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

The exact model will be revealed tomorrow, but at least the key specs have been released today: an Intel Celeron 900 CPU, 2GB of memory, and a 160GB hard drive. Chances are the screen will be around 15-inches too and it will have the standard assortment of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, DVD optical drive, webcam, and a 6-cell battery life. But for $249, who cares. It’s not like your mom is going to do anything but play Farkle on Facebook anyway.

Look out, Walmart. Best Buy is going to sell Modern Warefare 2 at midnight too. But unlike Walmart, Best Buy’s average middle of the night clientele doesn’t look like this. or this. or this. The line will start at 10:30 p.m. and at 12:01 a.m., you and a few other socially-stunted gamers will get a chance to buy the game. How exciting. If you must be the first to own the game, there is a nice little advantage to buying the game at Best Buy instead of Walmart though.

Yeah, Best Buy will be offering an instant $10 gift card to Reward Zone Gamer’s Club members, which is more than enough reason to buy the game at Best Buy if you ask me. Hell, I would buy the game at PetCo if they offered me $10 off. Plus, there will be additional giveaways during the event.

Click over to the Best Buy info page for the complete list of participating stores.

This year 25 winners not only gets the $1000 gift card, limo ride, early store admittance, but also an Insigna 2.3MP digital camcorder to record the experience. All you have to do is submit a 250 word or less essay that describes what you are most excited about this Black Friday. Chances are that writing about sleeping in and not standing in line for three hours at a Best Buy probably won’t win, but that’s what I’m most excited about after working retail for so long.

Yeah, this player isn’t you reference quality unit, but my goodness, for $100 who cares. The unit will playback Blu-ray discs just fine, display all the BD-Live goodies and stream Netflix. What more can you want for that price? [Best Buy via Electronic House]

Now please remember that Best Buy’s system has been known to have incorrect pricing, and this might be the case with the IREX. For their sake I hope that is the case here, because pricing yourself above the Kindle DX and the nook is pretty much suicide at this point. So, $499. Gonna rush right out and buy that anybody?

[via Engadget]

Are you stoked about Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2? Dude, I am, but I don’t know if I’m willing to go out at midnight on November 10 to buy the damn game. If you are, click through for the full list of Best Buy locations that will be open to support your gaming addiction.

ALABAMA
Alabaster
Auburn
Hoover
Huntsville
Mobile
Montgomery
Oxford
Trussville

ALASKA
Anchorage

ARIZONA
Ahwatukee
Arrowhead
Avondale
Camelback
Casa Grande
Chandler
E. Tucson
Fiesta Mall
Flagstaff
Goodyear
North Scottsdale
Paradise Valley
Prescott
Scottsdale Shea
Superstition Sprg
S.W. Tucson
Thunderbird Rd
Tucson
Yuma

ARKANSAS
Fort Smith
Rogers

CALIFORNIA
Apple Valley
Bakersfield
Brentwood
Cerritos
Citrus Heights
City of Industry
Clovis
Colma
Corona
Costa Mesa
Culver City
Downey
Duarte
East Orange
Elk Grove
Fairfield
Fresno
Fullerton
Glendale
Hawthorne
Irvine
Jamboree
La Quinta
Lakewood
Long Beach
Manteca
Marina
Menifee
Mira Mesa
Mission Viejo
Montclair
Montebello
Moreno Valley East
Natomas
Northridge
Oceanside
Ontario
Orange
Oxnard
Pasadena
Pinole
Pleasant Hill
Porter Ranch
Rancho Cucamonga
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Roseville
San Bruno
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San Francisco
Santa Clarita
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Santana Row
Sherman Oaks
Signal Hill
Simi Valley
Thousand Oaks
Torrance
Tracy
Tustin
Vallejo
Victorville
Visalia
West Covina
West Hollywood
West L.A.
Westminster Mall
Westwood
Woodland Hills
Yorba Linda

COLORADO
Arapahoe and Parker
Boulder
Colorado Springs II
First and Main
Fort Collins
Grand Junction
I-70 and Tower Rd.
Northglenn
Parker
S.E. Denver
Southwest
Westminster

