shops

Apple to open another 30 to 35 retail stores next year

Apple's retail empire is still expanding.

The company today said it plans to open another 30 to 35 retail stores during its 2013 fiscal year, which wraps up next September. About three-quarters of those stores would be located outside the United States, the company said.

The mention came inside the company's annual report, which was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission this afternoon. Apple added that it plans to spend about $850 million on the expansion, as well as investment into its current retail infrastructure.

The plans fall in line with Apple's retail store … Read more

eBay gives the world another Groupon

Thursday's CNET Update wants to make a deal:

eBay made headlines Wednesday with a dramatic redesign, but it's not out of the spotlight yet. Today's tech news roundup looks at eBay's Lifestyle Deals, a service similar to Groupon. It's being tested now in a few markets, including New York. Can you handle (or want) another Groupon clone? Is there room in this space for eBay? Share your daily deal experiences and thoughts with us via e-mail or in a 15-second Tout video.

This holiday, Fab expects you to flock to its mobile shopping app. The … Read more

The 404 1,144: Where we switch up our 'za (podcast)

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- A device to call your mom when you crash your bike.

- Stop the madness: 3D-printed headphones?!

- A jacket that hugs you for getting "Likes" on Facebook.

- Target adds QR codes to hot holiday toys for secret shopping.

- Also, New York is about to have QR codes everywhere soon.

Bathroom break video: Salt Lake from Lance follows up… Read more

Economy's bad, people are mad, so shop online this Xmas

For those who were amused by tonight's presidential debate, there will have been either the audacity of hope or the fright of despair.

But I cannot sit and wait to hear what the pundits think. For I have real data about what real people are really thinking.

It comes from a survey conducted on behalf of SOASTA, a cloud and mobile testing company that helped NASA prepare for its curious Mars landing.

SOASTA wanted to look ahead to see how real people see the holiday shopping season, given the economic uncertainty that is lashing at our fleshy parts.

And … Read more

'Human meat' butcher shop gets gamers hungry for Resident Evil 6

Resident Evil has always been heavy on the removal of parts from bodies. A recent PR stunt just makes it all a little more real. To hype the release of Resident Evil 6, Capcom briefly opened a human butcher shop in London called Wesker & Son.

The edible meats, shaped by a food artist, took the forms of all sorts of people parts, ranging from torsos to hands to naughtier bits that will make guys cringe. It's as if Lorena Bobbitt was called in for a consultation.… Read more

Shopper Chopper: A V8 shopping cart for Nascar drivers

Some things were never meant to go together, but that hasn't stopped some insane mechanics from fitting a honking V8 engine to a shopping cart to create the Shopper Chopper hot rod.

Admittedly, this isn't just a stock shopping cart stolen from the grocery store parking lot. It's custom built to accommodate a height of more than 9 feet and a length of more than 12 feet. You could fit a lot of cereal boxes and Doritos into this monster, but it's already fitted with seating capacity for six people.… Read more

Mobile shopping bringing in $20 billion annually -- study

Shopping on mobile devices has become a $20 billion business, according to a mobile spending study released today by Javelin Strategy and Research.

The report, based on three online surveys of mobile phone owners and a survey of mobile device owners, found that consumers spent more than $20.7 billion over the past year while shopping on mobile devices -- with $5 billion of that spent through tablets.

The firm said the popularity of shopping on tablets will double within the next three years. The larger handheld devices have bigger screens than their smartphone counterparts, making it more comfortable for … Read more

Pet your monster

The App Store is full of games the let you pet cute little animals, but most of them differ only by how nice the cats or dogs have been drawn. But have you heard about annolys? What about pogonips? If not, it's time to visit the Monster Pet shop. It's a well-designed game disguised as a store management simulator, with charming little monsters and onscreen tips disguised as Uncle Oscar, your guide.

It's so nice to see a good story and great drawings, even if they are monsters. Monster Pet Shop has one clear goal: to keep … Read more

Three tech items you should never buy refurbished

Here's a deal of the day that normally would make me sit up and take notice:

RedTag has the Proscan PLEDV2488A 24-inch LED HDTV with built-in DVD player for $169, plus $1.95 for shipping.

Just one problem: it's refurbished.

Surprised? Normally I'm a champion of refurbished gear. You'll often hear me touting deals on refurbished laptops, tablets, Blu-ray players, and the like. In fact, I think if you're shopping for any Apple product, you should go the refurb route every time.

But there are exceptions, starting with the aforementioned deal. Here's a rundown … Read more

Why shop via your phone? To keep your spouse in the dark

Some people just cannot stop buying.

They wander into stores during their lunch hour, they're constantly attuned to online shopping. Who can wonder that the wise people at Amazon decided to name their online clothing store MyHabit?

And yet, as everything goes mobile, is it really quite as easy to shop through your phone, as it is on your cute little PC or iPad? Everything is a little smaller, for example. It's harder to zoom out and imagine.

However, new research has entered my laptop that offers a far more rational perspective on mobile shopping. Apparently, a substantial … Read more