Acer launches Chromebook Plus 516 with Intel Core i3 and 16-inch display
Acer has officially launched the Chromebook Plus 516 (CB516-1H), a brand-new ChromeOS laptop that delivers a large display and Intel Core performance. To clarify, this is not the Chromebook Plus 516 GE model built for cloud gaming -- this is an entirely new machine.
The CB516-1H-31UE configuration currently available comes equipped with a 13th-generation Intel Core i3 1315U processor, featuring six cores with a boost clock up to 4.5GHz. The laptop pairs that CPU with 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS storage. This combination should be fine for typical Chromebook workloads like web browsing, document editing, and video streaming.
TP-Link launches a trio of Matter-certified Tapo smart switches
Tapo, a TP-Link brand, launches three new Matter-certified devices today. The Tapo Mini Smart Wi-Fi Plug, Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Light Switch, and Tapo Smart Wi-Fi Dimmer Light Switch offer compatibility with all-certified smart home platforms, convenient LAN control, and multi-admin capability.
Matter brings a new level of convenience with smooth LAN control, enabling seamless communication between Matter-certified devices within a local area network, even if the home internet is offline. This direct device-to-device communication eliminates the reliance on specific forwarding devices or cloud services, ensuring a robust and reliable smart home ecosystem.
You can already save $50 on Microsoft Surface Go
The Microsoft Surface Go is a very polarizing device. Some folks are drooling at the thought of an affordable Surface computer, while others argue it is inferior to the iPad. While both camps have valid points, I am of the belief that choice is always good for consumers. In other words, having the Surface Go as another option when shopping for a tablet or laptop is a positive. Quite frankly, I am intrigued by it too.
The Surface Go doesn't hit stores until August 2, although you can pre-order it immediately now. You may be tempted to order it from the Microsoft Store, but I must urge you not to. Why? A different retailer is already offering a rather significant discount!
Huawei doesn't stand a chance in the US
Here's the thing. As happy as smartphone makers are about selling a ton of devices across the globe, they would all like to make it big in the US. It's a huge market where lots of consumers buy premium handsets -- which offer the biggest margins. However, it's not easy to gain ground here.
The US is unlike the vast majority of markets in the sense that iOS and Android share a similarly-sized slice of the pie. Making things even more difficult is the fact that Samsung pretty much wipes the floor with the competition in its corner of the market. And then there is the matter of perception. Huawei probably knows best about it, as it's been taking hits left and right over its ties to China.
Save hundreds on Apple products and more in Best Buy's 50-hour, 50th anniversary sale
Best Buy is turning 50 and what better way to celebrate than by encouraging people to throw some of their hard-earned cash in its direction? That is precisely what's happening in a 50-hour 50th anniversary sale which is including 50 Black Friday-like deals.
The company points out that the sale comes just in time for those essential 'back to school' purchases, but with a bundle of money to be saved off the likes of MacBook Pros, and iPhone 6s Plusses, there's something for everyone.
Best Buy shares hottest tech gifts for the 2015 holiday season -- Apple takes top spot
The fourth quarter of each year is my favorite. Why? Well, besides wearing hoodies and drinking pumpkin spice lattes, I love the holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are three of the best. Christmas is great for the religious aspect, but regardless of your beliefs, it can be great for spending time with family and exchanging gifts.
As a tech guy, I love getting new gadget gifts (this year I want an Apple Watch), but I have more fun giving them. Presenting a family member with their first computer or tablet just warms my heart. If you are not sure what tech to buy for your friends and family this year, don't panic. Best Buy, the popular electronics retailer, has conducted a survey and determined the hottest tech for the 2015 holidays. If you stick to this list, you cannot go wrong. Do you agree?
Are you a Windows 10 dummy? Don't panic, take this free training course at Best Buy
Windows 10 is insanely easy to use -- says me. I am not everyone, and the term easy is subjective. While I am sure most -- if not all -- BetaNews readers should be able to use Window 10 without issue, not everyone is as tech savvy.
Maybe you have a friend or family member that struggles with change. Don't panic. You are probably dreading being their go-to Windows 10 tech support, right? Well now you don't have to; send them to Best Buy instead! Yes, the retailer is offering free in-store Windows 10 training classes.
Apple Watch to be available from Best Buy next month
Apple has not revealed an official sales figure for Apple Watch, but, according to a Canalys report, it leads the smartwatch pack, with sales estimated to be around 4.2 million units. And we are talking about sales exclusively through Apple's own online and brick and mortar stores, which is a different strategy to iPhones and iPads.
Staring next month, however, Apple Watch will no longer be confined to Apple's own locations, as the smartwatch will also be available for purchase at US retailer Best Buy. Will this boost sales?
