SquareTrade

Cheap Laptops in Wal-Mart Pre-Holiday Friday Sales.

Remember what we said about loving Holiday sales? Well, Wal-Mart isn't waiting around so long.

Instead of (okay, in addition to) the Black Friday shoppers' deathmatch we know you all secretly love, Wal-Mart is marking every Friday in November with five hugely discounted items, which will change every week. For this Friday, they're offering an Acer laptop computer for only $348.00; the other four items will be unveiled Thursday.

We don't know which model Acer, but they're advertising something with 1GB RAM, so it's probably not a Speak 'n Spell. Even if it's the base model Acer Aspire 3100, it's still going for $150 off bluebook.

The other thing is, you can't buy these things online. You're suppose to go to Wal-Mart's website, find out what the deals are, and rush down to the store at 8:00 a.m. ready for combat. As if we needed more proof that Wal-Mart is evil. But if you do go and you do get yourself an inexpensive Acer laptop, we'll proudly give you an equally discounted 3-Year laptop warranty when you get home, with or without Accidental Damage Protection. Your call. Hey, you could even do it from your brand-new Acer.

Let the Games Begin!

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The Internet is Tax Free!

They'll take our free internet access when they pry it from our cold, dead keyboards.

We were starting to get a bit worried, what with the ban on internet access taxes expiring on November 1, but the New York Times and the Associated Press are reporting that Congress has swooped in at the last minute to extend the ban for another seven years. They're like, superheroes or something!

What's more, the White House said President Bush would sign it. Now there's a man who knows the value of the internets. 

So now you can go forward in your lives, safe in the knowledge that you won't be charged e-stamps for every email and IM, and 5-7% just to log on. Unless you're in one of the ten states that does tax internet access (all enacted before 1998, when the ban first went into effect). In that case... move.

Seriously.  It's for the children, folks.

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iPhone insurance or iPhone warranty?

We were shocked - shocked! - when the iPhone first hit stores and nobody seemed to be offering iPhone insurance or iPhone warranties... except us, of course. Let's be honest: this was a $600 phone that could slip out of your hand and smash on the ground on its first day out of the box. Why wouldn't you want that protected? Buy an iPhone warranty now!

Even Apple wasn't offering AppleCare on Day One. What were they thinking? Buy an iPhone warranty now!

Well, it's four months later, and we decided to see if the situation's changed. The quick answer is "not much." USAA won't cover iPhones, and they apparently get a lot of calls on the subject. State Farm... well, let's just say they've been a little flakey about it. Company-wide, they consider iPhones a bigger risk than any other smartphone, and they charge accordingly, but not every agent is willing to insure iPhones. We heard one story that they demanded a $500 flat-fee, but that can't be right. Right? You could buy a whole 'nother iPhone for that money.

The best State Farm price we've been able to confirm is $40 a year (as opposed to our price of about $48 for three years if you buy new), though State Farm won't even give you that offer in a lot of regions. Not a consistent policy going on, there. Possibly not consistent coverage, either.

Apple's AppleCare warranty runs $69 for two years. No damage coverage available.

We honestly don't know why everybody's so scared of covering iPhones. They don't look all that dangerous. In fact, if you bought your iPhone on Day One, we'll STILL sell you a warranty for it.

A SquareTrade iPhone warranty costs 50% less than, say, Circuit City's two-year policy, and we throw a 5-day service guarantee in there for free. It's fixed or you're reimbursed the iPhone's purchase price in five business days, or your warranty and the service are free. We also offer Accidental Damage Protection on new items under $1000... though there's a 30-day post-purchase deadline on that.

Oh, and we've also got a 20% Off Sale going on at the moment.

So if you want a good plan in place, just in case something happens to your iPhone, then read our reviews, read our contract, check us out. We're probably what you're looking for.

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Special Edition Nintendo DS Lite Bundles for the Holidays

Thank you, old school department store giants, for your lax security. 

A leaked Sears ad has given away Black Friday plans to release two new Nintendo DS handheld gaming systems, with his and hers bundled games. This comes mere days after Nintendo laughed off questions about a holiday price drop for the Wii.