CONNECTICUT
Manchester
West Hartford

DELAWARE
Christiana
Wilmington

FLORIDA
Aventura
Boca Raton
Bradenton
Brandon
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Dadeland
Daytona Beach
Doral
Florida City
Fort Myers
Gainesville
Gulf Coast
Hialeah
Jacksonville N
Jensen Beach
Kissimmee
Lady Lake
Miami Beach
Millenia Mall
Oldsmar
Orange Park
Pembroke Pines
Pensacola
Pinecrest
Regency Mall
S. Tampa
Saint Johns
Sanford
Sawgrass
St. Petersburg
Tallahassee
Tropicaire
W. Kendall
W. Palm Beach
Waterford Lakes
Wesley Chapel
Winter Garden

GEORGIA
Alpharetta
Athens
Atlanta (Midtown)
Augusta
Columbus
Cumberland
Gainesville
Gwinnett
Kennesaw
Macon
Perimeter
Savannah

HAWAII
Aiea
Honolulu

IDAHO
Nampa
Twin Falls

ILLINOIS
Algonquin
Arlington Heights
Bloomingdale
Bloomington
Bolingbrook
Burbank
Butterfield Road
Champaign
Crystal Lake
Dekalb
Edwardsville
Evanston
Geneva
Gurnee
Harlem and Irving
Joliet
Kankakee
Kildeer
Mundelein
North Avenue
Orland Park
Schaumburg
Springfield
Tinley Park
Vernon Hills
W. Dundee

INDIANA
Apple Glen Cross
Bloomington
Clarksville
Evansville
Fort Wayne
Greenwood
Kokomo
Lafayette
Mishawaka
Muncie
Valparaiso

IOWA
Ames
Ankeny
Cedar Rapids
Davenport
Des Moines I
Des Moines II
Iowa City
Waterloo

KANSAS
Lawrence
Manhattan
Oak Park
Olathe
Overland Park
Topeka

KENTUCKY
Bowling Green
Elizabethtown
Florence
Hamburg Pavillion
Lexington
Outer Loop
Shelbyville

LOUISIANA
Baton Rouge
Lafayette
Lake Charles
Shreveport
Veterans Blvd.
Westbank

MAINE
Bangor

MARYLAND
Arundel Mills
Frederick
Germantown
Glen Burnie
Hunt Valley
Lexington Park
Rockville

MASSACHUSETTS
Brockton
Milford
North Dartmouth
Pittsfield
Saugus
Seekonk
South Bay
Taunton
Worcester

MICHIGAN
Allen Park
Ann Arbor
Brighton
Farmington Hills
Flint
Grand Rapids II
Gratiot
Kalamazoo
Lansing
Madison Heights/Troy
Novi
Port Huron
Saginaw
Southfield

MINNESOTA
Apple Valley
Baxter
Blaine
Duluth
Maple Grove
Minnetonka
Northtown
Oakdale
Richfield
Roseville
Shakopee

MISSISSIPPI
Gulfport
Hattiesburg

MISSOURI
Cape Girardeau
Columbia
Lees Summit
Manchester
Mid Rivers Mall
South County
Watson Road

MONTANA
Billings
Kalispell
Missoula

NEBRASKA
Lincoln
Omaha
W. Omaha

NEVADA
Carson Valley
Centennial
Henderson
Las Vegas II
Maryland Parkway
Reno
Sparks
Summerlin
S.W. Las Vegas

NEW HAMPSHIRE
Manchester
Nashua
Salem

NEW JERSEY
Cherry Hill
Deptford
E. Hanover
East Brunswick
Holmdel
Manahawkin
Manalapan
Mount Laurel
Rockaway
Secaucus
South Brunswick
Union
Vauxhall
West Paterson
Woodbridge

NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque
Farmington
Santa Fe
W Albuquerque II

NEW YORK
Albany
Bay Shore
Broadway (NoHo)
Big Flats
Clarence
Commack
Hartsdale
Henrietta
Huntington Station
Ithaca
Liverpool
Patchogue
Rego Park
Riverhead
Syracuse
Vestal
W. Nyack
Westbury

NORTH CAROLINA
Asheville
Asheville South
Burlington
Cary
Charlotte North Lake
Durham New Hope Commons
Durham Renaissance Court
Gastonia
Greensboro
Greenville
Hickory
Jacksonville
Monroe
Rocky Mount
University Place
Waynesville
Wilmington
Wilson
Winston-Salem

NORTH DAKOTA
Fargo

OHIO
Avon
Canton
Chapel Hill
Colerain
Dayton Mall
Eastgate
Elyria
Fairfield Township
Fields Ertel
Findlay
Grove City
Lancaster
Mansfield
Mayfield Road
Mentor
Niles
Parma
Polaris
Sandusky
Springfield
Strongsville
Toledo
Tri-County
Tuttle Crossing
Western Hills
Youngstown

OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma City North
Owasso
Tulsa

OREGON
Gresham
Salem
Springfield

PENNSYLVANIA
Altoona
Century III
Cranberry
Erie
Harrisburg East
Mechanicsburg
Monaca
No. Fayette
No. Hills Village
Oxford Valley
Pittsburgh Mills
Plymouth Meeting
S. Philadelphia
Scranton
Selinsgrove
So. Hills
State College
Stroudsburg
Whitehall
Wilkes Barre

RHODE ISLAND
Middletown

SOUTH CAROLINA
Anderson
Charleston
Florence
Greenville
Myrtle Beach
Summerville
Two Notch

SOUTH DAKOTA
Rapid City
Sioux Falls

TENNESSEE
Johnson City
Kingsport
Knoxville
Memphis
Mt. Juliet
Nashville West
Rivergate

TEXAS
Abilene
Allen
Baybrook
Baytown
Beaumont
Brownsville
Corpus Christi
Denton
East El Paso
East Houston
El Paso
Flower Mound
Fort Worth
Forum
Frisco
Galleria
Grand Parkway
Gulfgate
Heritage Trace
Hulen
Lake Jackson
Laredo
Legacy
Lubbock
McAllen
Midland
Midway/LBJ
N. Garland
N. McAllen
No. Austin
North Arlington
North Irving
North Rim
Pasadena
Pearland
Price Plaza
Ridgmar
Rockwall
Rosenberg
San Angelo
San Antonio
San Marcos
So. Austin
South Fort Worth
Sugarland
Texarkana
Victoria
Victory Lakes
W. Oaks
W. San Antonio
Waxahachie
Weatherford
West El Paso
West McAllen
Wichita Falls
Woodlands

UTAH
Logan
Murray
Orem
Riverdale
South Salt Lake

VERMONT
Williston

VIRGINIA
Charlottesville
Chesapeake
Chesterfield
Christianburg
Fairlakes
Fredericksburg
Leesburg
Lynchburg
Newport News
Princess Anne
Reston
Roanoke
Springfield Mall
Stafford
Sterling
Virginia Beach
Virginia Center Commons
W. Broad
Williamsburg

WASHINGTON
Bellevue
Bellingham
Burlington
E. Spokane
Everett
Olympia
Puyallup
Seattle-Northgate
Spokane North

WEST VIRGINIA
Granville
Huntington

WISCONSIN
Bluemound Plaza
E. Madison
Green Bay
Kenosha
La Crosse
Racine
Southridge
W. Madison

WYOMING
Casper

[via Kotaku]

Don’t get me wrong, the Nokia Booklet seems like a fine netbook. It’s going to rock Windows 7, an accelerometer, 120GB hard drive, 16 hour battery life, and HDMI out. I just don’t see many consumers choosing this premium option over Verizon or AT&T’s subsidized netbooks. Why would they? There is a $400 difference in price and you’ll still have to get a monthly data plan.

But then again, the pricing in Best Buy’s system might just be there as a place holder. Retails have been known to do this and in fact, Best Buy did the same thing with the Palm Pre.

Police found 371 items in the home of Douglas A. Parkes, Jr. along with $4200 in case and about 3,000 Best Buy Reward Zone certificates.

According to the article, “Best Buy staff noticed Parkes repeatedly bought popular items, including seven 37-inch LCD televisions and 37 iPods.”

Parkes had been working for the USPS since 1997 and has been put on administrative leave while awaiting sentencing.

Postal worker fesses up to scam using Best Buy rewards [Star Tribune]

The good news is that the titles involved are quality movies. The bad news is that because they are quality, they all cost $29.99. But remember, you get two for that price. However, you might want to do some Internet price shopping first because I found that Amazon is currently selling Paul Blart: Mall Cop for only $13.49. (It’s a dumb movie, don’t buy it anyway) But I’m sure the deal is worth it for some of the titles.

Sprint Stores however will sell it too you for $280 and hand you a $100 MIR. But just like with the Palm Pre, you’re not going to have to deal with those shenanigans at Best Buy Mobile who is also the exclusive retailer to have the HTC Hero. So yeah, why would you buy one at a Sprint Store?

