If your HDTV set is malfunctioning you follow the advice most HDTV manufacturers put on their website, you can actually end up screwing yourself. Surprise, surprise. Here’s what you should do instead. [More]
ELECTRONICS
Report: GameStop To Buy, Sell And Trade iOS Devices
By 9.7.11
Apple devices have always been conspicuously absent from GameStop’s wares, even as competing electronics trade-in services dealt with the likes of iPods, iPads and iPhones. That’s reportedly about to change, with GameStop already accepting trade-ins of the istuff leading up to the rumored October release of the iPhone 5. [More]
Saved Money On Electronics By Haggling? Consumer Reports Wants To Talk To You
By 7.20.11
Surveys done by our corporate cohorts at Consumer Reports have found that around 50% of people who make an attempt at haggling end up getting some kind of a deal, even when shopping online. Now the editors at CR want to hear tales of successful haggling from consumers who’ve been able to bargain down the price at electronics retailers. [More]
Kodak Wants Your Old Cameras, Electronics
By 6.5.11
If you’ve got a drawer full of old camera equipment, you can turn it into money by selling it to Kodak, which has introduced a trade-in program in which it’s seeking digital and film cameras and accessories, digital video cameras, digital picture frames and printers. [More]
Amazon Wants To Buy Your Abandoned Gadgets
By 5.20.11
Leaping into a crowded online electronic device trade-in field populated by the likes of Walmart, eBay and Best Buy, Amazon announced it’s expanding its own pawn shop-like program, which previously was restricted to DVDs, Blu-rays, video games and textbooks. [More]
Use Hollowed-Out Books To Hide Ugly Speakers
By 5.15.11
Speaker systems are necessities for audiophiles, but it takes some clever design skills to make them look presentable. [More]
How Gadgets Designed For The Dump Are Killing The Planet
By 11.12.10
Annie Leonard is back with another engaging and frightening look at how our disposable electronics are trashing the earth. The concept is that our favorite gadgets are “designed for the dump,” because they’re “hard to upgrade, easy to break, and impracticable to repair.” For instance, her DVD player broke and the fix-it guy wanted $50 just to look at it. Why bother when you can get a new one at Target for $39? Something about this system has got to change. [More]
Are The Glasses A Dealbreaker For Buying 3D TVs?
By 9.10.10
Whether or not it will last, 3D is still a growing trend at the movies and with TV manufacturers. However, a new survey shows that most people won’t buy a 3D TV just because they have to wear the required glasses. [More]
Canon 7D Or Barbie Video Girl: Which Is Better?
By 8.24.10
Sometimes when you’re comparison shopping for electronics, it helps to find a fan-made video test that looks at the devices side by side. Luckily for you, if you can’t decide whether to buy an $1800 Canon 7D or a $50 Barbie Video Girl, now you’ve got some help. (Hint: only one of these can be called “the sassiest camera money can buy.”) [More]
~600,000 Chinese Die Making Our Shiny Toys
By 8.13.10
Let’s expand our foreign language vocabulary! Can you say, “guolaosi”? It’s a Mandarin word meaning “death from overwork!” The word describes the phenomenon of Chinese workers falling dead on the spot as they toil in sub-Dickensian conditions so you can save a dollar on your next laptop! [More]
My Best Buy Gift Card I Got From A Trade-In Is Nothing But Trouble
By 7.15.10
Kate and her husband sacrificed some laptops at the Best Buy trade-in altar, hoping for a painless process that would quickly result in an easy-to-use gift card. They were disappointed on all fronts and denied at the cash register when they tried to use the card they received. [More]
7 Things Ex-Geek Squad Employee Wishes Every Computer Novice Knew
By 7.2.10
Not all Geek Squad technicians are ex-Domino’s delivery guys trying to siphon porn from your computer, some of them actually have a heart. This guy gal does, and it keeps breaking over and over again as he she sees clueless consumers queuing up to pay for service for mundane computer issues they could have prevented with just a teensy bit of know-how. Perhaps that is why she no longer works there. In any event, he she sent us a list of 7 different money-saving tips he she wished every computer owner knew. Most Consumerist readers probably know them, and most Best Buy customers don’t, so send this on to your Aunt Gretchen and lose Geek Squad some business: [More]
Anyone Want To Buy Radio Shack?
By 6.1.10
Radio Shack, oh, I’m sorry, “The Shack” is on the auction block. Private equity groups like Blackstone Group are bidding for it, and Best Buy could be a possible secret contender as well, according to the Post. I guess that scheme to dominate the market by knowing the zip code of every battery purchaser didn’t work out so hot. (Thanks to Gary!) [More]
HDTV Lies Exposed By Industry Expert
By 5.24.10
The next time you go shopping for a new HDTV, keep in mind that the brightness and contrast settings don’t adjust brightness and contrast, and most of the fancier-sounding image quality controls don’t do anything except possibly degrade the image. Also, motion blur in live video is largely imaginary, which is good because advertised response times are highly exaggerated. And hey, that impressive “dynamic contrast ratio” the manufacturer is crowing about? Most of the extra contrasty goodness happens when there’s no image on the screen. [More]
Best And Worst Places To Buy Tech Gear
By 5.23.10
PC World has compiled a list of the best and worst places to buy a range of gadgets, including digital cameras, laptops and printers. While many of the results may not be surprising (Amazon ranked at or near the top in almost every category), there are a few interesting wrinkles, including a Best Buy victory for HDTV shopping. [More]
Where The Hell Is The Viewfinder On These New Cameras?
By 5.21.10
Consumer Reports says that 35% of you would like optical viewfinders on cameras, and yet they are becoming harder and harder to find. Why is this? [More]
SquareTrade Replaces Item Out Of Warranty, Almost Makes Extended Warranties Worthwhile
By 4.1.10
Like most readers of Consumerist, Adam is cynical about extended warranties. However, he writes that he had a surprisingly good experience with a SquareTrade warranty that he purchased, and wanted to share. [More]
You Don't Need HDMI 1.4 Cables For 3D TV
By 3.24.10
If you’re ready to shell out $3,000 for a new 3D-capable TV (plus as much as $150 for each additional set of goofy goggles), you can still save a few bucks in one place: cables. Despite what the aggressive electronics dealer might say, any high-speed HDMI cable will work just fine with today’s 3DTVs and Blu-ray disc players. And those so-called HDMI 1.4 cables? They’re not even allowed to mention them. [More]