You'll have your choice of a gold Triforce-stamped edition that comes with the well-regarded action platform game The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and the metallic pink puppydog version that includes Nintendogs: Best Friends.

According to the ad, those who brave the shopping mobs can nab them for $149.99 each... which is only about $14 cheaper than what you'd pay for them separately on Amazon. On the other hand, that savings would nearly cover a 3-year SquareTrade warranty that would make sure your DS sticks around for a while. Odds are that Accidental Damage Protection would be available for it, too.  For the full three years.

Okay, so these DS bundles aren't nearly as cool as the Sony PSP Slim Star Wars special edition (Darth Vader's stamped on the back!), but you can't say Nintendo doesn't know it's audience. Expect these to vanish fast come the early morning Black Friday scrimmage.

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Size Doesn't Matter: The Sharp Aquos 22" HDTV

Okay, so you want a widescreen HDTV in the kitchen, the bedroom, the bathroom (hey, it beats re-reading last week's issue of Time), and you just can't make that 60" monster work. Sharp has heard your pain. A whole line of small Sharp Aquos televisions is winding its way to a store near you.

Small-screen TVs are nothing new, of course, but small widescreen HD televisions in glorious 1080p are. In ascending order, Sharp will release 22", 26", and 32" models for your viewing pleasure. And a SquareTrade warranty will guarantee yours stays in good working order for three years (or four, if you go for the gusto) or your money back.

Sadly, smaller television does not equal smaller price. Just like the good ol' days of portable TVs, small costs about the same as big; these sets are priced at $1,540, $1,700, and $2,050, respectively. So we say go ahead and spring for that 42" model for the bathroom, with the Bose surround-sound. Now that's quality time.

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Big HDTV Sales this Holiday!

Is it us, or is October the new December? We're still a month away from Black Friday, and we're already seeing the holiday displays going up. We've still gotta pick out our Halloween costumes, you fiends!

On the other hand, we don't mind holiday sales one bit. And word is we'll be seeing quite a few amazing sales on LCD and Plasma flatplanels this year. Last Christmas brought major discounts on HDTVs, but the stars seem to be aligning to outdo last year's price drops... not just less money, but more television for your money. Expect to see sets in the 42-50" range going for low four figures, or even just under $1000.

Why? Major retailers have stopped carrying standard televisions, and manufacturers are eager to get people to switch over to HD. Why? For one thing, now that "widescreen" has fully entered the public lexicon, more people are more open to upscaling the ol' boob tube. For another, all the major networks will switch to digital in about year. A lot more HD shows are on their way, and believe us, you want to be ready for them… not to mention the '08 Olympics in HD. Where it belongs.

Another benefit of these sales? Your SquareTrade warranty will cost less, too... easily 30-50% less than the less-than-spectacular warranty a retailer will offer you. You'll probably have an option to add an extra year of protection as well, if you want it.

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T-Mobile Shadow sees the light of day.

Just when we thought CTIA had drained the world of cell phone news, we got a first look at the T-Mobile Shadow... a handset with more aliases (T-Mobile Juno, T-Mobile Pheobus, T-Mobile Dopod C750) than everyone in every witness protection program in the world combined.

The 2.6" VGA screen looks nice, and the interface with Windows Mobile 6 is better than what we've seen before. There's no video, but photos are accessable from the top menu. Our favorite part, however, has to be the iPod-ish clickwheel control that's front and center whether or not the slide's open. Throw in a QWERTY keyboard (two letters to each key) and it could be love.

They're calling it a $200 phone (with voice, or $150 unlimited data). We're calling that a definite possibility. More so than the $6.00 a month T-Mobile would run you for cell phone insurance... as opposed to a 3-Year cell phone warranty in the $20 range, with optional Accidental Damage Protection. 

When will it be available?  The Shadow knows... but it's not telling us yet.



UPDATE: Okay, so now they ARE telling us.  It'll be available October 31st, 2007.  Isn't it a nice coincidence that we have a 20% Off Sale going on?

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New Cell Phones, Better Cell Phone Warranty.

