Blogs

Many people are gravitating to the living room to view Internet entertainment on their televisions. Hillcrest Labs created a device with these people in mind, the Loop pointer. The Loop pointer is a wireless in-air mouse that lets you control an on-screen cursor with hand motions. Different from any mouse you've seen before, it has a round, ergonomic shape featuring just four buttons and a scroll wheel. To use, simply hold the device in any position, and control online video sites, photo sites, music sites, and more on the computer or TV screen.

Because of the Loop's innovative design and technology, the device was just named an International CES Innovations 2010 Design and Engineering Awards Honoree. Congrats, Hillcrest Labs!

The Loop pointer can be purchased at www.hillcrestlabs.com/loop or www.amazon.com for just $77 (regularly $99) as part of a current promotion.

What camera company does NBC's Saturday Night Live turn to when they want to shoot a new opening title sequence? None other than Canon. The entire opening montage for the new season was shot using the Canon EOS 5D Mark II and the new EOS 7D digital SLR cameras.

For the opening, the director and crew wanted to capture characters that make up the New York City nightlife…and they wanted it to look as natural as possible. The EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 7D Digital SLR cameras were the answer, thanks to their low-light performance, small size, and amazing depth-of-field, which let the crew shoot without using big lighting gear. Another plus, the crew could easily shoot around the city without drawing a crowd.Read more

Best Buy just announced their lowest priced laptop computer ever, the $249.99 Acer Extensa EX5230E-2177. Available starting today (November 11), this laptop features an Intel Celeron 900 processor, 2GB memory and a 160GB hard drive. It will be available both in-store and online.

If the $250 Acer laptop isn't your thing, with more than 30 laptops, 6 netbooks, 17 desktops and 4 all-in-ones available from brands such as Acer, Apple, Asus, Dell, Gateway, HP, Sony, Toshiba, and Lenovo, you are sure to find a computer to meet your needs.

Also, throughout the holiday season, six months of anti-virus protection will be free with the purchase of any laptop/desktop/netbook from Best Buy, and one year of Napster will be included free with any Dell computer purchase. Read more

Sony has announced they will offer owners of BRAVIA HDTVs and Blu-ray players the opportunity to rent "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" a month before it is available at retail stores.

Those who purchase a networked BRAVIA HDTV or Blu-ray Disc player and register the device between Nov. 9, 2009 and Jan. 4, 2010, will receive a free 24-hour rental of the movie in HD. The movie will become available on December 8, 2009.

If you already own a networked BRAVIA HDTVs or have earlier BRAVIA models equipped with the BRAVIA Internet Video Link, the movie will be available to rent from Dec. 8, 2009 through Jan. 4, 2010, for $24.95. Read more

ViewSonic today announced a new palm-sized media player, the VPD400 MovieBook. It features a 4.3-inch high-resolution screen, 8GB of internal memory, an extendable Micro SD storage slot and features a battery life of up to 12 hours of audio and up to six hours of video.

The VPD400 MovieBook plays HD movies and video (with optional subtitles), as well as lets you share photo albums, read digital books, record voice memos, and of course, listen to music. It supports the following video and audio formats: AVI, MKV, FLV, MPG, MOV, MPG, VOB, RM/RMVB and H.264 for video and MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC and DTS/AC3 for audio.

The ViewSonic VPD400 MovieBook is available today for $129.99.Read more

Bowers & Wilkins just announced their first ever headphone, the P5. Featuring a noise isolating design, closed-back construction and ear pads made from the softest available sheep's leather from New Zealand, these headphones were made for extended listening with comfort.

Bowers & Wilkins didn't forget about the sound quality either. The P5 features specially developed ultra-linear neodymium magnets and Mylar diaphragms to give you the best possible sound.

No need to worry about outside noise. The design and construction isolates as much noise as possible thanks to the closed-back design with a metal faceplate and sealed-leather ear pads.

The P5 comes with a Made For iPod cable, with speech and device control. It also includes a standard audio cable with gold-plated plugs. The P5 will be available in January 2010. Pricing has not been announced.

We knew the Nokia Booklet 3G would be available at Best Buy around November 15. What we didn't know was that Best Buy is giving Reward Zone members the first shot at obtaining the product, per a circular Engadget obtained over the weekend.

Between November 6th and the 14th, Reward Zone members can visit their local Best Buy store to place a pre-order of the Nokia Booklet, with others having to wait until November 15th to order the device.

To recap, the Booklet 3G is Nokia's first Atom-powered netbook. Weighing in at 2.76-pounds, the device features a 10.1 inch HD display, 120GB HDD, 1GB of RAM, Intel Atom processor, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, webcam, Bluetooth, built-in SD card reader, and an HDMI port. It will be sold for $299 with a two-year contract on AT&T, or for $599.99 without a contract.

Just last month Adobe brought Photoshop.com to the iPhone, and now they have announced the Photoshop.com Mobile for Android application.

The Android app gives users of the Google Mobile operating system easy image-editing tools, color adjustments and provides instant photo-sharing. In addition, users can browse for their photos online and on their phone, directly from the application. It is free and available today at the Android Market.

Photoshop.com Mobile for Android also has features only available on Android phones. Pictures can be automatically uploaded to Photoshop.com albums in the background, even when the application isn't running. And, a new tab-based user interface lets users view local and online content. The app also includes the Android Photo Browser for fast photo viewing.Read more

Best Western is at it again! They just announced another Countdown to Savings Sale starting today, November 9th. For each day of next week, select Best Western hotels will offer deep rate discounts on bestwestern.com until the clock strikes 4 p.m. EST. A new theme each day will reveal new hotels, today's theme being "Hockey Cities". Check out the following deals this week:

Monday, Nov 9: Hockey Cities

• Boston, Mass.: Rates From - $139
• Atlanta, Ga.: Rates From - $75

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is hitting store shelves on Tuesday, November 10. Be one of the first to get this highly anticipated video game by visiting your local Best Buy retail store. The company will be hosting a series of special events at several locations nationwide, and the game will be available starting at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, November 10 at Best Buy stores.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the sequel to the best-selling first-person action game of all time, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 continues the heart-racing action that has come to be the hallmark of the franchise, as players face off against a new threat dedicated to bringing the world to the brink of collapse.

The game is rated "M" (Mature) by the ESRB and will be available for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Windows PC on November 10, 2009. Best Buy will be offering an instant $10 Best Buy gift card for Reward Zone Gamer's Club members with additional giveaways taking place throughout the events.

Visit www.bestbuy.com/modernwarfare2 for Best Buy locations.