SquareTrade

Kick off of SquareDeals of the Day and SquareTweets!

It almost feels like we’re back in school – sneaking notes.  We can’t let the cat entirely out of the bag just yet.  But since you’re our fans, we wanted to let you in on the secret.

There’s a lot going on here at SquareTrade HQ. This week, we’re gearing up to launch a series of SquareDeals of the Day! 

Raise your hand if you’ve recently purchased an LCD TV, a washer/dryer or perhaps a new wii.  Maybe you’ve been planning to buy a new laptop? 

Well, this week we’ll be offering even greater savings on coverage for things like digital cameras, LCD TVs, home appliances and game consoles.  Yup, we’ll be offering up to 40% additional savings with a new coupon each day!

So stay tuned (and don’t let Miss Othmar catch you passing this note!)

On a related note, if you’d like to be the first kid on the block that has the inside scoop, you can follow us on twitter. We’ll tweet breaking news on specials like the upcoming Deals of the Day as well as nifty things we hear are going on in the world of gizmos and gadgets.

Sorry, did you ask “What's a tweet?!”  Well, Mike Massimino has been tweeting from space. Even Oprah is becoming twitter savvy. You can also ask google. 

Snap-On LCDs make your Wii and PS3 portable, but Why?

File this one under "...the hell?"  Strange electronics maker China Vaison has come up with a solution for people who wish their video game consoles were more portable: 7" snap-on LCD screens for the Nintendo Wii and Sony PlayStation 3.

Fair where fair's due, they don't look half-bad... though why they're showing the Wii with two nunchucks and no Wiimote is a mystery.  We're seeing stereo sound speakers and display controls for the 480p screens, and we have to give points for aesthetics.  The Wii version in particular is designed to integrate right into the console as if it naturally belongs there, particularly when the screen's down, and all the connections pair up exactly.  It even comes with an adapter for your car's cigarette lighter, so there's your power source.  But c'mon, it's not like Sony and Nintendo don't already have portable systems - good ones - of their own, right?

They're available now for about $100, or $97 if you decide to buy in bulk.  And if you're planning on hauling your $400 console around, might we suggest a SquareTrade warranty to cover the standard wear and tear?  Might be a good idea even if you aren't toting it all around town.

We guess this is one solution for getting your screaming kids into the car for the drive to grandma's, but wouldn't you rather just get them a Nintendo DS?

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Wii Fit finally tagged, sure to make your wallet lighter.

Who says video games make you fat and lazy?  Nintendo's highly (and long) anticipated Wii Fit is about to turn your game console into an exercise machine, and now we know how much a healthy lifestyle's going to run you: $90.  And it'll be out May 21st... just in time for bikini season.

Sound like a lot?  Well, consider that the game alone would probably retail for $50, and it's coming with a fairly sophisticated peripheral: the Balance Board, a combination weight scale, aerobics step, and brutal truthsayer.  It's through this flat white slab of doom that Wii Fit will measure how well you're performing all manner of yoga stretches and exercises, and then determines if your new regimen is actually doing any good. 

It's an interesting direction for a game console to take, one that's sure to appeal to all those upwardly mobile thirtysomethings who let their gym membership lapse and haven't touched their Wii since they got bored with Wii Sports.  Early hands-on reviews sound promising indeed.  This won't be the first exercise-based video game, but it could be one of the more successful if people get off the couch long enough to use it. 

And if you're worried about crushing that Board or stomping it to pieces in your aerobic fervor - or want to put some protection on your Wii - they're eligible for a SquareTrade warranty.  But then, so is your refrigerator... where the cookie dough ice cream is.

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Rock Band to Rock Wii's World in June.

Party Time!  Excellent!  Hot on the heals of Guitar Hero on the Nintindo DS comes word of Rock Band for the Wii arriving on June 22nd... with wireless guitars that probably won't look anything like Gibsons.

Are there downsides?  You betcha.  First, the Wii Store still just doesn't have anything on Xbox Live, so you can forget downloadable songpacks for the foreseeable future.  And still no compatibility between Rock Star and Guitar Hero instruments, so flush that pipe dream away, too.  Right now, Harmonix is talking about a feature set close to the old PS2 version, with no Mii support or character creation.  And you won't be plugging your Wiimote into the gee-tar, but why would you want to?  You've got a gee-tar!  The drum set will come in Wii White, though.

And while you can't get a SquareTrade warranty for the game, because we don't do software, you can protect your Rock Band instruments for pennies a day, and probably even throw some Accidental Damage coverage into the mix, just in case you wail a little too hard.  Check out the sidebar widget for a quick estimate.

Rock Band Wii will go for $170, which is a pretty cheap way to spend your summer.  Check out Joystiq for the full scoop.

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Amazon's Top Sellers of 2007 include some surprises.

We love you, Amazon.  You make holiday shopping so easy that we buy way too much, and yet always feel surprised when yet another smiley-face box shows up on our doorstep.  And then we lie to our spouses and say "Yes, honey, that one's for you, too." 

We know we're not alone in our unnatural love.  As if to hammer the point home, Amazon has just released its Best Of 2007 lists, and it wasn't all the obvious choices this year.

2007 Top Selling Electronics
Out of all the gadgets, trinkets, and assorted cool stuff available in the entire universe, the top selling piece of consumer electronics on Amazon was the Canon PowerShot A570 IS 7.1MP digital camera.  We're honestly not sure why, aside from the fact that it's the cheapest camera in the PowerShot line, and only by about twenty bucks at that.  The all-around best camera is arguably the PowerShot SD850 IS, but the SD750 and SD1000 are both better options to the A570 for not a lot more money.  You confuse us, Amazon.