Best Buy®Mobile Will Sell HTC Hero™ Smartphone in Stores Beginning October 11

Best Buy Mobile will apply rebate savings for the new smart phone at the point of purchase to help customers avoid the hassles of mail-in rebates.

MINNEAPOLIS, September 3, 2009 – Best Buy Mobile, now in all 1,044 Best Buy locations as well as 48 standalone stores around the U.S., is the exclusive national retailer for the much anticipated Sprint HTC Hero™ smart phone, which launches October 11. The HTC Hero runs on Google’s innovative Android operating platform.

Customers who purchase the smart phone at Best Buy Mobile can avoid the hassle of mail-in rebates with instant savings applied at the point of purchase. The phone will retail for $179.99, after $150 instant savings, with two-year activation.

“We want to bring the absolute best mobile technology that we can to our customers and the HTC Hero helps us do that” said Best Buy Mobile President Shawn Score. “The addition of the HTC Hero to our already extensive assortment allows our customers the convenience of comparing this new phone with other popular smart phones, such as the iPhone 3Gs, Palm Pre and Blackberry Tour, side-by-side and under one roof.”

Best Buy Mobile has become a leading destination for smart phone purchases, in part because of the promises the store offers its customers: better choice of phones and networks; impartial, informed advice; straightforward pricing; and someone to be there for the life of the phone.

In addition to the instant savings, Best Buy Mobile offers an array of services aimed at improving the mobile phone buying experience, including:

§ Upgrade Checker: A quick and easy in-store service that gives customers the ability to see when they are eligible for their next phone upgrade. When the upgrade time is nearing, customers receive a complimentary reminder call or email.

§ Walk Out Working™: Free in-store smart phone setup by a Best Buy Mobile Phone Specialist who will sync personal email accounts, set up Bluetooth® headsets, transfer contacts and activate other services to allow the customer to leave the store with a fully functional new smart phone.

The new HTC Hero runs on the Sprint network and is the first phone to feature HTC Sense™ – an intuitive, seamless interface experience built on the principles of personalization, connectivity and discovery. HTC Hero lets users view important content at a glance with a selection of customizable widgets that can be placed right on the home screen. Contacts’ information is easily accessible with all text exchanges, email conversations, Facebook status updates, Flickr photo albums and phone logs, neatly organized by contacts’ names. The integrated Flash player optimizes the HTC Hero for Web browsing while a dedicated search button provides for a more natural, contextual search experience that enables searches through Twitter, contacts, emails and in any other area in the smart phone.

About Best Buy Mobile

Best Buy Mobile features one of the largest selections of carriers, handsets and accessories available anywhere, as well as a highly-trained staff to help customers make the most of their mobile phones. Best Buy Mobile locations feature more than 90 different handsets from nine carriers, and over 130 accessories. Employees undergo at least 80 hours of intensive training, as well as continuing education on mobile phone technology and trends. Look for your mobile phone solution at Best Buy Mobile locations in every Best Buy store as well as in standalone stores nationwide.

About Best Buy Co., Inc.

With operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, China and Mexico, Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. The Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than $45 billion in annual revenue and includes brands such as Best Buy; Audiovisions; The Carphone Warehouse; Future Shop; Geek Squad, Jiangsu Five
Star; Magnolia Audio Video; Napster; Pacific Sales; The Phone House; and Speakeasy. Approximately 155,000 employees apply their talents to help bring the benefits of these brands to life for customers through retail locations, multiple call centers and Web sites, in-home solutions, product delivery and activities in our communities. Community partnership is central to the way we do business at Best Buy. In fiscal 2009, we donated a combined $33.4 million to improve the vitality of the communities where our employees and customers live and work. For more information about Best Buy, visit www.bestbuy.com.

The $500 ALT-SA32PC has two wireless speakers controlled by a USB receiver. The $200 ALT-SA33PC ditches the wireless speakers but utilizes a RCA universal transmitter that will transmit audio to existing audio systems. If iPods are you game, you may wanna check out the $700 ALT-SA31iR wireless speaker system or the $400 AIR-SA10Ti compact docking station with two built-in speakers and wireless subwoofer. If by chance you purchased the already available BDV-E500W, you can have wireless fun too by just adding on a S-AIR adapter to your current system.

