allows users to stream rich content from YouTube™, Flickr® and Pandora®. The HD onscreen menu brings together all of the users’ available media in an elegant and simple-to-navigate interface.

The new Internet and network capabilities are welcome additions to this already impressive and relatively inexpensive HD media player. Along with these new features, the WD TV Live features the same 1080p playback, support for just about every codec under the sun, HDMI connectivity, and the ability to show photos and play music like its older sibling (complete comparison chart available here). The WD TV Live is available now for $149.99 MSRP. Check back for our hands-on review in the coming weeks.

WD TV Live HD Media Player
Features of the WD TV Live HD Media Player include:
- Full-HD 1080p video playback and navigation with the included remote control and crisp, animated navigation menus;
- Play a wide variety of file formats including support for a wide variety of the most popular file formats with no need to spend time transcoding;
- Play videos, music and photos from the Internet on your big screen TV and discover new music with Pandora Internet radio or listen to thousands of radio stations via Live365 Internet radio;
- Ethernet port for wired or WiFi connection1 to access files anywhere on the network to play movies, music, and photos from any PC or drive on a home network;
- Turns a USB drive2 into an HD media player and plays content from most popular USB drives, and digital cameras, camcorders, and portable media players that can be recognized as mass storage devices;
- Unlimited media collection, just add more USB drives for more space;
- Two USB ports for seamless media playback from multiple USB drives and ability to access them simultaneously while a media library feature collects the content on all the drives into one list sorted by media type;
- Transfer files by copying, moving or deleting files stored on a USB drive, a network drive, camcorder, or a camera to the attached USB drive using the on-screen menus;
- Picture Transfer Protocol support to show photos and movies directly from digital camera or video camera and or any digital imaging device that supports Picture Transfer Protocol;
- Advanced navigation options including thumbnail and list views, media library and search;
- Photo viewing to create custom slide shows, zoom and pan and search;
- Movie viewing with fast-forward, rewind, pause, zoom and pan, view subtitles, and search;
- Music playback with fast-forward, rewind, pause, shuffle, repeat and search;
- File copying between USB devices;
- HDMI® 1.3 port, composite video and component video output3 for the highest quality HDTV or home theater;
- SPDIF digital output that sends digital signals to your AV receiver for the best surround sound experience; and,
- Ultra-compact design to fit easily into a home entertainment center.

The GlideTV Navigator is a $150 wireless remote control for use with home theater PC setups. The large-ish center trackpad area is surrounded by various buttons while the outside of the remote features media, search, power, and volume controls.

The remote comes with a charging station and USB receiver that works “with Windows PC, Apple Mac, Sony PlayStation 3, or any set-top box that supports standard mouse and keyboard HID devices,” though the real draw is for Windows users as special GlideTV software can be used to launch applications and web sites, as well as search various popular content providers like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand, YouTube, and more.

The Windows-only software also provides a much needed on-screen keyboard. Full press release:

GLIDETV SIMPLIFIES THE PC EXPERIENCE IN THE LIVING ROOM

Introduces the perfect input device to navigate the Internet from your TV.

San Francisco, CA – October 13, 2009 – GlideTV, the company dedicated to simplifying the digital entertainment experience in the living room, announced today the release of its first product, the GlideTV® NavigatorTM. This award-winning and stylish device, which fits in the palm of a hand, combines the functionality of a keyboard, mouse and AV remote and makes it a breeze to access digital content stored on a home theater PC (HTPC) that is connected to a TV. The product is available for purchase from select online retailers worldwide with an MSRP of $149.

The new GlideTV Navigator, a study in modern design, reinvents the computer input device for the living room. The contrast of the highly-polished material and elegant curves is a fitting reflection of the sophisticated technology held within. The product includes a remote, charging station, USB wireless receiver and is compatible with Windows PC, Apple Mac, Sony PlayStation 3 or any set-top box that supports standard mouse and keyboard HID devices.

“Up to now, consumers who wanted to connect a computer to the TV to take advantage of digital content had to bring office equipment to their living room, making the experience bulky and cumbersome,” said Chris Painter, President and founder. “With the Navigator, GlideTV brings simplicity to accessing internet-based entertainment and ushers in a new era for computing in the living room.”

Consumers plug the USB wireless receiver into their PC and they’re ready to take control of their computing experience or explore the Internet with a point and a click. GlideTV Navigator works with popular media applications including Windows Media Center, Apple iTunes, Boxee, Apple Front Row, SageTV, Firefox, and any web browser.

This product features:

· Clickable touchpad mapped to your TV screen — precise cursor control, one-thumb scrolling, single and double-click selection.

· Backlit AV buttons to control volume and playback.

· Directional buttons for easy two-axis navigation.

· Dedicated Esc, Enter, Back, and Function keys to control applications.

· On-screen keyboard — requires download, Windows only.

· Integrated search menu with links to Google, Amazon Video on Demand, Hulu, Netflix, YouTube and more — requires download, Windows only.

· Rechargeable battery.

“GlideTV nailed the customer experience,” said Aaron Burt, a beta test user who lives in the Washington DC area. “It’s a great way to control Windows Media Center in the living room and even my kids enjoy using it. GlideTV Navigator is the perfect couch-mouse.”

The product has garnered significant industry attention by winning the prestigious 2009 Best of Innovations Award at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The GlideTV team, led by Mike Machado and Christopher Painter, consists of consumer electronics and Silicon Valley technology veterans from Sony, SageTV, Slim Devices, and VUDU.

GlideTV Navigator is available worldwide from select retailers and directly from the manufacturer in the US and Europe. The Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price is:

· United States — $149

· Eurozone — €129 (VAT included)

· United Kingdom — £119 (VAT included)

For more information, visit www.glidetv.com.

GlideTV [GlideTV.com via Gizmodo]