 

Honestly, is everybody trying to be the Wii now? We're finishing up on CTIA '07, and easily the biggest homage to Nintendo's little blockbuster has to be the Sony Ericsson W910 Walkman. Sure, it could've been just another cell phone/camera/mp3 player, but this one has the Wii's motion sensor technology in it. You shuffle between music tracks or play mobile games just by flicking the thing around.

It doesn't, however, come with the Wiimote's calamity-avoiding wrist strap. We'll take a wild guess that cell phone insurance won't cover it if the W910 slips out of your hands while you're scrolling through your ABBA playlist.  A cell phone warranty from SquareTrade (with Accidental Damage Protection) would, and for a lot less.

Meanwhile, struggling Motorola just released a bleak quarterly outlook and a new line of phones they're hoping will make things considerably less bleak. A 24-karat gold-plated Razr2 V8 Luxury Edition seems a bit unnecessary (how much luxury do you really need from a cMu9ell phone, anyway?) but we like the look of the Moto U9. We like it a lot.

The U9's glossy finish - available in his and hers Black and Dark Pink  - hides touch controls on the face, and the display is invisible when not in use; all you see is a blank faceplate. An optional 4GB memory card allows for a 1000 song catalog... by sheer coincidence, about what the baseline iPhone carries. The overall design reminds us a lot of Motorola's Pebl, but slick touches like those give the U9 its own personality.  One we're looking forward to learning more about.

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Anybody Want a SquareTrade Warranty Coupon?

It's our birthday, but you're getting the presents. We're not sure we like that, but you probably will.

SquareTrade launched in 1999 as the authority in online merchant verification and dispute resolution. Since then, we've revolutionized the warranty industry by giving consumers something they've never had before: a choice. Now we're the leading alternative to retail warranties that cost too much and do too little, and odds are you helped put us there. So we're giving a little something back to the people.

Head over to squaretrade.com, use Coupon Code: BDAY8 on our checkout page, and you'll get 20% Off ANY warranty on ANY electronics... new or used, whether you bought it on eBay or at a retail store. It's good from now until 11/7/07.

That discount's good for extra years of protection and/or Accidental Damage Protection, too.

We take a hands-on approach to servicing your claims to make sure everything's done right, with a minimum amount of hassle. Every warranty comes with a 5-day service guarantee you won't find anywhere else, and we do all this for 40% less than most retailers. That's why we're the ONLY warranty provider with a Five Star rating on Amazon, BizRate, Epinions, NexTag... the list goes on.

And we're just getting started.

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Vudu: Netflix in a box.

While we were all busy bragging about how many foreign movies are on our Netflix lists, this neat-o little device slipped under our radar. It's called Vudu, and we wish Netflix would do that voodoo it do so well.

Basically what you have here is an internet set top that instantly delivers major Hollywood titles to your television on demand... no waiting for downloads, no monthly fees. The movie you pick starts pretty much immediately, and costs you one to four bucks for a 24 hour rental (or $5-20 to buy and store permanently). Not bad if you tend to hang on to that Netflix movie for a few months before deciding you're not interested in it after all. The setup is fairly easy, and the menus are all fairly intuitive.

Vudu's catalog is where they beat out competitors like Akimbo and MovieBeam. They have 5000 movies on hand, soon to be 10,000, and movies will drop on Vudu and DVD same-day. It doesn't match Netflix's selection, but Vudu is growing exponentially. They've got deals with all the major studios, and rumor has it they're talking to networks about TV content as we speak.

And let's be honest... if it's between someone emailing us Kung Fu Hustle (hey, it's art!) and someone snail-mailing it, I think our choice is clear.

The thing does run about $400, which might be a bit much if you're not an instant gratification person. For that kind of money, you'll definitely want to make sure it stays in working order for the next three years with a SquareTrade warranty.

Oh, and about that ol' Netflix thing? Well, Netflix just released a generally good Q3 report, and what's the first thing out of CEO Reed Hastings' mouth? They're looking into the possibility of "dedicated internet set tops with a variety of partners." Good thinking, Reed!

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