Sure, these systems are a little on the pricy side, but a world without wires is a world with convenience. Or some shit like that

Now that Amazon is showing the same exact pricing structure for the Zune HD as Best Buy, it’s a pretty safe bet that these are the correct prices. Let’s just go ahead and call the prices unofficial official, m’kay?

[Amazon via PC World]

Sony’s rule-breaking VAIO W netbook (1366×768 resolution screen paired with Atom N280 chip) is now available for pre-order at BestBuy.com if you’d prefer to order it there instead of directly through Sony or some other retailer.

It’s available in pink, blue, or brown with a price tag of $499. The availability is currently listed as “Online Only” with an estimated ship date of between 8/12 and 8/18 (with standard shipping). The machines may be available in-store as well once Best Buy has an actual stock of them. That’s just speculation on my part, though.

Here’s a refresher as the specs are concerned: Intel Atom N280 at 1.66GHz, 1GB of RAM, 10.1-inch screen at 1366×768, 160GB hard drive, two USB ports, Bluetooth and B/G/N wireless, weighs 2.6 pounds and is 1.3 inches thick. So pretty standard netbook specs except for the slightly bumped CPU, the high-resolution screen, and two USB ports instead of three.

Sony VAIO Netbooks [BestBuy.com]

Not a bad deal at all, considering the $99 price is out the door — no rebates or anything like that.

Looks like you’ll have to actually get in the car and go to the store if you want to get in on this deal, though, but maybe grab the wife and kids and make a day of it!

[Pre Central via FatWallet]

Update – False alarm, everyone. John Bernier is saying via Best Buy’s Twitter help line – Twelp Force – that the price is still $199. Now, you still might be able to get the deal if your local Best Buy hasn’t had the price changed or is feeling rather gracious. YMMV.

Well, could have been a senior manager—the job seems to have already been filled. Still, let’s talk about it. Best Buy recently posted a job ad on its Web site looking for someone who would be “he primary lead for the Best Buy’s mobile, social, and video marketing and media efforts to drive in-store and online sales, create sustainable word-of-mouth evangelists, and brand loyalists.” Yup, that’s what a senior manager of emerging media does. No soul required, it seems.

You know a job is suspect when the entire Crunch Family (CrunchGear, MobileCrunch, TechCrunch, CrunchCrunch, etc.) qualifies, no questions asked. Here’s what Best Buy was looking for:

• Bachelors degree Liberal Arts, Marketing, Interactive Marketing, New Media, Business Administration or related

• 2 plus years of mobile or social media marketing experience at an Agency director level, strategist level, or brand interactive director level

• 4 plus years People or resource leadership experience

• 1 plus years of active blogging experience

• 250 plus followers on Twitter

A graduate degree is “preferred,” but who needs an education when you have Twitter followers? (Am I right?!)

Too bad the position was already filled. Not that Best Buy would have hired me, given my opinion of it.

via Revolution Mag

TiVo is really a product that needs a salesmen. Consumers need to be shown what it can do and how it is better than the cable company’s DVR. As much as we all rag on Best Buy, the company does employ salesmen that generally know what they are doing. If Best Buy tells their staff to push TiVo, they’ll probably move a few more units.

The otherside of this agreement involves a Best Buy co-branded TiVo set-top box and places TiVo’s software onto Best Buy-branded HDTVs. This new TiVo will likely be built off of the existing TiVo platform but allows subs to purchase items from Best Buy using only the TiVo remote.

The HDTV brands of Insignia and Dynex probably need something to help them stand out against the big boys of Sony, Samsung and Panasonic. I don’t know about you, but an embedded TiVo awould sway my buying decision.

There are of course a lot of details left out of the pre-announcement. I kind of have a feeling that the Best Buy co-branded TiVo will be available without a monthly subscription. There needs to be a reason for consumers to buy the this model over a normal TiVo. Plus, I don’t know if even I would purchase an HDTV that came with a monthly cost.

I’m also excited to see where this multi-year agreement takes TiVo. Perhaps we’ll eventually see more HDTVs embedded with the TiVo software. Lets hope that this agreement provides TiVo with enough capital to finally update the almost decade-old GUI.

Keith Hass, Director of Sales for Onkyo,

“We have worked diligently to position the brand where the product’s performance, capabilities, feature set and uncompromising build quality can be effectively and professionally demonstrated.

“The establishment of the relationship and placement of the product with Magnolia Home Theater is the culmination of these efforts.”

Expect to see Onkyo products, and hopefully some Integra items as well, later this year.