More consumers are ditching online shopping for physical retailers
Many of us are guilty of "showrooming" -- the act of using a brick and mortar store like Best Buy or Walmart as a showroom for products we end up buying online. While there is nothing morally wrong about such a practice, I do sometimes feel guilty doing it. In other words, I enjoy saving money by purchasing online, but I would be sad to see brick and mortar stores disappear; I like touching a product before buying.
While the Internet is not about to go away anytime soon, something surprising is happening -- consumers are returning to brick and mortar stores through "webrooming" -- the act of researching a product online and then buying in a physical store.
Top 10 most wanted Black Friday products -- PS4 beats Xbox One
Every year in the United States, on the fourth Thursday of November, we gather with our families for Thanksgiving -- a holiday for, of course, giving thanks. Typically, we share a meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and various other side dishes. The men watch Football while the women and children watch the parade. It is surely a wonderful day that evokes positive emotion.
Then, at midnight, Black Friday begins and we throw all of that out the window. Consumers, still woozy from tryptophan, line up at stores to buy mass-produced products. Only hours removed from giving thanks, they trample their fellow man in a mad-dash to save a few dollars. Sadly, people actually die as a result. With that said, here are the top 10 most wanted Black Friday products.
Best Buy to sell Microsoft's Surface RT for $199.99
Yes, you've read that correctly. Microsoft's Surface RT tablet will be available at US retailer Best Buy under the magical $200 mark. The $199.99 price tag will be attached next to the Windows RT slate between November 28 and November 30, just in time for Black Friday.
The model that the US retailer will offer during that period is the 32 GB Surface RT without the bundled keyboard. Normally, the tablet would cost $349.99 at Best Buy, which makes the $150 discount look rather impressive.
Best Buy is doomed
Best Buy is in trouble you know. It’s in the news all the time. I wrote a big column about it myself last year. Same store sales have suffered, corporate employees are being laid off, the big U.S. electronics retailer is pulling out of Europe. Best Buy management is in turmoil. The founder leaves in a huff, then tries and fails to take the company private, and is now making nice-nice with the same management he previously reviled. There’s a new head of stores (I wish him well), who thinks the answer is price matching, better sales training and paying workers to sell more stuff, which sounds like commissions to me (Best Buy was always anti-commission).
All this drama is generally lain at the feet of Amazon.com on the Internet and Walmart down the street, both of which have reportedly been cleaning Best Buy’s clock. Only they haven’t. Best Buy has been killing itself with bad Information Technology. It’s been a long, long time since I introduced a new Cringely Law, but here comes one (I’m not sure what number this is), courtesy of Best Buy: compartmentalized IT can kill companies that are understaffed and overstressed.
Can we blame Best Buy's big MacBook Air sale on Chromebook?
If you ever wanted Apple's tiny laptop, cash in your savings or dig out the credit card. Best Buy has a short sale going, discounting MacBook Air by $200. That means price starting at $799.99 today and tomorrow for an 11.6-inch model with Intel Core i5 processor and 64GB SSD. Double the storage for another 100 bucks.
The promotion, part of Winter Doorbuster Days, is Friday and Saturday. Best Buy discounts other goodies, but MacBook Air stands out for the price, which lowers the entry cost to joining the Mac Fan Club. But Best Buy also sells the Samsung ARM Chromebook, for $249.99, also with 11.6-inch panel, similar size and weight and comparable (if not better) ergonomics. And Best Buy can't stock Chromebooks fast enough. While the company doesn't release sales data, social network chatter reveals bounty hard to get. So can we just blame Chromebook for Best Buy's sale?
Google is red face ahead of Black Friday
Some advice to Google: If you launch exciting new products right before the holidays, it's a good idea to have them to sell. Not only are new Nexus devices sold out, so are new Chromebooks. Worse, they're not available in stores that stock them. Ah, yeah, what a brilliant way to push a new product category to the masses: Look, but you can't buy.
The new $199 Acer and $249 Samsung Chromebooks are on display in 500 Best Buys, and Google staffs sales specialists, who are there during store hours and are contracted through the end of the year. But the search and information giant can't stock Chromebooks. Like Amazon and Google Play, the Samsung Chromebook is sold out (the new Acer model is still available from Google today but not yet stocked by Amazon). Units coming into Best Buy are generally already claimed from online orders. Even the few returns, available as open-box purchases, sell within a couple hours. Google pays sales staff to educate potential buyers, who leave stores empty-handed.
'It was like a stampede, and they went quick'
That's how a Best Buy employee described the line waiting to buy discounted HP TouchPads today outside the Mission Valley store in San Diego.
More than 100 people waited for the store to open, on a Sunday morning, to get one of about 30 TouchPads still in stock. They were sold out five minutes after the Best Buy opened.
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