The popular but elusive Nintendo Wii was the top seller in Video Games, despite the fact that you can't order (or even pre-order) a Wii from Amazon.  You can, however, buy them for about $150 over list price through Amazon Merchants.  It still blew away the competition, and our Amazon is only getting table scraps out of it.  Sigh.

And for your third head-scratcher in a row, the top-selling computer was the Nokia Internet tablet PC.  Really?  It's not clear whether this is the tally for the N800, the N810, the N770, or all of the above (unfair, but it would explain much).  Sure, it's a neat little device and all, but it just feels strange that the #1 computer is essentially a slider smartphone by another name.  Maybe that's just a sign of Things To Come.

2007 Most Popular Electronics
What's getting the highest ranks (aside from us) by Amazon users?  Well, it 's the Wii.  But besides the Wii, people are really digging their Garmin nüvi 350 3.5-inch portable GPS navigator, and so they should.  It's a nifty little device, even though it doesn't have a built-in radar detector.  Yet.  Whereas on the computer front, the MacAddicts are universally praising the Apple MacBook Pro (also the most gifted computer for 2007), and then voted up Apple Mac OS X version 10.5 Leopard for good measure.  What, Vista didn't make the list?

2007 Most Wanted Electronics
Wii.  Duh. 

But for those of you who still haven't seen a Wii in the wild, the gadget everybody wanted most was the Apple 4GB iPod Nano.  They got it, too, as the 4GB Nano topped the "bought as gift" list.  And while the masses may've liked the Macbook Pro and given the Macbook Pro, what they really wanted all along was the under-$400 Asus Eee 4G-Galaxy 7-inch PC.  Again, we're not sure which model (or if they're lumped in together), but we don't care.  Let's here it for the Budget Notebook!

Like we said, interesting list, and if you got one, gave one, or are getting one before January 6, you can put a SquareTrade Warranty on it for 20% Off our already low price.  Just use coupon code WARRANTYSANTA on the checkout page.

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UPDATED: How to Get a Wii Raincheck from Gamestop.

The details have arrived on how exactly you can get that Nintendo Wii raincheck we found out about last week.  And if it sounds suspiciously like a Black Friday deathmatch in the making, that's only because it is.  And while they initially said this would take place over two days, they must have realized creating this level of carnage won't take two days.  Two hours is plenty of time.

So here's how it works: on Friday, December 21 ONLY, find your local Gamestop store (you can't get them online), line up, and pray to the deity of your choice.  If you make it to the head of the line in time, you can pay $250 for a fake Wii game case that contains an "entitlement certificate" to put under the tree.  That should placate your children on Christmas Day just fine.  Or maybe this will be a good time to teach them the virtue of patience, because the certificate guarantees you a Wii sometime before the end of January.  Not a bad way to start the New Year.

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Gamestop to sell Wii rainchecks next week.

It seems like everybody wants a Nintendo Wii.  But unless you're willing to pay way too much on eBay, or suddenly get Vegas Lucky and find one left on a store shelf, odds are you won't be able to find one.  Hell, you can't even pre-order them at Amazon or on Bestbuy.com. That's how uncertain the supply is.  Nintendo just can't keep up with demand.

So it's Gamestop to the rescue.  For two days only, December 20 and 21st, they're going to sell "tens of thousands" of Wii rainchecks at the Wii's regular list price of $249.99, which will apparently guarantee the availability of a brand-new Wii sometime before January 29, 2008.  This gives you something to put under the tree, even if Santa's going to be a little late on the delivery.

And if you get that raincheck (or a Wii by other means), don't forget that you can put a SquareTrade console warranty on it even if you haven't actually received your Wii yet.  Coverage doesn't begin until thirty days post-purchase, anyway, so by the time it arrives you'll probably be all good to go.  You can even transfer that warranty to someone else for free if you're giving the gift of Wii.

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Amazon Customers Vote for Crazy Black Friday Deals.

While you ponder the wisdom of lining up for the newly-announced Best Buy Black Friday doorbusters, like a $229 Toshiba laptop with a Canon printer (we expect every store to have about ten of them) that's probably worth about that much, we feel it's our civic duty to tell you there's a less bone-breaking alternative. 

Amazon.com's keeping up their own tradition of virtual doorbusting with a slightly adjusted version of last year's voting system.  Basically, they're going through six rounds of voting on three items, and anyone who votes becomes eligible to get the goods at a ridiculously low price.  We're talking a Nintendo Wii for $80, a Panasonic SD-1 Hi-Def camcorder for $300 (about a third its normal price), HP Pavilion laptops for $300 (less than a third its normal price), and more.

The thing is, you have to vote to get the deal offered, and check back to see if you're getting that deal offered to you.  And if you do, and you buy something like, say, the Samsung 46" 1080p LCD HDTV for $714 (about a thousand bucks under blue book), then feel free to head over our way and get the SquareTrade warranty for it.  Depending on what it is and how much you took it home for, you might even have the option to add Accidental Damage coverage, or extra years of protection.

Not to mention the 35% Off holiday coupon that activates this Thursday, which is a pretty good deal, too.

Sure, sure, we know you really want to do the whole "running with the bulls" thing when the doors open Friday morning.  But for those who get the horns instead of the steak, now you've got some back-up.

Wii warranty, HDTV warranty, laptop warranty

Are you getting a Wii for Christmas?

Well, it's official... Computers trump Peace.

According to an annual U.S. survey by the consumer electronics industry's largest trade organization, and for the first time, computers outrank peace, happiness and clothes this year as the most wished-for holiday gifts.  That doesn't shock us nearly as much as how, until this year, clothes beat computers. Really? You guys wanted those argyle socks and Jerry Garcia ties?

The report also said that you folks were all planning to give a video game system as a seasonal gift this year. Don't forget to give a SquareTrade warranty for that console, too... we're already setting up a system to let you do that without giving the surprise away. More on that to be announced.

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