shopping

Amazon's tablet to launch in August?

It appears Amazon will have its much-anticipated tablet on the market to challenge Apple before the end of the year.

Taiwan-based component makers say the online retailer will launch a tablet PC as early as August, with global sales for 2011 pegged at 4 million units, according to a report from tech site DigiTimes. With monthly orders expected to hit 700,000 to 800,000 units a month, the tablet's launch is timed to take advantage of the pre-Thanksgiving shopping rush, DigiTimes' sources pointed out.

Taiwan-based Quanta Computer has reportedly already received orders from Amazon to build the retail … Read more

E3 2011: Will Nintendo 3DS' new games be enough?

LOS ANGELES--While Nintendo created a splash with the Wii U, its 3DS handheld remains in an awkward state of affairs after being upstaged by the PlayStation Vita debut the day before.

The 3DS has only been on store shelves in the U.S. since March, but the system faces an uphill challenge against a competitor in the Vita that has the same price and arguably more-robust technical specs, along with an impressive assortment of games.

Good games are what the 3DS particularly lacks a strong supply of, but Nintendo's press conference focused largely on firing off big-ticket franchise names … Read more

Top 5 Things to Consider When Buying a Smartphone

Buying a smartphone - especially your first smartphone - can be really daunting. The formula is something like: Features x operating system x handset x carrier = AARGGHH!!! Brian Cooley lays out the Top 5 things people like you consider when making that smartphone choice. Hopefully this helps!

After you've watched this video, then take a look at CNET Editors' favorite smartphones as of this moment.

Google rolls out rival to Groupon in Portland, Ore.

PORTLAND, Ore.--Google Offers launched its answer to Groupon today exclusively in Portland, Ore., with its first deal for--you guessed it--a coffee shop. Perhaps owing to the highly caffeinated culture here, some people who snapped up the "Offer of the Day" raced over to Floyd's Coffee Shop only to discover that the coupon can't be redeemed until tomorrow.

"Within 10 minutes of the deal going live, someone was in the shop to redeem the offer," Jack Inglis, co-owner of Floyd's, said in a phone interview.

On the cash register at Floyd's in … Read more

PriceGrabber for Android enhances shopping on the go

Popular online shopping site PriceGrabber.com recently released an update to its Android app, which now gives shopaholics on the go a more feature-rich browsing and buying experience.

First, browsing through products is now a little bit easier; you can view enlarged product images, read detailed product descriptions, and evaluate product offers for new, used, or refurbished items. Also, there's now built-in sharing functionality for when you stumble on items perfect for a family member or friend. The app can share product information through e-mail, SMS, Facebook, or Twitter.

PriceGrabber for Android also introduces discount badges, which denote heavily … Read more

Scoutmob puts local deals on your mobile device

Scoutmob is a location-aware coupon service that pushes local restaurant and retail deals directly to your mobile device. No need to print or purchase anything, just scroll through the local 50 percent off (and more) coupons available, click "USE THE DEAL," and flash your screen at the location. It's like Groupon, only simpler and better.

What gives Scoutmob its edge over its other deal-serving competitors is that there's no need to purchase anything ahead of time. If your GPS-enabled mobile device detects that you are at the deal location, you get the deal. And most deals … Read more

How to avoid sharing personal info online

Honesty is the best policy--unless you're dealing with someone you can't trust.

The sad fact is, you can't trust anyone on the Web. Just ask the millions of people who signed up for Sony's PlayStation Network and who now must protect against possible hack attacks on their bank accounts and other private data lost due the recent data breach. CNET News reporter Erica Ogg explains the company's response to its customers in her Circuit Breaker blog.

Sony claims the credit card information was encrypted and did not include the cards' security codes; the company also … Read more

ESRB to automate download-only title ratings

Note: We've been informed by the ESRB that download-only games have been getting ratings for some time, this news just changes the way these titles are assigned actual ratings. We've edited the post to reflect the correct story.

Starting today the ESRB will let publishers automate the ratings process for titles available on storefronts like Xbox Live Arcade, Nintendo Wii Shop, DSi Shop, and the PlayStation Network Store.

Publishers will be able to complete an online submission form that consists of multiple questions related to a game's content--a completely different process than traditional disc-based console games.

The … Read more

Record Store Day 2011, still rocking

Metallica kicked off the first Record Store Day at Rasputin Music in San Francisco on April 19, 2008, and Record Store Day is now celebrated on the third Saturday every April. Special vinyl and CD releases and various promotional products are made exclusively for Record Store Day, and hundreds of artists in the United States and in countries across the globe make special appearances and performances. Festivities include performances, cookouts, body painting, meet-and-greets with artists, parades, and DJs spinning records.

Yes, it's easier and sometimes cheaper to buy music online, but brick-and-mortar shops offer a nice alternative. Who knows, … Read more